Les perceptions des enseignants sur l’égalité scolaire et les facteurs d’inégalité entre les filles et les garçons dans le système éducatif sénégalais
Since the 1990s, with the launch of the global Education for All policy, school equality between girls and boys has become a major issue for developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa. In Senegal, progress in girls' schooling has overthrown the parity index at primary level in favor of girls. However, many of them do not reach or complete secondary school. Paradoxically, girls' schooling situation seems to inspire great satisfaction in the educational sector. On one hand, our research aims to understand the factors that influence school equality between girls and boys, and on the other hand, to explain the contrast between the girls’ mitigated progress and the optimism linked to their situation, based on teachers' perceptions. The research seeks to answer the following general question: What do Senegalese teachers think about school equality between girls and boys? And more specifically: 1) What perceptions do Senegalese teachers have of the situation of school equality between girls and boys? 2) According to them, what factors influence school gender equality in Senegal? 3) What do teachers propose for the perceived situation? 4) How do Senegalese teachers conceive school equality? Firstly, we did a literature review, defined the key concepts of the study, and established a framework for analysis. Secondly, we collected audio recordings from 107 teachers (including 41 women and 66 men), gathered in nine focus groups, in three rural high schools and two urban high schools. The verbatim obtained from the transcription of the recordings were analyzed with the QDA Miner software. The software allowed us to carry out coding operations of units of meaning and to generate results according to a thematic grid structured in four sections: a) the characteristics of the situation as perceived by teachers on school equality between girls and boys; b) their perception of the factors behind this situation; c) solutions as proposed by teachers to improve the situation and/or correct the factors deemed detrimental; and d) school equality as conceived by teachers through its definition and the conditions of its realization. The examination of the results of the research has led to three conclusions. Firstly, girls' academic disadvantage is not unanimously perceived by respondents and this is reflected across all sections. Hence, we find explanatory factors and suggestions for improvement of the situation that refer to the academic disadvantage of girls, boys, or both. The second conclusion concerns the influence of our two variables, that of the urban or rural environment of the school, and that of the gender of the participants. More than the environment, it is the gender of participants that influences their perceptions of the situation of school equality and the way they conceive the latter. Indeed, through the analysis of the concept of school equality, there appears to be a kind of dichotomy between women and men. A second level of interpretation of the results, taking into account the distribution of majority or minority points of view; style in the extracts of the verbatim presented; the degree of commitment of the statements in favor or against academic equality; the divergent points of view, the tensions and the motives of these perceptible tensions in these remarks within the same group; etc. has led to quite eloquent trends. This led to the third conclusion that the conception of school equality seems to follow other postures corresponding to four trends according to the gender sensitivity of the respondents: as feminist, pessimist or macho / traditionalist. Other statements, more difficult to be classified in these three tendencies because of a rather neutral style led us to identify a fourth trend that we call "scientific". The feminist statements of women and men are strongly in favor of school equality, reveal a belief in the cause, and their authors are very fond of it. The words "pessimistic" tendency can be as committed to the equality of schooling or not, but consider that the idea of a realization of this one is utopian. The rhetoric of "machist / traditionist" tendency is also highly engaged, but is particularly characterized by a total rejection of equality between girls and boys, up to and including aggressiveness. Thus, the conception of school equality and the school situation of girls and boys would be perceived according to these four tendencies whose contours remain diffuse and influenced by the gender sensitivity of respondents.
Secondary education Politic Gender equality Teacher perception Explanatory factors Disadvantage of girls Disadvantage of boys Conception of equality Feminist Pessimistic Scientific Machismo/traditionalist