Gender equality in education and learning: Children's Parliament report

Introduction

The Equality in Education Team, part of the Scottish Government's Learning Directorate, have set up a Gender Equality Taskforce to address gender inequality in education. As part of this work, Children's Parliament and Scottish Youth Parliament were commissioned to capture the views and ideas of girls and young women, on how we can ensure that the Scottish education system is truly gender equal and that all girls and young women are happy, healthy, and safe in school. The views of the girls consulted by Children's Parliament were also shared with boys so that they could then share their views as allies in the drive for a gender equal experience of school.

Children's Parliament's role was to inform the production of a Theory of Change model, being produced by the Gender Equality Taskforce. The model will identify strategies and pathways that can bring about systemic change within the education system, ending gender inequality.

The long-term aims of the Gender Equality Taskforce are that girls and young women:

• are taught by gender competent educational professionals.
• do not experience sexism, sexual harassment, or gender-based violence in the classroom, or other educational settings.
• can freely choose subjects and areas of study, including those traditionally dominated by boys and men.

The Theory of Change model will map backwards from these long-term goals to find a route forwards towards systemic change.

This is a report on the work conducted by Children's Parliament. Our colleagues at SYP will report separately on their work with young people. By reporting across these two submissions, we hope to ensure the distinct experiences and voices of children and young people are conveyed.

A version of this report with additional images is available at the Children's Parliament website.