Gender equality and girls education: Investigating frameworks, disjunctures and meanings of quality education

The article draws on qualitative educational research across a diversity of low-income countries to examine the gendered inequalities in education as complex, multi-faceted and situated rather than a series of barriers to be overcome through linear input–output processes focused on isolated dimensions of quality. It argues that frameworks for thinking about educational quality often result in analyses of gender inequalities that are fragmented and incomplete. However, by considering education quality more broadly as a terrain of quality it investigates questions of educational transitions, teacher supply and community participation, and develops understandings of how education is experienced by learners and teachers in their gendered lives and their teaching practices. By taking an approach based on theories of human development the article identifies dynamics of power underpinning gender inequalities in the literature and played out in diverse contexts and influenced by social, cultural and historical contexts. The review and discussion indicate that attaining gender equitable quality education requires recognition and understanding of the ways in which inequalities intersect and interrelate in order to seek out multi-faceted strategies that address not only different dimensions of girls’ and women’s lives, but understand gendered relationships and structurally entrenched inequalities between women and men, girls and boys

Exploring the eligibility criteria of the child support grant and its impact on poverty

One of the most important policy objectives in the post-apartheid South African economy is to reduce poverty. Although economic growth and job creation are the preferred sources of alleviating poverty and inequality, social grant spending has contributed significantly to reduce poverty (Van der Berg et al. in Poverty trends since the transition: what we know. Stellenbosch Economic Working Papers: 19/09. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University, 2009). Recently proposals were tabled by the Department of Social Development of South Africa (Fin24 in R3.3bn plan to extend child support grant to 21. www.fin24.com/Economy/R33bn-child-care-grant-extension-to-21-on-cards-20150316. Accessed August 7, 2015, 2015) to extend the age eligibility of the child support grant (CSG) to 21 years (at the time of writing children aged up to 18 years are eligible). This sparked an interest to investigate the impact on poverty of changes to the eligibility criteria of CSG, as well as its fiscal implications. Using person and household data from the 2010/2011 Income and Expenditure Survey, various simulations are performed to assess the impact on poverty rates and changes to social spending, given the following changes: (1) if all age-eligible children applied; (2) if all beneficiaries received the grant amount for the full 12-month duration; (3) if the age eligibility criterion is extended; and (4) if the monthly child grant income amount is revised upwards. We also examine how changes in the eligibility criteria affect the income distribution.IS

Including Women? (Dis)junctures Between Voice,

Abstract Integrated development plans (IDPs) are municipal strategic plans designed to bring about developmental local government. They have been criticised for providing insufficient space for democratic participation. This paper explores the extent to which a marginalised group—women—has been incorporated into the IDP process, in response to three questions. First, how have IDP participatory processes incorporated women’s voice, and are the new participatory spaces realising their transformative potential? Secondly, how have women’s interests and a gender perspective been mainstreamed in the IDP, and has it promoted transformation? And finally, at the interface between officials and women themselves, how are IDP projects implemented and does agency promote or impede the goals of gender equality? A study of three KwaZulu-Natal municipalities reveals some achievements, but unequal gender relations have not been transformed. These case studies demonstrate some of the complexities and difficulties in the practice of democratic governance

Longitudinal Predictors of Child Sexual Abuse in a Large Community-Based Sample of South African Youth

Sexual abuse has severe negative impacts on children's lives, but little is known about risk factors for sexual abuse victimization in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined prospective predictors of contact sexual abuse in a random community-based sample of children aged 10 to 17 years (N = 3,515, 56.6% female) in South Africa. Self-report questionnaires using validated scales were completed at baseline and at 1-year follow-up (96.8% retention rate). Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between hypothesized factors and sexual abuse were examined. For girls, previous sexual abuse (odds ratio [OR] = 3.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [2.03, 5.60]), baseline school dropout (OR = 2.76, 95% CI = [1.00, 6.19]), and physical assault in the community (OR = 2.17, 95% CI = [1.29, 3.48]) predicted sexual abuse at follow-up. Peer social support (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = [0.74, 0.98]) acted as a protective factor. Previous contact sexual abuse was the strongest predictor of subsequent sexual abuse victimization. In addition, peer support moderated the relationship between baseline assault and subsequent sexual abuse. For boys, no longitudinal predictors for sexual abuse victimization were identified. These results indicate that the most vulnerable girls-those not in school and with a history of victimization-are at higher risk for sexual abuse victimization. High levels of peer support reduced the risk of sexual abuse victimization and acted as a moderator for those who had experienced physical assault within the community. Interventions to reduce school drop-out rates and revictimization may help prevent contact sexual abuse of girls in South Africa

Poverty and 'Second Economy' in South Africa: An Attempt to Clarify Applicable Concepts and Quantify Extent of Relevant Challenges

In brief, the paper firstly summarises old and new theoretical and technical issues on measuring poverty, secondly analyses poverty from different perspectives and highlights various research findings on poverty trends in South Africa and thirdly clarifies the notion of "second economy" and attempts to "measure" it

Comparing children's care work across majority and minority worlds

Comparative qualitative methodologies that investigate children's lives in sharply contrasting socio-economic, political and welfare contexts are relatively unusual. Yet within an increasingly interdependent globalised world, comparative research and dialogue across binaries seems ever more important. In this chapter, we critically reflect on global conceptualisations of young caregiving and discuss the methodological and ethical challenges that arose in our comparative study of children caring for a parent/relative living with HIV in Tanzania and the UK. We discuss the potential problems and benefits of using the term "young carer" and suggest that levels of support and recognition of children's caring roles in particular countries do not follow a simple Majority/Minority world binary, but rather reveal a more complex picture. We argue that developing global perspectives that work across geographical, linguistic and disciplinary boundaries can facilitate greater understanding of the commonalities and diversities of children's caring lives globally