Education Research Gender, Education and Development - A Partially Annotated and Selective Bibliography

of oppressive social practices, but poverty continues to be a barrier to educational
opportunity, Structural adjustment policies have resulted in a deterioration in the quality
of education in the 1980s and 1990s.

Although access and enrolment have remained relatively equal, there has been an
increasing disparity in quality as between the rural and urban areas. District-wide
disparities in education participation also underscore the disadvantaged situation of
girls in remote and plantation locations. Social class is the major determinant of access
but this in turn relates to gender. Nonetheless the participation of females at all levels
has maintained an impressive profile wherever socio-economic circumstances permit.

Despite such a record there is one area of education where female disadvantage is
evident, namely technical and vocational training. This derives from gender-specific
curricular demarcation at school level and leads on to influence the labour market, so
that high levels of achievement be girls do not relate positively to human resource
development. Indeed unemployment rates among women have risen higher than those
of men in the last two decades.

The author summarizes the current situation in the following terms: "A dichotomous
perception of social and economic development has eroded some of the benefits of
education that should have accrued to women in the labour force and in the family
environment. Nevertheless, education has been perceived often in Sir Lanka as a basic
human right as well as an instrument of gender equity and social justice."

[Previous Page] [Top of Page] [Next Page]

<<   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   >>

More intriguing information