Drawing on case-study research that examined initiatives which engaged with global aspirations to advance gender equality in schooling in Kenya and South Africa, this book looks at how global frameworks on gender, education and poverty are interpreted in local settings and the politics of implementation. It discusses the forms of global agreements in particular contexts, and allows for an appraisal of how they have been understood by the people who implement them. By using an innovative approach to comparative cross country research, the book illuminates how ideas and actions connect and disconnect around particular meanings of poverty, education and gender in large systems and different settings. Its conclusions will allow assessments of the approach to the post-2015 agenda to be made, taking account of how policy and practice relating to global social justice are negotiated, sometimes negated, the forms in which they are affirmed and the actions that might help enhance them. This book will be valuable for students, researchers, academics, senior teachers, senior government and inter-government officials and senior staff in NGOs working in the field of education and international development, gender, poverty reduction, and social development.

This open access book analyses the interplay of sustainable development and human rights from different perspectives including fight against poverty, health, gender equality, working conditions, climate change and the role of private actors. Each aspect is addressed from a more human rights-focused angle and a development-policy angle. This allows comparisons between the different approaches but also seeks to close gaps which would remain if only one perspective would be at the center of the discussions. Specifically, the book shows the strong connections between human rights and the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015. Already the preamble of this document explicitly states that "the 17 Sustainable Development Goals ... seek to realise the human rights of all". Moreover, several goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda correspond to already existing individual human rights obligations. The contributions of this volume therefore also address how the implementation of human rights and SDGs can reinforce each other, but also point to critical shortcomings of the different approaches.

The Millennium Development Goals aim to achieve basic education for all by 2015. But can such global agendas address national and local gender inequalities and will they empower women through education? This thought-provoking book offers an opportunity to engage critically with existing and emergent conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches to this global debate. It is divided into three sections that: reconceptualise the definitions of gender equality used by various social scientific disciplines, international organisations and policy makers; illustrate the methodologies used to collect the voices of young men and women and their teachers telling stories of their success in lifting the burdens of poverty and negotiating traditional gender relations; trace the impact of global gender agendas on national education policies, such as citizenship education, poverty reduction strategies, and feminist activism around adult women’s learning. Gender Education and Equality in a Global Context is an invaluable introduction to the range of conceptual frameworks and innovative research methods that address issues of gender education and development.

The Millennium Development Goals, adopted at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, are the world's targets for dramatically reducing extreme poverty in its many dimensions by 2015 income poverty, hunger, disease, exclusion, lack of infrastructure and shelter while promoting gender equality, education, health and environmental sustainability. These bold goals can be met in all parts of the world if nations follow through on their commitments to work together to meet them. Achieving the Millennium Development Goals offers the prospect of a more secure, just, and prosperous world for all. The UN Millennium Project was commissioned by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to develop a practical plan of action to meet the Millennium Development Goals. As an independent advisory body directed by Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, the UN Millennium Project submitted its recommendations to the UN Secretary General in January 2005. The core of the UN Millennium Project's work has been carried out by 10 thematic Task Forces comprising more than 250 experts from around the world, including scientists, development practitioners, parliamentarians, policymakers, and representatives from civil society, UN agencies, the World Bank, the IMF, and the private sector. This report lays out the recommendations of the UN Millennium Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality. The Task Force recommends seven strategic priorities: strengthen postprimary education for girls while ensuring universal primary education; guarantee sexual and reproductive health and rights; reduce women's and girls' time burdens; guarantee property and inheritance rights; eliminate gender inequality in employment; increase women's participation in government; and significantly reduce violence against women. Action on these priorities will enable countries in every region of the world to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment by 2015.

Timely and original, this book examines gender equality in schooling as an aspiration of global social justice. With nearly one billion people having little or no schooling and women and girls comprising nearly two-thirds of this total, this book analyses the historical, sociological, political and philosophical issues involved as well as exploring actions taken by governments, Inter-Government Organisations, NGOs and women’s groups since 1990 to combat this injustice. Written by a recognised expert in this field, the book is organised clearly into three parts: the first provides a background to the history of the provision of schooling for girls worldwide since 1945 and locates the challenges of gender inequality in education the second examines different views as to why questions of gender and schooling should be addressed globally, contrasting arguments based on human capital theory, rights and capabilities the third analyses how governments, Inter-Government Organisations and NGOs have put policy into practice. Addressing the urgent global challenges in gender and schooling, this book calls for a new connected approach in policy and practice. It is essential reading for all those interested in education, along with developmental studies, sociology, politics and women’s studies.

The UN is currently focused on monitoring and improving learning outcomes and people who are generally excluded from education. Indeed, in its Agenda 2030, higher education forms an important part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to poverty, hunger, health, education and gender equality. This volume brings together contributions that provide research and teaching experiences, as well as reflections on actions taken in higher education institutes, associated with these SDGs.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Persuasive evidence demonstrates that gender equality in education is central to economic development. Despite more than two decades of accumulated knowledge and evidence of what works in improving gender equality, progress on the ground remains slow and uneven across countries. What is missing? Given that education is a critical path to accelerate progress toward gender equality and the empowerment of women, what is holding us back? These questions were discussed at the global symposium Education: A Critical Path to Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, which was sponsored by the World Bank in October 2007. Girls' Education in the 21st Century is based on background papers developed for the symposium. The book's chapters reflect the current state of knowledge on education from a gender perspective and highlight the importance of, and challenges to, female education, as well as the interdependence of education and development objectives. The last chapter presents five strategic directions for advancing gender equality in education and their implications for World Bank operations. Girls' Education in the 21st Century will be of particular interest to researchers, educators, school administrators, and policy makers at the global, national, regional, and municipal levels.

The 2007 Global Monitoring Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) assesses the contributions of developing countries, developed countries, and international financial institutions toward meeting universally agreed development commitments. Fourth in a series of annual reports leading up to 2015, this year's report reviews key developments of the past year, emerging priorities, and provides a detailed region-by-region picture of performance in the developing regions of the world, drawing on indicators for poverty, education, gender equality, health, and other goals. Subtitled "Confronting the Challenges of Gender Equality and Fragile States," this year's report highlights two key thematic areas-gender equality and empowerment of women (the third MDG) and the special problems of fragile states, where extreme poverty is increasingly concentrated. The report, which is jointly issued by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, argues that gender equality and the empowerment of women are central to the development agenda. This is because gender equality makes good economic sense and because it helps advance the other development goals-including education, nutrition, and reducing child mortality. Rapid progress has been made in some areas, such as achieving educational parity for girls in primary and secondary school in most countries. But in many other dimensions-including political representation and participation in nonagricultural employment-performance still falls short. Better monitoring and efforts at mainstreaming gender equality requires realistic goals, strong leadership, technical expertise, and financing.