作者：欧阳凤，外号“山羊”，曾在国内从事乡村儿童公益教育工作7年，目前在伦敦大学学院（UCL）教育社会实践系攻读教育、性别与国际发展硕士学位，关注教育公平、乡村儿童阅读科学与早期教育。
This essay was written for the UCL EDPS0048 course, Gender, Education, and Development (Term 1, 2023/24), and received a merit grade. It is my first academic essay at UCL, and the feedback highlighted the need for more specific analysis, as well as improvements in referencing and grammar.
The role of teachers in supporting gender equality in science education in rural primary schools in China
1. Introduction
More and more countries are recognized that Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEMM) education and research play a significant role in the national development and productivity as well as social well-being.(Freeman, Brigid & Magginson, Simon & Tytler, Russell. 2019). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is tied to achieve gender equality in STEM access and engagement. Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; Goal 4: High-quality education. But regardless of their degree of progress, the majority of nations have not yet attained gender parity in STEM fields(UNESCO, 2017). There are still existing gender bias in STEM education.Studies show that gender inequality starts from the earliest days of a child’s schooling through to higher education and the working world (UNESCO, 2017). There are more than 50% of individuals in 34 countries associated science with males more than with females (UNICEF,2020).
In recent decades, there has been an increase in countries that have incorporated science subjects into the national curriculum in primary schools to ensure that every student can obtain basic science education. And there is more discussion about the empowerment of girls in STEM. STEM education not only can equip girls with scientific knowledge and skills such as critical thinking, questioning, co-operation and communication (Yabas, D., Kurutas, B. S., & Corlu, M. S. ,2022), but also can empower girls and women to cultivate the confidence, agency, and educate them the tools to question key issues in the world around them (UNICEF, 2020).
The government and NGOs in China also have become increasingly aware of the importance of science education. It should be noted in advance that in China, the concept of STEM education was introduced from the West, and there is no consensus on a simple and single model of STEM education (Tam, H., Chan, A. Y., & Lai, O. L. 2020). In this article, STEM education in the Chinese context mainly refers to science education. In 2017, China's Ministry of Education promulgated the Compulsory Education Primary School Science Curriculum Standards, which stipulates that the starting grade of primary school science courses will be adjusted from the original third grade to the first grade,and from then primary school Science courses have become China’s national basic curriculum (China's Ministry of Education,2017).
There are lots of debates about what is science in China. Many people just think science is a technical and skill, but they don’t understand that science is a ‘general term for the knowledge system of human beings to explore and study and realize the law of change of everything in the universe, the pursuit of truth, curiosity about nature, honesty, skepticism, openness, tolerance, truth-seeking, cooperation and so on required by scientific exploration’ (Wu Guosheng, 2016).
The author of this article joined the NGO called Dandangzhe Foundation in 2016 and lead the fun science project. Fun Science project has conducted training for rural science teachers and provided fun, hands-on science education to rural children. Many children in rural China come from poor families, and poverty significantly affects children’s educational investments and learning (Brown, P. H., & Park, A. 2002). Because of the limitations of the rural economy and mindset, local governments and schools do not pay enough attention to science education, many rural primary schools have science classes not implemented properly. Teacher shortages in rural areas force science teachers to teach many subjects, and ‘the pressure of large class sizes also makes it extremely difficult to assess’ (Li et al., 2020). In some schools, these teachers themselves lack scientific knowledge and lack professionalism, they use ‘cramming teaching, requiring students to memorize books by rote, and ignore students inquiry awareness’(Liu Kui ,2022).
Primary school science classrooms are a major place for rural children to gain science education. “It is obvious that the proficiency of science teachers determines the quality of science education” (LiM., Cai, L., Chen, D., & Ye, J.,2022). However, a study shows Chinese educators 93% believing some jobs are better suited to one gender; More than average educators agree that men are better leaders than women; and they thinking men make better mathematicians and scientists (Cunningham, C. 2023). Considering the problems are exist, it is foreseeable that students in rural primary schools in China, especially urban rural girls, will face great challenges in obtaining high-quality and equal science education.
“Although a continued emphasis on girls' education can exacerbate gender tensions in communities and is an incomplete strategy to promote gender equality” (Glick, 2008, cited in Manion, 2012), especially when science education is still in its preliminary stages of development in rural areas in China. “But We cannot afford to live in a world where scientific and Technological solutions are desperately needed – and exclude half of the world’s talent” (UNICEF 2020).
This essay will focus on gender equality in science education in China’s rural primary schools and analyze how the role of teachers affects gender equality by using Kabeer’s education and empowerment theoretical framework. There are many academic interpretations of the theory of empowerment, and because it is controversial and difficult to evaluate. we need to first determine for this article how we define and use empowerment。 We will attempt to employ measurements of empowerment to evaluate gender equality in science education in primary schools in rural China. The next section will interpret education and empowerment as the theoretical framework.
2.Education and empowerment as the theoretical framework
Empowerment is a term already used by many educational sections, including governments or NGOs or individuals that want to have the power to make a difference. But what is the definition of empowerment and how to measure it? The concept of empowerment is used without clearly adequate definition, and it has become somewhat of a “buzzword”. Because of the 'fuzziness' of empowerment, it allows breathing space for activists to define and work it out in action in their contexts to enhance agency among the people who are in need (Batliwala 1993, Cited in Kabeer 1999). The reasons we choose Kabeer’s empowerment theoretical framework are Kabeer has developed a clear concept and measurement of empowerment, and it can give us a lens to think about the issue we are facing.
Kabeer argues that empowerment is due to being in a state of disempowerment and conceptualises empowerment in terms of the capacity to make choices by those who have been denied this capacity (Kabeer, 2005). In other words, empowerment is a process of change. But in addition, Kabeer thinks that empowerment is not only a change in the lives of individuals, but we also want to see changes in these wider social constraints, especially in a context where cultural values constrain people’s ability to make strategic life choices, because structural inequality cannot be solved by individuals alone.
“Decision-making in some form is at the heart of some of the best-known attempts to conceptualize power” (Lukes, 1972; McElroy,1992, Kabber,1995). Making a choice is only meaningful if we could have chosen otherwise. “Empowerment refers to the expansion of people's ability to make strategic life choices to control over their own lives and to negotiate better terms in their relationships with others”; They are also able to participate in the process of reshaping the equality of men and women in society and are better able to conform to their perceptions. (Kabber,2011). Kabeer believes that the ability to exercise choice is elaborated through three indivisible, closely interrelated dimensions: Resouces (pre-conditions) Agency(process) and Achievements(outcomes) (Kabeer 1999).
The first dimension of empowerment is resources. Resources are multifaceted and include both material resources in the more conventional economic sense but also the various human and social resources that serve to enhance the ability to exercise choice. Such resources may take the form of actual allocations and future claims and expectations".(Kabeer,1999).
The second dimension of empowerment relates to agency- the ability to define one's goals and act upon them. “Agency is about more than observable action”, it also encompasses the meaning, motivation, and purpose that individuals bring to their activity. It can take the form of “bargaining and negotiation, deception and manipulation, subversion, and resistance as well as more intangible, cognitive processes of reflection and analysis” (Kabeer ,2005). In this essay, we use the positive meaning of agency about power, it refers to people's capacity to define their own life choices and to pursue their own goals, even in the face of opposition from others. In the science education context, we think agency is the children’s willingness and motivation to explore unknown and learn science in an active way.
The third dimension of empowerment is measuring achievement. Resources and agency together influence the achievement, and indicate people have the capacity to make decision. Achievement refers to people's ability to live the lives they want and to realize their potential to have a way of 'being and doing'".What need to be stressed is that the achievement is people's capacity to make choices regarding the constraints without punishingly high cost.
What needs to be emphasized is Kabeer's empowerment theory cannot be “conceptualized simply in terms of choice but must incorporate an assessment of the values embedded in agency and choice, values that reflect the wider context” (Kabeer,2005). In other words, it is necessary to distinguish between "status" and "autonomy" as criteria for evaluating agency and choice. People with high status often have more autonomy, but those with weak status have a greater need for empowerment and to enhance their autonomy to make choices.
In case of Kabeer’s empowerment framework has clear measurements, it can give us a specific dimension to analyze how Chinese primary rural science teachers support gender equality in science education. This framework also considers changes in values and structure because structures shape individual resources, agencies, and achievements. Kabeer's empowerment approach therefore is appropriate for us in the subsequent examination of the complex role of teachers in supporting gender equality in rural of China. However, every theory has its limitations and drawbacks to explain an issue, especially in complex education contexts.
In the next section, the essay will provide some context of gender inequality in science education in the global and rural areas of China context.
3. Gender inequality in science education in the global and rural areas of China context
There are many concepts on gender equality in international conventions. However, what gender equality means concerning education is heavily debated. In this essay, we use the definition that “gender equality refers to the right of men and women to non-discrimination in educational opportunities and in outcome” (Subrahmanian,2005). In other words, “boys and girls have equal access to good-quality education, equal rights and opportunities to successfully complete schooling and in making educational choices” (OECD,2013).
Researchers, educators and policymakers around the world will not deny that women have made advances in science over the past few decades. However, the gender gap in science has not disappeared (Hanson, S. L.,1996). Women underrepresented in STEM is a big theme in the international gender equality discourse. A data from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics shows that 107 countries covering the years 2015–2018 only 35% of all students in STEM-related fields of study are women (UNESCO,2021).
The first 12 years of schooling have a big impact on how students respond to science learning in the future, “all primary and secondary students must have equal opportunities to actively learn science” (Alexakos, K., & Antoine, W. (2003). However, some educational practices implemented in the classroom continue to hinder instead of encouraging female students explore science education (Alexakos, K., & Antoine, W,2003).
Females appear to be increasingly catching up with males in science, technology, engineering and maths-related disciplines, particularly in the sciences, as shown in international assessments such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) (UNESCO, 2015). Yet females are significantly underrepresented among the highest levels of achievement and strong gendered stereotypes prevail. For example, many girls are still less encouraged in STEM fields and have limited choices (if any) for their education and career development. A study supports the hypothesis that teachers would show a gender role bias by indicating that boys perform better in STEM disciplines (Hand, Sarah, et al.2017 ). Gender norms and gender stereotypes limit girls’ motivation, engagement and achievements in STEM.
In developing countries, “poverty is often associated with low levels of educational attainment and larger gender gaps in education” (Filmer, 2000). In China, the issue of Gender equality in science education is even more complex. There are lots of problems emerged in science education in China, such as “ the low overall level of scientific quality, unbalanced urban-rural and regional development; insufficient promotion of scientific spirit, and scientific and rational social atmospheres not strong enough, the effective supply of science popularization is insufficient” (2021 National Science Literacy Action Plan Outline (2021- 2035).
As we mentioned in the introduction section, although science have become China’s national basic curriculum since 2017, due to the differences in the policy implementation, school resources, principal's philosophy, teacher qualifications, etc. of each regional education bureau, the development of primary school science education is so slow. A rural primary school science teacher（Shanyang,2019） in China said:
“There is a shortage of teachers in our school. I am the only qualified science teacher in our school, other teachers from different subjects also teach science······In our area, science is a neglected subject, and teachers have fewer opportunities to get training.”
In China’s education contexts, “the qualified teachers refer to teachers who have at least the minimum academic qualifications required for teaching their subjects at the relevant level in a country, in an academic year”( Niancai, Liu., Zhuolin, Feng., & Qi, Wang. ，2024). The proficiency and quality of science teachers influence the quality of science education that children will receive in the classroom ( Li, M., Cai, L., Chen, D., & Ye, J. (2022). In a word, the opportunities and resources for children in rural China to obtain scientific education are not guaranteed.
There are many problems that need to be solved in science education in rural of China, even though, this is not the reason we could ignore the issue of gender inequality in science education in rural of China. Study shows that “teachers’ gender, age, experience, number of sons and daughters, and marital status were found to be related to gender grading bias, indicating that gender grading bias is indeed sensitive to teacher characteristics” (Lavy, 2008; Lavy & Sand, 2018, Doornkamp, L., Van der Pol, L. D., Groeneveld, S., Mesman, J., Endendijk, J. J., & Groeneveld, M. G. ,2022).
Considering the importance of the role of teachers and their significant effects on gender equality in science education, we will analyze deeper to think about how the role of teachers can affect gender equality by using the lens of empowerment theory.
Although this essay analyzes the role of teaches in supporting gender equality, it’s very important for us to consider the role of teachers in the education system, in other words, we cannot negative that rural teachers are also facing the deep-rooted obstacles and power structures in the rural of China.
In the next section, the essay will continue to discuss more about the gender issue of science education in primary schools in rural of China and will use the empowerment of theoretical framework to analyze the role of teachers in teachers in supporting gender equality in science education.
4. Analyze the role of teacher in supporting gender equality in science education in rural primary schools in China
4.1 Resource
In 2017, the Chinese Ministry of Education’s Notice on Issuing the “Compulsory Education Primary School Science Curriculum Standards” Jiaoji No. 2 [2017] proposed that “primary school science education can stimulate and protect children's curiosity and a thirst for information as well as students' scientific spirit and capacity for practical creativity are extremely important. And all localities should attach great importance to it and effectively strengthen primary school science education with the curriculum as the guide. Ensure that prescribed class hours are implemented(Chinese Ministry of Education,2017). Since then, the starting grade of the primary school science curriculum is adjusted to first grade. However, the limitation of economic and shortage of teachers makes the science curriculum hard to implement in rural primary schools in China.
Education resources in one of the dimensions of empowerment. As we can know, there is a lack of basic facilities for science education in rural primary schools. Even if there are state-supported laboratories, the laboratory utilization rate is very low due to the gap between related supporting facilities and teaching materials (Liu Kui,2022). A study shows in comparison to white males, young women, minorities, and children with disabilities received less encouragement and had fewer opportunities in and outside of the classroom connected to science and mathematics. (Alexakos, K., & Antoine, W. ，2003). Due to limited experimental resources in science classes, science teachers cannot ensure that every student can participate in scientific experiments.
The inequality in scientific education resources use may be affected by the gender concept of rural science teachers. For example, if rural science teachers think boys are lever than girls or boys are better at doing science experiments, girls will have relatively less access to scientific experimental resources than boys. In traditional science classes, when the teacher assigns experimental tasks, boys are responsible for controlling the experiments and girls are responsible for recording. Women are always in the role of subordination , discriminated against by men, while men are always dominant. “Girls have fewer opportunities to explore, discuss, and test their ideas in class; lower perceived support from teachers in helping them to learn” (Mujtaba & Reiss, 2013). As we can see, educational practices implemented in the classroom continue to hinder instead of encouraging female science students.
Kabeer's empowerment defines the resources encompass not just tangible assets in the traditional economic context but also diverse human and social resources that support and strengthen the capacity for decision-making.
Science teachers are the important human resources for children to learn science. However, the education obtained in these institutions is impacted by unfavorable teaching and learning settings, inadequate teacher preparation, and pedagogically dubious teaching methods. (Skrzypiec, Wyra, and Didaskalou, 2019). Researchers shows that the role model effect, students may change their behaviors and beliefs because of having a teacher or tutors who shares their own gender and therefore serves as a positive role model ( Xu, D., & Li, Q. (2018).
Also, there are fewer role models to inspire girls’ interest in STEM fields. A study shows that girls’ interest and confidence in their abilities increase when they are exposed to positive STEM role models. In science classes, many of the scientific contents and cases presented by teachers are male scientists. They rarely encounter female scientists or researchers, and there are very few female role models around them. In the life world of rural girls, women mostly hold positions such as farmers, housewives, and primary school teachers. There are few female role models engaged in STEM jobs. Few female role models around them can inspire them. Moreover, the textbooks used by science teachers or Most of the scientists shown in schools are mentored by men.
Observing and interacting with women who are experts in STEM fields improves girls’ attitudes towards STEM. Like hearing the stories of women – particularly women who look and sound like them – can help to debunk gender stereotypes and learn what it means to persevere. However, when girls Because fewer women study and work in STEM, these fields tend to perpetuate inflexible, exclusionary, male-dominated cultures that are not supportive of or attractive to women and minorities (Sandra Hanson,2010).
In short, the resources available to or required by girls in rural elementary school in China are scarce, mainly in terms of limited classroom resources due to economic constraints in rural areas, the lack of quality science teachers, and the scarcity of female science role models around them.
4.2 Agency
“Girls have lower self-confidence in their STEM abilities than boys in most countries” (UNICEF,2020).Disparities in girls' participation, interest, and enjoyment in STEM fields are associated with lower levels of self-confidence. As Kabeer’s empowerment theory emphasized, agency means “decision-making", but it can take other forms, like bargaining and negotiation, deception and manipulation. The positive agency means the sense of ‘power to’, it refers to people’s capacity to define themselves.
A study found that teachers tend to see “science and mathematics as a male domain and attribute Boys's success in this field to ability and girls’ attainments to effort”, while the actual test results for girls and boys do not show any differences (Sarouphim & Chartouny 2017:1). Gender norms and expectations impede the development and refinement of some talents, such as curiosity, confidence, and the ability to speak up in favor of potential solutions to issues.
Science education is a special subject in China and play a significant role in shaping the mindset of reason which is negatived from the history to modern China. “Many Chinese people do not understand that science is the general term for the knowledge system used by human beings to explore”, it is the pursuit of truth, curiosity about nature, and the honesty, skepticism, openness, tolerance and truth-seeking required by scientific exploration. The cutting-edge culture required for scientific innovation conflicts with China’s ‘traditional’ culture of ‘moderation’ (Wu Guosheng ,2016).
In science class, teachers always use the textbook to teach knowledge instead of empowering students, especially girls to ask why and questions about what they learn. Teachers’ attitudes and enthusiasm toward science are associated with primary school students’ enjoyment of learning science, whereas female teachers’ attitudes are especially associated with those of girls (Denessen, Vos, Hasselman & Louws, 2015). When students do not understand science and what’s the meaning to them, they will have little agency to make a change.
Although Kabeer's empowerment theory emphasizes the significance of structural change, it also acknowledges the role that individual agencies can play in combating gender inequality. Individuals cannot solve structural inequality in a setting where cultural norms limit women's capacity to make wise decisions in life.
Girls are sometimes self-limited and constrained by the role of gender. “Women and girls who face ethnic, racial, and linguistic discrimination are not excluded from STEM learning only because of their gender”. Some girls think they lack scientific thinking, do not have enough confidence to act, are afraid of making mistakes, dare not ask questions, and are constrained by gender. Their self-exclude and under-representation in science class is deeply rooted in unequal gender norms that tell us that girls are not cut out for subjects that require problem-solving and an inquisitive mind.
When we talk about the role of rural science teachers, we must also see that rural teachers are affected by traditional gender consciousness bias due to their own experiences and environment. The awareness of gender equality in science education has not been taken seriously by the whole society. Rural teachers have few opportunities to obtain gender education and learning. Even sex educators frequently lack of confidence,knowledge and skills to teacher a gender perspective sex education since they have not had enough professional training. (Mkumbo 2012,Zhao, P., Yang, L., Sa, Z., & Wang, X,2020). Therefore, many rural science teachers will unknowingly aggravate the gender inequality in science education.
Since 2016, the writer of the essay has led Fun Science program in DanDangZhe Foundation in China, which aimed at improving children’s interest in science in rural of primary school by providing hands-on science activities and easily found experimental materials. The role of rural teachers is mainly responsible for providing science materials to students and as a class facilitator to organize the activities. It was discovered that play-based learning allowed young children to respond in an good way that matched their developing understanding of sustainability and STEM. (Campbell, C., & Speldewinde, C.,2022). We found that when girls are encouraged to do hands-on things and solve problems by themselves, they have lots of motivation to learn and show confidence in learning science.
Besides, we invited many female scientists or nonfiction writers to share their stories of exploring science, after class, students had lots of questions to ask. For example, a female scientist teacher shared the topic of the sea, several children in the school gathered around to ask she questions, and a little girl wrote a small note: "After listening to your class, I was deeply inspired, determined to study hard and strive to be a researcher of underwater organisms in the future. Although I have not been to the seaside, from your content, it is like coming to the seaside in person, entering the underwater world, seeing strange Marine creatures, understanding a lot of Marine knowledge, and understanding the harm of animals."(Dandangzhe, 2016).
4.3 Achievement
Achievement is associated with resources and agency. In China, the state's expectations for elementary school science classes are broad, encompassing the development of individuals' scientific literacy and their future contributions to society and the state. " The science curriculum helps students maintain curiosity about natural phenomena, move from pro-nature to pro-science, initially recognize the natural world from a holistic view, understand the relationship between science, technology, society and the environment, develop basic scientific ability, form a basic scientific attitude and sense of social responsibility, gradually establish a correct worldview, outlook on life and values, and lay a good foundation for future learning as well as lifelong development. It helps to improve the scientific literacy of all people, promote economic and social development and the construction of a strong scientific and technological country" (Compulsory Education Curriculum Standards of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China, 2022).
However, China's top-down policy relies on local education bureaus as well as schools and science teachers to implement it. It’s hard to evaluate the achievements or outcomes in science education. Some teachers have responded that: science exams are completely paper based, including laboratory report cards are also for students to memorize down by rote (Ouyang feng 2019) .
Kabeer's theory of empowerment mentions that achievement is worth the potential that people have for living the lives they want, of achieving valued ways of `being and doing' without the punishingly high cost. We don't know if when a country child wants to be a scientist, is possible for them to achieve their dream? The achievement is also associated with the values, not all children want to become scientists, but is it possible to become a scientifically literate rational thinker in such a situation? Based on head counts, women comprise 33.3% of researchers worldwide in 2018.This information comes from statistics collected by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics for 107 countries between 2015 and 2018.That’s can tell the gender equality in science achievement is still not come.
A data Statistical Survey System on the Scientific Quality of Chinese Citizens (2022) suggests that the proportion of Chinese citizens with scientific quality reaches 12.93% from the perspective of different groups of people, the scientific quality of rural residents has increased relatively more among all kinds of groups, with the proportion of urban and rural residents with scientific quality reaching 15.94% and 7.96% respectively.
However, in the case of the epidemic, all kinds of schools have been closed, and there are so many rumors and fake news about the epidemic on the Internet that it is hard to convince the accuracy of the data.
In what ways can we assess the achievement of rural girls in science education?although In kabeer's empowerment theory,there is no specific method of assessment in sight.We can refer that girls are empowered means they have agency to participate in and contribute to science, have more choices and are able to make choices that strengthen their voices in science.
5. Conclusion
This foregoing analysis highlights the prominence of the role of teachers in supporting gender equality in science education in rural primary schools. By using kabeer's empowerment theory to analyze gender equality in science education in rural elementary school in China, we found that rural teachers influence gender equality in science education for rural children in terms of resources, agency, and achievement. The lack of science education resources that rural science teachers can provide to girls, the scarcity of science equipment, the lack of scientist role models around them, and the gender bias of rural science teachers exacerbate the lack of science education resources available to girls. And it is difficult for rural girls to be able to claim more resources when they have limited.
Rural girls' motivation to learn science is also affected by gender bias, with low levels of self-confidence and initiative undermining girls' interest in exploring science further. The essay also provides an NGO case study, Fun Science, which found that hands-on science lessons can stimulate girls' interest in science, and that providing role models for women scientists can encourage them to explore science further. Resources and motivation go hand in hand in influencing rural girls' scientific achievement.
The interdependence of individual and institutional change in empowerment processes has also been emphasized by the empowerment theory. Achieving gender equality in science education depends on changes the individual, but also the rural teachers and in the system. It is important to recognize that the gender bias of rural teachers is influenced by the environment in which they live and work, and that rural teachers themselves receive inadequate gender education and training. Therefore, empowering rural girls in science education also requires seeing changes in the gender attitudes of rural teachers as well as changes in social structures such as gender inequality in rural villages.
In a word, Kabeer's theory gives us three dimensions to look at the issue of gender equality in science in rural China, and it helps us to understand the relationship about different dimensions of empowerment. However, as Kabeer said since measures of empowerment are insufficient to guide how women's decision-making abilities have changed, that indicators of empowerment cannot provide an accurate measurement of changes in women's ability to make choices and it is not the end point. That’s infer we need to go further in the future to explore this issue and get some practice to make a change.
