Gender mainstreaming in teacher education policy

It is a strategy to change the process of policy design, implementation and evaluation by taking into consideration the gender specific and often diverse needs, priorities, interests and values of differently positioned men and women.

In order to do this, the first step is to investigate gender disparities in different areas and levels among students, teaching staff and administration.

In this regard, some of the following areas are analyzed: Once a problem is identified, a decision has to be reached as to whether it requires a policy intervention.

If so, efforts will be made to bring the matter and its possible solutions to the attention of relevant staff and decision-makers to make it a policy-requiring issue.

The institute may need to review the policies, programmes or office structures, and also introduce a gender equality perspective to strengthen them further and address the problems more effectively.

In the context of TEIs, the goals could range from increasing enrolment, addressing quality, acquiring resources, and mitigating high staff turnover to narrowing gender disparities.

The stated goals need to take into consideration the different gender related barriers women and men face to benefit equally and equitably.

The policy alternatives are derived from a research process that investigates the problem in an in-depth manner using either primary or secondary sources of data or both.

[2] Implementation refers to the actual practical activities that need to be carried out to realize the policy goals and objectives.

In the context of TEIs the data to be gathered on enrolment, performance and achievement, in-service training, promotion, leadership and administration are to be disaggregated by sex.