Adopting a Gender Lens in Education Strategy: Experiences of Magic Bus India Foundation
Conférence | En ligne
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Organisé par:
Magic Bus India Foundation
À propos de l'événement
This presentation explores the integration of a gender lens in the education strategy of the Magic Bus India Foundation (MBIF), a pioneer in delivering play-based life skills programs across India for over 26 years. In alignment with the National Education Policy (2020), which emphasizes the development of life skills in adolescents, MBIF has focused on fostering self-awareness, negotiation, and resilience, with a particular emphasis on improving adolescent girls' attitudes toward gender roles. In the 2023-24 period, MBIF directly reached 3,30,739 adolescents, with 52% of them being girls.
Drawing from Naila Kabeer's framework, this research examines how MBIF created an opportunity structure that provided girls and women with resources such as knowledge, skills, mentoring, and community linkages, enabling them to find and exercise their agency. The impact of the program is assessed across four key areas: health and psychological wellbeing, education, social development, and livelihoods. Through participatory approaches like the "river of life" and "body mapping," the research showcases qualitative insights from girls, boys, and other community stakeholders, revealing transformative changes in gender attitudes and behaviors.
A significant outcome of MBIF’s programs has been the inclusion of girls in sports for development, traditionally dominated by boys. This shift has led to visible changes in girls' behavior, such as adopting more comfortable clothing for sports and challenging gender norms. Furthermore, the program’s impact on female labor force participation highlights the program’s success in empowering girls and women. This presentation provides valuable lessons on adopting a gender lens in educational policy in India, particularly in using sports and life skills to challenge and transform gender norms for long-term societal impact.
In addition to this, the presentation will provide an insight on how gender should be tracked and measured in any programme as part of larger M&E system.
Drawing from Naila Kabeer's framework, this research examines how MBIF created an opportunity structure that provided girls and women with resources such as knowledge, skills, mentoring, and community linkages, enabling them to find and exercise their agency. The impact of the program is assessed across four key areas: health and psychological wellbeing, education, social development, and livelihoods. Through participatory approaches like the "river of life" and "body mapping," the research showcases qualitative insights from girls, boys, and other community stakeholders, revealing transformative changes in gender attitudes and behaviors.
A significant outcome of MBIF’s programs has been the inclusion of girls in sports for development, traditionally dominated by boys. This shift has led to visible changes in girls' behavior, such as adopting more comfortable clothing for sports and challenging gender norms. Furthermore, the program’s impact on female labor force participation highlights the program’s success in empowering girls and women. This presentation provides valuable lessons on adopting a gender lens in educational policy in India, particularly in using sports and life skills to challenge and transform gender norms for long-term societal impact.
In addition to this, the presentation will provide an insight on how gender should be tracked and measured in any programme as part of larger M&E system.
Conférenciers
| Nom | Titre | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Santosh Kumar Sharma | Director Impact | Santosh Kumar Sharma is Director-Impact for Magic Bus India Foundation. He is leading on Monitoring, Evaluations and learning functions for the organisation. Santosh has close to 30 years of experience of M&E and research. |
| Vrinda Loiwal | Measurement Specialist | Vrinda has been in the field of education for 13 years. She is an alumnus of Harvard University and her specialization is in crafting emotional intelligence and life skills' curricula, assessments and teacher training. |
| Hafza Ibrahim | Assistant Manager-Impact | Hafza Ibrahim is a young M&E professional. She manages program evaluations, financial tracking, and stakeholder engagement to ensure data-driven decision-making. She has experience in budgeting, contract management, and worked with senior leadership team to work on the organizational gender journey. |
| Pratik Prakash Jawale | Manager-Impact | Pratik is a young and emerging evaluator working as Manager - Monitoring and Evaluation with Magic Bus India Foundation. Pratik has grassroots experience with government and non-profit organizations in rural and tribal regions of India. He specializes in mixed methods research, including field-based data collection and survey methods. He is interested in understanding how organizations use digital technologies within their M&E systems. He has also taken trainings on PoSH and child rights. Pratik also serves as the co-leader of EvalYouth India, a network of YEEs in India, and is an active member of the Asia Pacific Evaluation Association. |