Direct Scaling Implementation Project on Gender-Transformative Pedagogy in Africa

14 May 2025

3 min read

Female teacher lively interacting with her learners.

Challenge

The 2023 Africa Gender Index Report reveals significant gender inequalities across nearly all African countries. Inequalities span various areas, ranging from economic disparities to social inequalities and political underrepresentation. Economic, social and political differences often start with inequalities in education.

For example, in assuming that boys and girls should take up different subjects according to their gender or be assigned different roles or chores in the classroom according to their gender, teachers may unconsciously perpetuate stereotypes that limit both boys' and girls' participation and access to education.

Goals

Harmful gender biases and stereotypes present in the education system - from the attitudes and behaviours of teaching or administrative staff to depictions in textbooks - can be addressed and dismantled using a gender-responsive approach. To do so, teacher training will play a key role.

Our project works with education systems in Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and the wider pan-African region to embed gender-responsive pedagogy into teacher training programmes to support nationwide and regional uptake of gender-transformative pedagogy across early childhood, primary and lower secondary education. Gender-transformative pedagogy (or gender-responsive pedagogy, we use the terms interchangeably) refers to teaching approaches that recognise and address the different needs, experiences and challenges that learners may face based on their gender and that actively challenge and address gender biases and stereotypes. The goal is to provide all learners, regardless of gender, with the opportunity to succeed academically and socially.

The project will support:

The development of gender-transformative policies, curricula and teachers’ norms and standards, by providing technical input and advice to interested government stakeholders and organising consultation and co-creation with relevant stakeholders.
Research, evidence generation and knowledge development on gender-transformative teacher training, advocating governments to strengthen their capacity and increase government resources for initiatives on gender-transformative pedagogy.
Governments and stakeholders to attract the interest of donors to leverage additional funding and resources for the expansion or replication of existing initiatives on gender-transformative pedagogy.

Approach

The European Union launched the Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa (RTIA) to support African countries in improving teachers’ working conditions, education and training, ensuring schools have enough qualified and motivated teachers.

As part of the RTIA, VVOB joins Team Belgium in the Facility of the RTIA, alongside Belgium’s development agency Enabel and the Association pour la Promotion de l'Education et de la Formation à l'Etranger (APEFE), to support regional and national efforts for quality education. The Facility of the RTIA is managed by France, Finland and Belgium.

VVOB’s contribution to the RTIA focuses on implementing a regional project to scale gender-transformative pedagogy as part of teacher professional development for early childhood, primary and lower secondary education.

At the regional level, a hub for gender-transformative pedagogy provides technical advice to and supports learning and exchange between different initiatives, governments, implementers and financial partners working on and supporting gender-transformative pedagogy in pre- and in-service teacher training on the African continent and in the European Union. At country level the project supports scaling of existing gender-transformative pedagogy initiatives in Kenya, South Africa and Ghana.

By the end of the programme

Regional partnerships, knowledge exchange and development on teacher professional development for gender-transformative pedagogy are strengthened.
The capacity of Kenyan government partners to implement teacher professional development for gender-transformative pedagogy in junior schools is enhanced.
The capacity of South African government and civil society stakeholders to deliver scalable teacher professional development initiatives for gender-transformative pedagogy in early childhood education is strengthened.
The capacity of Ghanaian government institutions (MoE, Ghana Education Services, National Teaching Council) to support gender-responsive teacher professional development in guidance and counselling for junior high schools is strengthened.