Gender Deconstruction on the Margins: A Historical Analysis of South Africa’s Post-Colonial Gender Policies in Education

Abstract

Gender inequality in sub-Saharan Africa has historically been pronounced in all spheres of life. To plug that, educationists have tried to engage with local contexts to bring girls into the education system. In light of this worrisome trend, this paper assessed the extent to which policies and measures framed and circulated by the South African government in the post-independence era have addressed gender imbalances in the education sector in line with the notion that girls’ education has been promoted by policymakers as a kind of an antidote to the manifold socio-economic problems. The researchers gathered and performed close textual readings of official government policy documents and journal articles from 1994 to date. The research found that the history of educational reforms depicts that gender deconstruction is still on the margins as evidenced by the women’s limited access to education and the genderisation of the school, its curriculum and practices among others. The article thus advanced the argument that although remarkable strides have so far been made towards the enactment of policies that enhance the education of the girl child in post-colonial states, much work still needs to be done to create a better world for all regardless of gender. This study offers insights on how to navigate future educational reforms that seek to deconstruct the marginalisation of girls in education and the gendered culture of educational institutions.

Keywords

• gender deconstruction
• inequalities
• marginalisation
• policies
• postcolonial education