Gender and Education at Makerere University, Uganda

Abstract

Education of teachers and students is crucial for the implementation of Uganda’s governmental goals regarding educational gender equity and equality and the achievement of United Nations Strategic Development Goals (SDG), especially Goal #4 relating to education and Goal #5 mandating gender equality. This chapter begins with an overview of the nation, its geography, history and policies with regard to education and gender. This is followed by a discussion of pedagogy and especially gender responsive pedagogy and the barriers to implementing it. The chapter continues with the methods, goals and results of a qualitative study designed to assess the understanding of gender and its practices of the staff and teacher trainees in the School of Education at Makerere University and offers recommendations and conclusions stemming from the study. Most students and staff have basic understandings of concepts such as gender, sex, and sexual harassment, but are unfamiliar with the idea of gender responsive pedagogy. While there are graduate level courses that focus on gender, undergraduate students have limited contact with relevant instructors or coursework. Recommendations take into account that, given the structure of the university and the way prospective teachers are trained, such gender-affirming steps as affirmative action policies, a gender mainstreaming department within the Academic Registrar’s Office and the presence of a School of Gender and Women Studies at the university have little impact on teacher trainees or their trainers.

Citation

Kagoda, A.M. (2019), "Gender and Education at Makerere University, Uganda", Demos, V., Segal, M.T. and Kelly, K. (Ed.) Gender and Practice: Insights from the Field (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 27), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 23-37. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-212620190000027002