Gender in Education and Development

While the importance of female education has been widely recognised, gender disparity in education persists in a number of developing countries. The evidence from sub-Saharan Africa shows that the disparity is prominent both in access and quality. This paper attempts to discuss the issue of gender and education from the perspectives of "education and feminism" and "gender and development." Moser's framework of gender planning identifies strategic and practical gender needs. Although the original framework does not necessarily recognise schooling as a means for empowerment, this paper attempts to use the framework in clarifying gender needs in education and development at the levels of school and community/family. The concept of gender has made a substantive contribution towards better understanding of education and development. Studies in both gender and education should be academic as well as practical. Therefore they should continue to be in touch with the gender reality and the educational reality in order to further productive research and also to enrich each other.