Co-education and the erosion of gender stereotypes in the Zambian Copperbelt
Author(s)
Evans, AliceEditor(s)
Sweetman, CarolinePublication date
2014-03-20Keywords
Girls' educationCo-education
Single-sex education
Gender stereotypes
Gender equality
Gender and Development Journal
GaD
Country
Zambia
Metadata
Show full item recordJournal
Gender & DevelopmentDocument type
Journal articleLanguage
EnglishDescription
This paper explores how single-sex and co-education affect girls' and boys' gender beliefs and relations. Earlier research in sub-Saharan Africa suggests that co-educational schools are sites of male intimidation, violence, and unequal power relations. Meanwhile single-sex education is said to enhance girls' self-confidence, improve their academic scores, and enable them to act as leaders, in a safe space, absent of boys. However, recent qualitative research in the Zambian Copperbelt suggests that co-education may actually be more conducive to gender equality. Seeing girls demonstrate equal competence in mixed-sex classes can undermine gender stereotypes, on the part of girls and boys alike. The research also calls into question assumptions that single-sex education is necessarily better at enhancing girls' self-confidence and protecting them from intimidation and male violence. This article is hosted by our co-publisher Taylor & Francis. For the full table of contents for this and previous issues of this journal, please visit the <a href="http://www.genderanddevelopment.org">Gender and Development</a> website.Pages
15ISSN
1355-2074EISSN
1364-9221ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/13552074.2014.889346