Constructing a New Vision: Undoing Gender through Secondary Education in Honduras

Abstract

This article presents results from a qualitative study on how the Honduran secondary education programme, Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial (SAT), attempts to ''undo gender'' (Deutsch 2007: 122) by encouraging students to rethink gender relations in their everyday lives in a way that reflects their increased consciousness of gender equality. My findings suggest that SAT increased women's gender consciousness and this heightened their desire for change in the domestic sphere. In some instances, women were able to negotiate a new sharing of responsibilities with their spouses. There are several features of SAT that make it a transformative innovation in education: (1) gender is mainstreamed into the curriculum; (2) gender is linked with the larger concept of justice; (3) students engage in reflection, dialogue and debate; (4) teachers are given the opportunity to reflect critically on their understanding of gender in professional development sessions; and (5) it emphasises that undoing gender requires change among individuals and in social structures such as the family.Re´sume´-É LABORER UNE NOUVELLE VISION : DÉ FAIRE LE GENRE À TRAVERS L'ENSEIGNEMENT SECONDAIRE AU HONDURAS -Cet article pre´sente les re´sultats d'une e´tude qualitative sur l'effort du programme d'enseignement secondaire hondurien, Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial (SAT), de « de´faire le genre » (Deutsch 2007: 122), en encourageant les e´le`ves a`repenser les relations entre les sexes dans leur vie quotidienne de manie`re a`refle´ter leur conscience accrue pour l'e´galite´des sexes. Mes conclusions sugge`rent que le SAT a renforce´la prise de conscience des femmes pour les questions de genre, ce qui a intensifie´leur souhait de changement dans le milieu familial. Dans certains cas, les femmes ont e´te´en mesure de ne´gocier un nouveau partage des responsabilite´s avec leurs conjoints. Plusieurs caracte´ristiques du SAT en font une innovation transformatrice de l'e´ducation: (1) L'e´galite´des sexes est inte´gre´e dans le programme. (2) L'e´galite´des sexes est relie´e a`la notion plus vaste de justice. (3) Les e´le`ves engagent une de´marche de re´flexion, de dialogue et de de´bat. (4) Le corps enseignant a l'occasion de re´fle´chir dans un esprit critique a`sa conception du genre lors de sessions de de´veloppement professionnel. (5) Enfin, ce programme souligne que la de´construction du genre exige un changement chez les individus ainsi que dans les structures sociales telles que la famille.Zusammenfassung -EIN NEUER BLICK: GESCHLECHTER ENTFALTEN DURCH SEKUNDARBILDUNG IN HONDURAS -In diesem Artikel werden Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Untersuchung vorgestellt, die sich mit dem honduranischen Sekundarbildungsprogramm Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial (SAT) befasst. Das Programm soll helfen, ,,Geschlechter abzubauen'' (Deutsch 2007: 122), indem Schu¨le-rinnen und Schu¨ler angeregt werden, die Geschlechtsrollenbeziehungen in ihrem Alltag zu u¨berdenken, und zwar so, dass ihre erho¨hte Sensibilita¨t fü r die Gleichberechtigung von Frauen und Ma¨nnern zum T...

Encountering Culture through Gender Norms in International Education: The Case of Volunteers in Ecuador

“…It applies Swidler's (1986) notion of 'unsettled lives' to the comparativists' framework of undoing gender (Deutsch, 2007;Mehran, 2009;Murphy-Graham, 2009).…”

“…Focused on cultural differences, participants see gender inequality in a way they cannot when burdened by primary institutions of socialization at home like the family, school, and nation. Gaining gender consciousness is a key step in undoing gender (Murphy-Graham, 2009). Findings inform comparative education theory about the doing and undoing of gender, while still demonstrating concrete program impacts on students for international education practitioners.…”

“…This paper argues that, when they are focused on cultural differences, participants are able to see gender inequality in a way they cannot at home. This increased gender consciousness is a key component in undoing gender (Murphy-Graham, 2009). These programs stop short, however, of providing opportunities for less gendered or more equal social interaction (Deutsch, 2007).…”

School quality and its association with agency and academic achievements in girls and boys in secondary schools: Evidence from Bihar, India

“…Less studied student outcomes are those related to adolescents' agency and gender role attitudes (Chisamya et al, 2012;Doggett, 2005;Murphy-Graham, 2009;Shah, 2011). Even less studied are health-related outcomes, including awareness and practices related to sexual and reproductive matters (Mensch et al, 2001).…”

“…For example, a study that evaluated the Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial (Tutorial Learning System or SAT) programme, a coeducational lower and upper secondary education programme, in Honduras reports that a school curriculum that links gender with the larger concept of justice, engages students and teachers in critical reflection and dialogue, and that emphasises the need for change among both individuals and the social structure can give students the opportunity to engage in critical reflection and discourse about gender, which in turn can contribute to increased gender consciousness and heighten their desire for change towards gender equality (Murphy-Graham, 2009). Likewise, a study of the Loreto Day School in India reports that a school culture that promotes a 'curriculum of agency,' which attempts to build confidence and a sense of capacity within students through participation in co-curricular programmes and other enabling activities as well as an academic curriculum which supports the academic development of all students and prepares them for examinations has been able to provide girls with a range of opportunities to exercise leadership and initiative, question the social position of women and girls, and develop practical strategies to effect change and achieve their goals (Doggett, 2005).…”