01 - Department of Education and Communities - NSW Government

A FAIR GO FOR ALLGENDER EQUITYPut in place agender equitystrategyprovidingfairness forboys and girls.Implementation of theGender Equity StrategyNSW was the first state with agender equity strategy reflectingthe national gender equityframework. The implementation ofGirls and Boys at School: GenderEquity Strategy 1996-2001 hasconcentrated on an introduction togender as an educational issue anda whole-of-school approach togender relations.To facilitate the implementation ofthe strategy the Department hasfocused on:• developing teacherunderstanding of gender as aneducational issue• building constructive relationswithin and between the sexes• providing opportunities forparents and care givers to joinin discussion on the waysgender may affect theirchildren• monitoring evaluation andreview of the effectiveness ofthe strategy to generate futuredirections.To support further gender equityinitiatives across the state, theDepartment:• appointed three officers withinstate office and identified 40district Student Services andEquity Coordinators tosupport district initiatives• provided statewide Internettraining for 120 district genderequity network personnel• developed a training anddevelopment package, Foodfor Thought and Action,designed to assist schools inmaking a start with theintroduction of the GenderEquity Strategy• provided all schools with theGender Equity Resource Kit,Part One and resourcesamounting to $435,000• distributed a regularnewsletter, GenderWrite toStudent Services and EquityCoordinators, gender equitynetwork personnel and otherinterested parties• briefed all districtsuperintendents on the natureof the strategy andcommenced briefings ofprincipals• commenced briefings oftertiary institutions to enablethem to include gender as aneducational issue in preservicetraining for teachers• developed a booklet, GenderInclusive Language for SchoolCommunities for distributionto schools• introduced student welfareconsultants to Boys-Talk, aprogram for upper primaryand secondary boys aboutmasculinity, non-violence andrelationships.The pilot project, Whole SchoolApproaches to Integrating Equity,was conducted in thirteen schoolsin two districts. The projectexamined the links between issuesof gender and other equity factors,the school’s curriculum, practicesand policies and student learningand social outcomes.84 DSE Annual Report 1997