Presentation by Elena Grozdanova

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Presentation by Elena Grozdanova 
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• REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA 
• Ministry of labour and social policy
• Regional ConsultationStop Violence Against
  Children-Act Now
  
• Working groupResponsibility of Teachers and
  other Staff
  
  
• The gender dimension
  
  
  
• Ljubljana 5-7 july 2005
• Slovenia

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Stereotypes on gender equality in the
processes of education
 

• Educational process is crucial for the
  socialization of children and young generations.
  Famous English philosopher and pedagogue John
  Lock defined the child as a tabulla rasa.This
  means that educational system determines to the
  great extend childs attitude and the role of
  young people in the society.
• The Central and South Eastern European Countries
  have been going through an active process of
  transition and democratic changes in the past
  years. The most important value of this process
  is that it has overtaken and involved all social
  spheres.
• The education is one of the building blocs of the
  democratic society. It is very important to
  include the knowledge about civil society as a
  subject of all educational plans and programs.

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• Gender equality means equal visibility, power
  sharing and participation of both sexes in all
  spheres of public and private life.Gender
  Equality must be included in the policies of the
  whole educational system.
• The promotion of equality between women and men
  is the principal objective of the Unit for Gender
  Equality in the Ministry of Labor and Social
  Policy in the Republic of Macedonia. To achieve
  effective equality between women and men, the
  Unit for GE, in cooperation with Office for
  Development of Education of Republic of
  Macedonia, caries out different analyses in the
  sphere of education policies. Two years ago one
  of the analysis was entitled Stereotypes on
  gender equality in the process of education .

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The first part of this analysis was a
description of the content of educational plans
and programs regarding gender equality.The second
part of this research has shown different
stereotypes on inter-gender relations between
young members of our society. The analysis was
based on random simple of several High and
Elementary Schools in the Republic of Macedonia.
Pupils, approximately the same number of boys
and girls, with the different national
backgrounds and urban and rural geographical
provenience, were answering to a special
questionnaire. Some questions offered a list of
specific answer.
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

• The gender stereotypes can be identified in the
  answers given for each question by the
  interviewed pupils. The questions were formulated
  in a very provocative way in order to get
  personal opinion about gender equality from each
  pupil.

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HOBIES

• The question How do you usually spend your free
  time? offered concrete possible answers like
  sport, reading, driving cars, listening to the
  music, seating in café-bars and chatting. The
  biggest percent of the boys answered that they
  were doing sports and driving cars, and the
  predominant percentage of the girls answered that
  they read books, listen to the music and watch
  the movies .

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INTERESTS  

• The girls and boys have different, but also a lot
  of common interests. The boys have bigger
  interest for traveling than girls, but the girls
  show more interest for religion then the boys.
  The girls are more interested in literature,
  while boys in music. The interests for art and
  science are the same for booth genders. Pupils
  from secondary and primary school show very
  little interest for politics, approximately 10,
  but both are very interested in family, around
  70. The interesting fact is that the interest
  for the fashion and for personal good looking is
  common for both genders, but the boys like to be
  a bit more handsome and fashionable than the
  girls.

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 CONVERSATION ABOUT GENDER EQUALITY

• Is gender equality an attractive issue for
  discussion in the school?.
  
• The answer to this question was negative,
  because the pupils did not discus about gender
  equality in school. Shown in numbers this means
  that 40 of the interviewed boys and girls never
  talked about the gender equality. It should be
  pointed out that the girls more often talked
  about gender equality than the boys.

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IS THERE INEQUALITY BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN IN
MACEDONIA 

• Pursuant the given answers 37 of the interviewed
  estimated that they didnt know if there was
  inequality between women and men, about 40
  thought that inequality existed while negative
  answer was given by about 20 of the pupils.
  Larger number of questioned female children
  considered that inequality existed while the
  larger number of male children had an opposite
  opinion.

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WHERE DOES INEQUALITY APPEAR MOST OFTENLY 

• From the received answers gender inequality
  appears mostly in the families 50 of the
  questioned at the work place 23 in public
  life 15 while it is the least present in the
  education and in the movies.

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IS THERE INEQUALITY IN YOUR SCHOOL  

• The biggest number of the students have the
  opinion that there is no gender inequality in
  their school, thirty percent dont know while a
  small percent consider that there is inequality.

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WHICH ARE FEMALE AND WHICH ARE MALE
CHARACTERISTICS 

• Courage 40 male, 42 mutual and symbolically
  female
  
• Rationality balanced gender feature
• Sacrificing balanced feature 4040
•  
• Sensibility 57 females, 23 mutual 10 males
• Patriotism biggest part is males feature
• Curiosity 40 females feature

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• Persistence males and mutual
• Adventurism males and mutual
• Indulgence males and mutual
• Faithfulness everyone think that their gender is
  faithful
  
• Rebellion males
• Righteousness females and mutual
• Force males

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• Humanism mutual
• Pride, freedom-loving mutual
• Beauty females and mutual
• Submissiveness females

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PROFFESIONS

• 1. Architect-males 57 and mutual 20
•  
• 2. Cook, females 70
• 3. Cosmonaut, males 80
•  
• 4. Mechanics, males 90
•  
• 5. Librarian, till 67 females 20 males
• 6. Detective, 64 males and mutual

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• 7. Forester, soldier, politician, truck driver,
  males professions
  
• 8. Tailor, nurse, secretary, music teacher,
  house keeper and servant are females
  professions
  
• 9. Writer and seller are mutual professions.

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WHO IS STAYNG HOME WHEN THE CHILD IS SICK

• 44 mother, 4 father, 55 the one and the other

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ATTITUDES. CHOOSING AMONG THE FOLLOWING
CONSTATATIONS  

• Man has more organizational skills to the great
  extent the answer was YES but also there were a
  lot of I dont agree answers
  
• Womans place is in the family to the great
  extent YES and partial I agree
  
• Sports are mans business Predominant answer was
  YES
  
• Women are not as aggressive as the men are
  Partially true
  
• In case of divorce children should live with
  their mother divided answers
  
• Violence Was seen predominantly as a males
  characteristic
  
• Equality Problem It is a problem of both
  genders 63
  

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• It is necessary to talk more about gender
  equality YES - 53
  
• Man and woman hardly can be true friends.
  Predominant answer was YES
  
• 51 answers that men shouldnt show their
  feelings
  
• The father is responsible for the well-being of
  the family. Predominant answer YES
  
• Faithfulness in marriage should be shared
  responsibility of both partners - YES
  

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OBLIGATIONS

• Females obligation in the family cooking,
  laundering, dish washing, kids raising, winter
  stores preparation, taking care of the older
  members of the family
• Males obligations throwing out the garbage,
  reparations, shopping, working in the garden,
  earning money

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WOULD YOU PREFER TO HAVE A BROTHER OR A SISTER 

• The biggest number of kids answered that for them
  it did not matter.
  

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INTIMACY IN THE FAMILY

• All interviewed answered that they share their
  intimate problems with mothers and sisters
  

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INFLUENCE REGARDING THE CHOICE OF THE SCHOOL 

• Father or they decide for themselves

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CHILDRENS ACTIVITIES AT HOME

• Shopping for the boys and dish washing for the
  girls
  

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WOMANS REVOLT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN THE
SOCIETY

• Boys and girls agree that the position of women
  should be improved or they dont have an opinion.
  (Girls agree in the bigger extend than boys).

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• The outcomes of this research show that young
  people in Macedonia still share very traditional
  views on the gender roles and that gender
  stereotypes are still very strong. This state of
  mind and this openness' to gender prejudices are,
  unfortunately, very fertile ground for the
  tolerance towards gender violence in the
  families, in educational institutions and in
  public life.

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Recommendations

• Legal frameworkThe principle of equality between
  women and men should be integrated into education
  policy with aim to promote equality between women
  an men in society as a whole and to assure
  equality of rights, opportunities and outcomes
  between women and men in schools.
• PolicyThe implementation of the gender
  dimensions within education policy requires the
  integration of gender equality into the Education
  Act,as an objective to be achieved.The
  application of gender sensitive pedagogy at all
  levels of education and training is also
  required.

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Recommendations

• Implementation by ministries and/or public
  authorities responsible for education policy
  These institutions have the mission to ensure
  access to good education ,to an environment which
  allows the development of students competences
  and personal potential throughout their life.
• SchoolsSchools exist within communities and are
  responsible for the education of children from
  those communities.Through that role,they can
  influence those communities to some,greater or
  lesser extent.
• ParentsThe engagement of parents is crucial to
  the achievement of the schools aims and
  objectives and and is critical in relation to the
  question of gender equality.Parents exert a major
  influence on the values, behavior ,attitudes and
  aspirations of their children.

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 Recommendations

• ResearchGender research is essential if
  democratic ideas and ideals are to be realized in
  any society and is highly topical in societies
  that are moving towards democracy.
• In accordance with national strategy for
  promotion of the position of children in
  Macedonia as well as the recommendations of the
  Committee on the Rights of the Child presented
  upon the consideration of the Initial Report of
  Macedonia on the Convention on the Rights of the
  child,a National Commission has been
  established,as an interministerial body ,to
  comprehensively follow the implementation of the
  Convention and propose measures for its
  promotion.This body is composed of experts in all
  spheres of relevance for the implementation of
  the national regulations and of the Convention
  provisions and is headed by a National
  Coordinator, coming from the Ministry of
  Education.

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Recommendations

• The preparation of the Action Plan for
  Children,as one of the basic priorities of the
  National Commission is in the final stage.The
  plan is a state strategic document that will
  contain the guidelines for implementation of the
  Government planned activities in the coming 10
  year period,ant it will also cover the legal and
  administrative measures which are to be
  undertaken for the promotion of the position of
  children up to 18 years of age,in all spheres of
  social life.The plan will cover areas such as
  education, health, social security, legal
  protection, entertainment and culture of living.
  One of the most important issues in this Plan is
  also prevention from violence and exploitation of
  children and protection of the victims of child
  violence and exploitation.

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 Recommendations

• Macedonian National Plan for Gender Equality also
  includes strategic objectives of high priority
  dealing with women in education and women victims
  of violence. In the education part one of the
  priorities is the elimination of gender
  discrimination in education. In the part dealing
  with women and violence some of the priorities
  are strengthening of the legislation, awareness
  raising and opening of the shelters for the
  victims of domestic violence.
• I thank you for your attention.