Review of the Literature

Building Gender Equity into the Definition of Quality 
Much of the literature includes equity as an essential factor of quality, taking the stance that no 
system of education can claim to be of good quality if it serves different groups in a society in 
significantly different ways (UNESCO 2004). This perspective on quality corresponds to 
“consistency,” the second of Harvey’s (1995) five competing conceptions of education quality 
through which education must provide for equivalent educational experiences for all. Equity 
concerns arise in relation to groups defined by socioeconomic status, location and proximity to 
schools, special needs, health status, religion, and gender. 
In many countries, females are among the most underserved groups (Assie-Lumumba and Sutton 
2004; Bah-Diallo 1997; UNESCO 2003; UNESO 2004). The arguments for educating girls are 
well known and will not be repeated here. An extensive literature has emphasized the economic 
and social benefits of educating girls and women and an equally extensive literature outlines 
successful strategies that might be adopted to encourage girls’ participation and success in 
education. 
The argument less frequently made is that quality is an important gender issue in and of itself, 
since poor quality education can have a disproportionately negative effect on girls. For example, 
in overcrowded and under-resourced classrooms, with teachers who are poorly prepared or 
simply overwhelmed by circumstances, boys’ traditionally assertive coping skills enable them to 
gain and keep teachers’ attention, while girls, who are taught to be demure and often lack 
confidence, are silenced (Leu 2002).
Poorly implemented active learning approaches can exacerbate this. Group work is the most 
frequently practiced form of active learning; girls can become peripheral within groups requiring 
good communication skills as well as in other forms of active learning which require confidence 
and assertiveness. They become marginalized in their own classrooms, mirroring the status they 
often have within their own societies and cultures. To be marginalized by classroom dynamics in 
this way adds up to diminished access to whatever learning is taking place. This, in turn, leads to 
ever-dropping participation, confidence, and achievement and is one factor leading to higher 
dropout and lower achievement rates for girls (Leu 2002; Mukudi 2002; Parkerson 2004).