Teacher as an Agent of Change
Major influences on gender role socialisation includes the family.Parents have an impact on their children’s gender role identity inmany ways. The process of identity formation that begins within thehome gets re-established and consolidated within the school.Therefore, teacher acquires significance in building the child’sspecific location in the world. The teacher plays an important rolein maintaining, modifying and re-shaping the understanding thestudents’ location in terms of their class-class, gender-religion,sexuality and region.
Trending
As gender issues are prevailing in society in all areas of life, tominimise these gender issues, education is must. In the educationalsector, teacher is the foundation stone. Teacher can act only as anagent of change in bringing gender equality. Thus, in the process ofgender sensitisation, teacher as an ‘agent of change’ plays thesignificant role in-
1.Changing the mindset of the younger generation of the society.
2.Changing the ideas, beliefs of the students regarding their genderrole.
3.Changing the mindset to shape a child’s gender roles.
4.Changing the pedagogical and curricula to bring equality ineducation.
5.Changing the school environment to a more gender sensitive one.
6.Changingthe stereotypical perception of the students as well as the parents.
A teacher must therefore constantly be aware of the fact that his/heraction, attitude, approaches, manner will help to shape the child’sgender role. For the teacher to bring about change in the society,they should be given pre-hand knowledge over the issue of genderbias. In the process of promoting gender equality, teachers role ismulti-folded. By playing varied roles in the process of ‘schooleducation’ teachers can bring ‘changes’ in the perception ofthe students. These roles or activities or approaches are the meansof redressing gender inequalities in education or in the school.
Role of Teacher in Redressing the Gender Inequalities in School
Teachers are central to promoting gender equalities in education. Being gender neutral, teachers can build a gender friendly classroom as well as school environment, where gender equality can easily be promoted and achieved. The destiny of the nation is being shaped in the classroom. So from and through the classroom, teachers can cultivate the sense of gender equality. In redressing gender inequalities-
a. Language:- A teacher can and should use inclusive andgender neutral language in the classroom.
b.Curriculum:– Teacher should emphasis upon the inclusive nature ofthe curriculum.
c.Participation:- To breakdown stereotypes, teacher should monitorand ensure that everyone is encouraged to participate in theclassroom activities.
d.Socialisation:- School is not only a place where students acquireacademic knowledge, but a place where students become socialised andlearn to assume particular roles in society. Therefore, teachersshould encourage the same positive behaviour from girls and boys,avoiding assigning task that involve stereotyped gender roles.
e. ‘Gender bias’ as topic of discussion:- Teachers canredress the gender bias or gender stereotypes by discussing genderbias and gender equity with the students, which will help to increasestudents’ awareness towards their gender roles.
f. Gender sensitive pedagogy:– Teachers should apply thoseteaching methodology which give girls and boys equal participation toparticipate. Teacher must opt for innovative pedagogical approacheswhich include role plays, group discussions, case studies,demonstration etc. which are necessarily gender sensitive.
Continue reading
g. Recognition of differences:- Teachers can play the mostsignificant role in mitigating the gender biases in the school byrecognising the differences not marked by status but by diversity. Tofacilitate the real participation of all students in schoolactivities, it is essential to work with the principles ofrecognising differences.
h.Gender responsive lesson planning:- Teacher should develop theskill to develop gender responsive lesson plans that take intoconsideration the specific needs of both girls and boys in all theteaching material, and other classroom activities and arrangements.
Onaccount of the discussion, we can rightly say that teacher can playthe most significant role and he/she can act as the key factor inbringing gender equality in the school. Teachers bear theresponsibility of shaping the child. Therefore, by applying theprinciples of ‘gender equality’ in the academic process, teacherscan eradicate ‘gender bias’ in the field of education.
