Teachers in Kerala schools mostly fail to recognise gender stereotyping in classrooms according to a government-funded study by the Centre for Socio-economic and Environmental Studies, Kochi.

When it comes to some immediate assistance that teachers require, like a laptop/projector in the computer/science labs, purchasing chart papers/chalks, and sound and technical support during events, boys are always the preferred choice. In school assemblies, girls are the ones singing prayer songs, and boys are assigned the duties of rendering pledges and thoughts of the day. Likewise, though all students are expected to be involved in classroom cleaning, in most cases, it is done by girls. The boys' role is restricted to arranging benches and desks before or after cleaning. In addition, teachers prefer to delegate boys tasks that demand presence in public space.

A similar pattern is noticeable in other duties assigned to students in the school. This suggests that stereotypical gender roles are strongly prevalent in schools, the study points out. However, in most cases, teachers do not accept the existence of gender stereotyping in classrooms. "Teachers do not recognise it as gender bias or stereotyping," the study specifically noted.

Rakkee Thimothy, one of the authors of the study, remarked that the inability of teachers to recognise gender stereotypes  leads to the normalisation of the same in schools. However, she expressed hope in the fact that students have recognised gender bias as a problem. "The majority of students interviewed support gender inclusiveness. They are raising concerns about separate corridors, separate uniforms, and teachers omitting portions related to topics like reproduction and sex education," she said.

According to educationist Dr Dhanya Bhaskaran, the finding about the teachers is not something surprising, as the lion's share of Kerala school teachers remain a category that has reluctance towards continuous upgradation in the changing  world ( including the spectrum of gender). However, she pointed out that the blame game should not be the way forward. 

“The pertinent question is why teachers cannot perceive it as gender stereotyping. Many of them are trained in gender inclusiveness, but the knowledge gained on the matter remains peripheral. Whether it is in government or private sector schools, many teachers do not have in-depth knowledge about the matter. Even if they get training, many tend to teach by the notions of role model teachers they had. To my knowledge, very few schools have an exclusive focus on imparting gender sensitiveness among the teachers. We also fail to audit our teachers on factors like this. All these remain despite the presence of policy-level reforms. The thing is that the reforms more often remain on paper only,” Dhanya noted. 

She also highlighted why teachers alone cannot be blamed by referring to the case of YouTuber Thoppi. "We think students are better than teachers in recognising gender bias as an issue. On the rear side, the student fan base for a YouTuber known for foul language and misogyny is something that is concerning. We need to also evaluate how far we as a society are internalising or exercising gender sensitiveness. Teachers are from this society only. We need to evaluate whether our family setup is favorable for instilling gender inclusiveness,” she added.

Meanwhile, the study has assessed many other variables to find out to what extent the school environment in Kerala is gender-friendly. It mainly relied on in-depth interviews held with secondary and higher students in government and aided co-educational schools in Kerala following the state syllabus. Their parents and teachers too were interviewed. To have more clarity on the matter, a content analysis of social science textbooks (secondary school) published by the State Council for Educational Research & Training (SCERT) was done.

Some of the other major observations in the study are as follows:

  • There is limited opportunity for boys and girls to interact with each other, even in co-educational schools.
  • Strict gender norms play a role in determining friendships among students.
  • Girl students expressed concerns that their uniform, which consists of a kurta, churidar, and dupatta, restricts their physical activity at school.
  • Students frequently described stereotypical behavior, such as the prohibition of interactions between girls and boys within the school premises.
  • Male students often take the lead and dominate various co-curricular activities, while female students are assigned tasks related to the curriculum.
  • Women's representation in textbooks is very low, while the LGBTQAI+ communities are largely ignored.

The study also proposes several suggestions to enhance gender friendliness in Kerala schools. Some notable suggestions are:

  • Encouraging curricular and co-curricular activities that involve mixed-gender groups and promoting interactions between students of different genders.
  • Incorporating necessary provisions in the Kerala Education Rules (KER) to ensure that all co-educational schools have gender-inclusive infrastructure.
  • Including a course on gender and education in teacher education programs such as TTI, B.Ed, and M.Ed. Additionally, providing mandatory in-service training on this aspect for teachers already in service.
  • Conducting a review of school curriculum and textbooks to identify and address gender bias and promote gender sensitivity before the implementation.
  • Ensuring  gender balance in the composition of the curriculum advisory committee, curriculum drafting committee, and textbook committees for different subjects.

Apart from Rakkee, the study has been authored by Anju Mathew, Sreelakshmi Manoj Kumar, and Bibin Thambi.