needed to reach the classrooms, the
stakeholders of education i.e. the head
teachers, the teachers, teacher educators, parents and the community. Thus
the
gender
sensitive
training
programmes at all India level have been
a constant feature of the Department of
Women’s Studies, NCERT in making the
teacher/participant/trainee whether male
or female sensitive to the social issues
concerning girls and women. The burning
problems currently prevailing in the society like female foeticide, female infanticide, dowry, early marriage and gender
biases and gender stereotypes related
to teaching learning processes including
textbook analysis and many other significant themes are discussed at length
during training for which some action
researches are also taken up as an assignment by each trainee to make them
fully aware, understand and internalise the social issues.
The message needs to reach each child, boy and the girl
so that the gender sensitivity, caring and sharing of gender
roles and relations becomes an integral part of each one’s
socialization process. Besides in few sessions themes like
inculcating amongst girls the self confidence, positive self
esteem, sense of self worth, life skills, decision making
and leadership abilities are also taken up with the participant who is a teacher or a teacher educator or a district/
state level functionary/educational personnel working for
the school and the community. The research studies and
action researches carried out by the Department of
Women’s Studies, NCERT have focused on the subjects of
women’s empowerment, which is the larger and ultimate
goal of women’s development. The sex ratio or the menace
of female foeticide has been one of the focus for which
research studies and national consultation and community
mobilisation workshops were also carried out. The effort
has also been towards the development of gender sensitive
textual and non-textual material for the classroom, teacher,
the trainer and the community which has been guided by
the Focus Group Paper on Gender Issues in Education and
National Curriculum Framework 2005.
In brief, the issue of gender sensitivity and women’s empowerment has been an integral focus of NCERT by constantly striving for quality school education of the country.
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