1.3 Indicators of gender inequity
The concept of equal outcomes and the use of educational
achievement as an indicator of equity are also not straightforward. Formal
schooling is to a greater or lesser degree competitive and aims to produce
unequal results in examinations so that students can be selected for different
educational pathways. This is perhaps particularly the case in developing
countries, such as Malawi, with limited educational resources, where only a
small percentage of the age cohort are chosen to continue their education at
secondary level (Serpell, 1999). In using outcomes to judge gender equity in
this kind of educational system, there should therefore be differences within
groups rather than between groups of students (Levine cited in Gipps and Murphy,
1994). This may be judged in terms of educational achievement (formal
examination results) as well as participation in education (enrolment figures
and also regularity of attendance). Unequal outcomes between genders in formal
examinations may have several sources. Murphy considers that it is important to
distinguish between 'lack of achievement as an outcome of teaching and lack of
achievement arising from a lack of opportunity to learn. It is also evident that
the effects of psychosocial factors in assessment situations can mask students'
actual achievements' (1995:259). Gipps considers this a fundamental question in
equity and assessment.
...are group differences in measures 'real' or are
they the result of the measuring system? The answer, of course, is likely to be
'a bit of both' and what we need to do is to minimise the latter, while
understanding and articulating the causes of the former. (1995:280)
Where there are persistent differences between the two sexes in
either participation or achievement data in a given sector of education, this is
known as a gender gap (King and Hill, 1993). Gender disparity in enrolment,
persistence in school, repetition rates, examination success, employment and
promotion of teachers, are all possible indicators of inequity in an education
system.3
3 Definitions of education
indicators can be found at
www.unesco.org.
