Gender Education and Equality in a Global Context

Abstract

What does gender equality mean for young men and women in poor communit- ies across different countries? The Millennium Development Goals aim to achieve basic education for all by 2015. But can such global agendas address national and local gender inequalities and will they empower women through education? New research on gender education makes an important contribution to this global debate. Shailaja Fennell and Madeleine Arnot have brought together leading inter- national scholars and a new generation of researchers working within develop- ment studies, gender studies and education. The result is a thought-provoking book that offers an opportunity to engage critically with existing and emergent conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches. The book is split into three well-defined sections that: • reconceptualise the definitions of gender equality used by various social scientific disciplines, international organisations and policy makers; • illustrate the methodologies used to collect the voices of young men and women and their teachers, telling stories of their success in lifting the burdens of poverty and negotiating traditional gender relations through small but significant acts of agency; • trace the impact of global gender agendas on national education policies, such as citizenship education, poverty reduction strategies, the education of the female citizen and feminist activism around adult women’s learning. Gender Education and Equality in a Global Context is an invaluable introduc- tion to the range of conceptual frameworks and innovative research methods that address contemporary issues of gender education and development.