A Global Compact on Learning - Brookings Institution

if the quality of service is poor, learning outcomes
will also be poor. Therefore, complementary interventions
are also needed to improve the quality of
learning.
The second needed action is to provide a safe environment
and girl-friendly school policies. 182 Often,
young people, especially girls, are unable to attend
secondary school due to security and safety concerns.
Secondary schools are usually further away
from home than primary schools; and as girls enter
puberty, they face increased risks, including sexual
and gender-based violence. A recent study in Nigeria
found that for boys and girls combined, living
20 minutes or more from the nearest secondary
school reduces the odds of school attendance
by 52 percent, with girls being disproportionately
affected by school distance. 183 Strategies that have
shown to enhance the safety and security of girls in
particular, and promote a more girl-friendly environment
include: the presence of female teachers;
the proximity of schools to girls’ homes; the availability
of boarding facilities and transportation
where schools are long distances from communities;
and clearly communicated and enforced codes
of conduct for students, teachers, and school personnel.
184 Uganda has had some success in reducing
tolerance for sexual harassment in school through
public campaigns and raising awareness of the issue
of sexual harassment by prominent women and
men, along with threatening harsher punishment
for violations, including imprisonment. 185 Teachers,
both male and female, should receive gender-sensitive
training so that they have equal expectations
of boys and girls in the classroom and give equal
class time and support to both. This includes working
with teachers to end stereotypes and practices
that discourage female students from certain areas
of study, such as mathematics and science. School
curricula should be reviewed to remove harmful
stereotypes that reinforce unhealthy and discriminatory
practices and replace them with positive examples
of gender equality. In Malawi, the Ministry
of Education, Science, and Technology established
the Gender Appropriate Curriculum unit to make
primary and secondary textbooks more gender
sensitive and to portray girls and women in more
positive roles. Training has also been provided for
school textbook writers and editors and for some
teachers to make their work gender sensitive. 186
Schools and teachers should also be linked with
community-based initiatives to combat genderbased
violence, given that much work is being done
at community levels in many countries that are generally
not well linked with schools.
The third needed action is to cultivate community
support and encouragement for ongoing learning
for both girls and boys. Community mobilization
and support networks can also play an important
role in ensuring that young people make the transition
to and complete secondary school. The media,
religious leaders, and other influential community
members can communicate with parents
and caregivers about the importance and benefits
of education, especially for girls. This may require
gender sensitization and girls’ education awareness
programs with the community to challenge social
norms that are biased against girls learning. For example,
in Malawi, which faces high dropout and absenteeism
rates among adolescent girls, a Save the
Children project established Bright Future Committees
to help keep girls in school. The committees,
comprising equal male and female representatives—including
students, teachers, parents, PTA,
school management, and influential community
members—led community-wide discussions on
the importance of sending girls to school and established
guidelines to respond to absenteeism and
sexual violence and abuse. The committees actively
followed up on children, especially girls, when they
dropped out of school to discuss with families the
barriers to keeping the girl in school and problem
solve with them on how they can address these barriers.
As a result, there was an increase in parent–
teacher and parent–student communication about
girls’ progress, and the girls received greater support
throughout their education careers. 187
High-quality mentoring programs have also been
associated with keeping more girls in school, with
girls most disadvantaged or at risk benefiting most.
Some studies reveal, however, that even when
positive effects are found, mentoring programs
A <strong>Global</strong> Compa c t on Learning: Taking Action on Educat i o n in Developing Countries
C e n t e r for Universal Educat i o n at Brookings
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