Higher Education and Women: Deconstructing the Rhetoric of the Education for All (EFA) Policy

Abstract

The Education for All initiative is one of the best known and most widely referenced policies in the development field. This paper investigates the extent to which the most recent EFA conference in Dakar (2000) addresses the complex issue of women and higher education. Two questions guide this inquiry. First, what are the basic concepts and definitions used in a feminist policy analysis? Second, to what extent, and in what ways is the topic of higher education and women referenced in the document (Dakar Framework for Action, 2000).2 Employing content analysis, this paper reveals the EFA policy's minimal attention to tertiary education for women throughout the world.

1. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Comparative and International Education Society Conference held at Stanford University, California, U.S.A., in March 2005.

2. Full text available at ⟨http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/ed_for_all/dakfram_eng.shtml⟩.

Notes

1. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Comparative and International Education Society Conference held at Stanford University, California, U.S.A., in March 2005.

2. Full text available at ⟨http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/ed_for_all/dakfram_eng.shtml⟩.

3. For details, please visit ⟨http://devdata.worldbank.org/edstats/td10.asp⟩.

4. Adapted from ⟨http://esdb.cdie.org/cgi‐bin2/broker.exe?_program = gedprogs.ged_theme_une_2.sas&_service  = default&sscode = UNE530542+&cocode = ALL⟩ retrieved 27 August 2005. UNESCO defines tertiary education as, Programs offered beyond ISCED levels 3 and 4. The first stage of tertiary education (ISCED level 5) is comprised largely of programs intended to train individuals for professional and technical positions. The second stage of tertiary education (ISCED level 6) offers programs designed for advanced study and original research.

5. See Upadhya (1996) and Young (1993) for discussion of the early WID framework.

6. For example, early works by Hartmann (1979), Eisenstein (1979) and Walby (1990) provide first thoughts in the field. Humm (1992), Donovan (1998), Nicholson (1997), Bates et al. (1995), and Stone (1994) have compiled readers and edited volumes with rich descriptions of the numerous categories of feminist thought, including Marxist feminism.

7. For articles that examine the WID movement with regard to women’s education in the governmental sector of nations, see Stromquist (1998).

8. See Moser (1993) for five approaches to development during this period.

9. A plethora of literature examines the WID and GAD movements, and the important role each played in our thinking about feminist issues pertaining to development.

10. The term, ‘childhood’, was not counted when used as an adjective with early, to suggest early childhood education, a topic related to but not directly included in this content analysis.

11. All derivations of these terms are included in the graph.

12. Full text available at ⟨http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/efa/JomtienDeclaration.pdf⟩.