Constructing a New Vision: Undoing Gender through Secondary Education in Honduras
Abstract
This article presents results from a qualitative study on how the Honduran secondary education programme, Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial (SAT), attempts to "undo gender" (Deutsch 2007: 122) by encouraging students to rethink gender relations in their everyday lives in a way that reflects their increased consciousness of gender equality. My findings suggest that SAT increased women's gender consciousness and this heightened their desire for change in the domestic sphere. In some instances, women were able to negotiate a new sharing of responsibilities with their spouses. There are several features of SAT that make it a transformative innovation in education: (1) gender is mainstreamed into the curriculum; (2) gender is linked with the larger concept of justice; (3) students engage in reflection, dialogue and debate; (4) teachers are given the opportunity to reflect critically on their understanding of gender in professional development sessions; and (5) it emphasises that undoing gender requires change among individuals and in social structures such as the family.
- Publication:
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International Review of Education
- Pub Date:
- November 2009
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2009IREdu..55..503M
- Keywords:
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- Gender Equality;
- Gender Relation;
- Hegemonic Masculinity;
- International Development Association;
- Domestic Sphere