This Viewpoint argues that, while efforts must continue to achieve universal primary and secondary education at the global level for both boys and girls, the concern with access and thus enrollment and completion parity has blinded many governments from seeing the crucial need to examine what is actually learned in school. Stronger concern with…

Under the research radar, and yet highly influential in transformation of practices concerning the social understanding and enactment of gender, are women-led non-governmental organizations (WNGOs). Their continued efforts to reconfigure gender identities and their impact on public policy formation have expanded notions of citizenship and…

This chapter considers Theme 4 of the "Hamburg Declaration": Adult learning, gender equality and equity, and the empowerment of women. It has a fourfold purpose. It begins with a review of the balance of progress to date in conceptualizing gender. Second, it examines the objectives of CONFINTEA V and VI from a gender perspective. Third,…

Girls' education has been a high development priority for decades. While some progress has been made, girls are often still at a great disadvantage, especially in developing countries, and most especially in African countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, less than half of primary school teachers and only a quarter of secondary school teachers are…

Women immigrants are an increasing population in the U.S. and in the Adult Basic Education (ABE) system, particularly in English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programmes. The authors argue that their numerical predominance and comprehensive needs are not factored into U.S. ABE policies by reformers who are anxious about the system being…

A fundamental reason for the advocacy of women's literacy is its contribution to the attainment of citizenship, that is the claiming and use of public space and power. Following a presentation of basic trends and public policies in literacy, this article reviews the diverse theoretical understandings of literacy. It discusses normative arguments…

A study examined the extent and significance of organizational learning in international development agencies (IDAs) concerning gender and education; the manner in which IDAs learn; and the factors that create obstacles to learning. Research was divided into four steps: (1) tracing the relevant academic literature on organizational change; (2)…

This article highlights the conceptions linked to sexuality in various regions of the world, elucidating how these conceptions of sexuality mesh with education to form discernible patterns, and identifies who benefits from current conceptions of sexuality. (IAH)

An examination of the extent to which Peruvian universities have addressed gender issues finds (1) student politics have been male-dominated and not made women's issues primary concerns, (2) faculty are predominantly male, and (3) the education field has not adopted a feminist agenda despite greater participation by women. (Author/MSE)

This study examined the choice of nonconventional fields of study by international women students at the undergraduate and graduate level. Using as subjects 150 graduate students (100 female and 50 male) and 100 undergraduate students (75 female and 25 male) from 10 universities in the United States, a field tested questionnaire was sent to 2500…

Data from recent international conferences and existing studies show that adult literacy research questions pursued by academicians and those pursued by practitioners are markedly different. Research concerns expressed by these two groups, in both developed and developing countries, are based on different assumptions regarding the nature,…

To improve the condition of women in education, women have utilized legislation, particularly federal legislation. Three main federal statutes have protected women's rights in education since 1972. These are the Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, the Women's Educational Equity Act passed in 1975, and the Vocational Amendments Act…

A comparison of mainstream and feminist theories to explain women's attainment of education in developed and emerging countries as it relates to individual achievement and life chances is presented. The questions of access to schooling and the years of education attained have become two critical indicators of women's progress. Mainstream theories…

By the year 2000, it is estimated that there will be 1 billion illiterates, 98% of whom will be in developing regions. Oral traditions and the preponderance of local languages and dialects are among the reasons the situation is so widespread. Illiteracy is linked to contextual factors in which social class distinctions, linguistic affiliations,…

This booklet discusses how to improve girls' education drawing on lessons from experience and proposing action for the future. In spite of significant international mobilization in favor of women and their rights to education, much remains to be done. While girls' enrollment has increased, gender inequalities persist at all levels of education,…