This thematic study consists of case studies of Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda, as well as, a review of studies undertaken over the past ten years on education in Africa with particular attention to girls' and secondary education. Gender equity at the primary level has been the focus of considerable attention within the Education for All Framework of Action, but much less so at the secondary level. Evidence of gender inequity and inequality in terms of access, retention and performance in secondary education in SSA raises many questions. While transition rates from primary to secondary are higher for girls than boys, and the repetition rates are lower, girls still significantly trail behind boys in graduation and enrollment rates. The purpose of this study is to document and analyze the extent and nature of gender disadvantage in junior and senior secondary education, to analyze the causes of this disadvantage, and to identify strategies that may be effective in reducing or eliminating it. This study was prepared as part of the Secondary Education and Training in Africa (SEIA) initiative which aims to assist countries to develop sustainable strategies for expansion and quality improvements in secondary education and training. All SEIA products are available on its website: www.worldbank.org/afr/seia.

Since gender entered the development discourse in the Seventies, African countries have increasingly taken the concept on board in policy and practice. This concern may be due to either one or a combination of the following factors: the ideological positioning of African countries, demands by their donors and development partners, and demands by organised local groups and NGOs. Gender in the development discourse ought to transform power relations between men and women and shift them to social relations that reflect their equal access to productive resources, opportunities and social and material benefits. The result of such actions should be an achievement of comparable status of women and men. This volume, initiated by OSSREA, seeks to examine in more depth, issues regarding the gender-power imbalance in sub-Saharan African countries, with a specific focus on the eastern and southern African regions. The chapters in this book present research that examines and analyses the effectiveness and efficiency of gender mainstreaming policies, strategies and projects developed and implemented by national and international actors. The themes inter-weave with each other although they address gender issues in specific countries and specific contexts. This can be explained by the shared colonial and post-colonial heritage of African countries. It is useful, therefore, to view the structure of the book as a spiral of inter-connected issues that address similar themes, approaching them from different levels. Purely for ease of reading, the contributions have been organised into three parts, with over arching themes that at first glance may seem not to fit well together. A theme that runs through all the chapters is the persistence of patriarchal values and attitudes in Africa and its constraining effect on the achievement of gender equity and equality.

"The education of girls and women is important not only as a matter of respecting a basic human right for half the population but as a powerful force for economic development and achieving social goals such as enhanced health, nutrition and civic involvement. This Atlas presents the latest data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics on trends in educational access and progression, from pre-primary through tertiary levels and adult literacy, with special attention to the all-important issue of gender equality. These trends are depicted through colour-coded maps that make it easy for readers to visualize global and regional trends and to understand how they are shaped by factors such as national wealth and geographic location." -- P. [4] of cover.

The 2019 Gender Report is based on a monitoring framework first introduced in the 2016 Global Education Monitoring Report. In addition to focusing on gender parity in education participation, attainment and learning achievement, the framework examines broad social and economic contexts (gender norms and institutions) and key education system characteristics (laws and policies, teaching and learning practices, learning environments, and resources). The framework also looks at the relationship between education and selected social and economic outcomes. For instance, a move towards parity in education attainment may increase women's labour force participation rates, but low levels of labour force participation feed into existing norms and may constrain expansion of education opportunities for women. [Publisher summary]

The Department for International Development (DFID) is the British government department responsible for promoting development and the reduction of poverty in sites in developing and transition countries around the world. This paper focuses on the education dimension of poverty reduction, and specifically the attainment of the International Development Targets for education, which are to: achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE) by 2015; and demonstrate progress toward gender equality and the empowerment of women by eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005. Section 1 underlines the importance of education as a basic human right, a right which promotes other rights and responsibility that contribute to economic and social development. Section 2 defines the scale and geography of the challenge, noting that it is in sub-Saharan Africa that the size and complexity of the challenge is greatest. Section 3 posits the argument that the experiences of the past decade--positive and negative--point to a set of important lessons which should inform the work of governments and the wider international community, lessons that include the central role of government and the need for policies inclusive of all children. Section 4 identifies priorities and strategies for action, arguing that for targets to be achieved there must be sustained commitment by national governments to sound, long-term policies that recognize the strategic contribution of primary education to development. Section 5 outlines a broad, threefold strategy for DFID: (1) contributing to the development and coordination of international commitment, policies, and programs designed to achieve UPE and Education for All; (2) strong, well-targeted country programs that will provide strategic assistance to governments and societies committed to achieving UPE and gender equality; and (3) knowledge and research strategies and outcomes that will contribute to the ability of the international community to learn lessons, share experience, and monitor progress. Section 6 underscores the importance of developing capacity to monitor progress toward the targets, and for DFID to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of its contribution to achieving UPE and gender equality. (HTH)

Lessons in School Improvement from Sub-Saharan Africa describes the planning, delivery and evaluation of an improvement programme by EducAid. The evaluation showed that children in schools, whose teachers had taken part in the programme, made more progress in literacy, attendance and behaviour than children in control schools.