Gender Inclusion in TVET: An Examination of Sustainable Interventions In Selected TVET Institutions In Kenya
Felister Wanyaga Munyi
Thika Technical Training Institute
Sammy Cheruiyot
Thika Technical Training Institute
Keywords: Gender inclusion, TVET institutions, sustainable interventions, Kenya
Abstract
Sustainable development calls for participation of all persons. The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 5 aims at achieving gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. Education has a critical role to play in addressing issues of gender equity and equality in Africa. Integrating gender perspectives in Technical and Vocational Education & Training (TVET) institutions is sound governance and will help to strengthen the impact of gender mainstreaming. Empowering women requires addressing structural issues such as unfair social norms and attitudes as well as developing progressive legal frameworks that promote equality between women and men. This paper was based on a study that examined sustainable gender equity interventions in selected public TVET institutions in Kenya. The study adopted a mixed method research design and 452 respondents were sampled from the four (4) selected public TVET institutions. The public TVET institutions were purposively selected because they had established gender centers that were assumed to be coordinating gender equity interventions. The study respondents consisted of institution managers (registrars, personnel officers, deans of students, heads of academic departments and the heads of gender centers, senior academic staff and students), from various departments in the institutions. Data for the study was collected during the months of April to June 2019. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaires for students and academic staff, semi structured interview guides for the managers and coordinators of gender centers, meetings, observation guides and a document analysis guide. The study focused on interventions related to access to TVET education by women, Curriculum transformation (Inclusion) and staff promotion and development. Mixed methods were used to analyze the data. The findings from this study reveal that there are a number of impediments to the implementation of sustainable gender equity interventions including inadequate funding for the activities geared towards enhancing gender equity, lack of gender awareness among students, staff and institution managers, negative attitudes towards gender issues and lack of a clear gender policy guidelines. The study recommends that both the national and county levels of government, as well as other stakeholders in the TVET education sector and in curriculum development, must ensure the integration of practical tools to support programs that address the equitable access to, and retention in TVET institutions. TVET education and training should be made relevant by undertaking a major curriculum review preceded by a research and needs assessment, to establish the challenges posed by the Constitution and the skills needs for achieving Vision 2030. It is further necessary to incorporate gender considerations into activities to develop curricula and learning materials, and to capture sex-disaggregated data in all aspects of TVET; Ensuring deliberate action to promote or appoint qualified women to decision-making positions or positions of power and influence in the TVET sector.
