EDUCATORS FOR GENDER EQUITY: PROMOTING GENDER EQUITY IN AN INTERNATIONAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Abstract

Disparities, bias, and inequities persist between girls and boys as the result of gender inequities in schools (Sadker and Sadker, 1994). In this participatory action research (PAR) project, I investigated how educators and educational leaders promote gender equity in an international elementary school. The project took place in the elementary school at Escola American de Campinas (EAC) where I was the principal at the time of the project. I led the PAR project's co-practitioner research (CPR) group comprising five elementary educators through three cycles of inquiry. At the completion of the inquiry cycles, five themes emerged and were unanimously promoted by the CPR group as the project's findings: (1) gender is a learned construct; (2) girls miss out; (3) storytelling is a critical transformation tool; (4) crossing boundaries strengthens relationships and learning; and (5) the people closest to the issues are best suited to discover solutions. My use of the ecologies of knowing (Guajardo et al., 2016) in the design and implementation of the inquiry cycles and activities informed a progressive, thorough investigation centered on the initial insights derived at the level of self. It was at the level of self that profound connections regarding gender and subsequent learning were experienced and shared by the members of the CPR group. From the level of self, recognition and interaction with gender at the organization and community levels were identified and recommendations created to address gender and gender inequity in the elementary school at EAC. The process of coming to understand at the level of self, then using this knowledge and experience to inform work at organization and community levels is the basis for this PAR project's theory of change to promote gender equity in an international elementary school.