Chapter Two

INPUTS TO WOMEN EDUCATION AND ITS POINTS OF DEPARTURE

Introduction : input system and women education

Modern curricula are based on inputs and goals that make up the most important sources and points of departure for implementing the educational choices that are integrated in the core of these programs. In this sense, the inputs are like the datum and props that are adopted when launching the processes of preparing this curriculum. As for the goals, they are the anticipation of the results which we seek to achieve, and the outcome that we attempt to realize after the program has come to an end.

From this perspective, the women education program rests on three inputs considered as sources and resources for selecting the best means and methods to achieve the desired goals. These inputs are:

• The principles of curriculum design

• The bases adopted by the curriculum

• The goals and purposes of the curriculum

The women education program should adopt a general approach that would constitute its theoretical background. Familiarity with this background is useful in perceiving the general conception upon which lie the various elements and components of the curriculum which are part of the Systems Theory. So, what does it mean?

This general conceptualization shows that the approach to systems rests on four principles; they are:

• Interaction: all the curriculum elements are interconnected through interaction relationships.

• Inclusiveness: a curriculum is an all-inclusive data which cannot be divided.

• Organization: a curriculum is a set of structures and organized elements.

• Finality: the curriculum attempts to achieve specific goals.

These principles show that a curriculum has coordinated systems built on relationships and interactions between sets of components; that is why the curriculum of women education should be based on a scheme that includes three basic stops(1).

Inputs and Starting Points

Processes and measures

Consequences and results

Each one of these three stations represents one of the components involved in the planning of women education programs; at the same time, it describes the general plan that was followed in its design.

In the coming paragraphs, we will discuss each one of the stations and explain its contents and components through the following:

• Inputs to women education through the institutional, educational, and psychological requirements and prerequisites of this education.

• Processes and measures through which this education can be implemented, especially the processes of designing and setting up the curriculum.

• The desired results and consequences and how to evaluate them.

INPUTS TO WOMEN EDUCATION

Input One : General Reasons for Women Education

The general bases for designing curricula for women education involve fundamental reasons and justifications that call upon states and societies to design literacy and adult education curricula. The researcher Dr. Abdulfattah Hajjaj has demonstrated these reasons in three basic aspects, which are:(1)

- “Population explosion due to the increasing number of population, which impelled all the countries to turn quantitative numbers of humans into a qualitative energy that takes part in the development of society. In this connection, education and teaching are considered a fundamental tool for achieving that development…”

- Information explosion which can be clearly seen in the formidable progress taking place in the field of knowledge and techniques, which requires the rehabilitation of all human competences to keep pace with that progress.

- Explosion of hopes and aspirations: it is a development brought about by the increase in the needs and aspirations of the human being today. Whether these needs and demands are materialistic or spiritual, much of what used to be seen only as the bane of life has now become the legitimate right of the masses or of most of the members of the community.

Added to these three aspects are the requirements of social development in all areas, such as economy, family, health, etc., and the progress of the means of communication due to the new channels for exchanging information and expertise, such as television and other channels.(2)

These new requirements and points of departure fall within the context of what is known as continuing education which faces three main challenges. They are:(3)

- The fast changes that characterize our civilization today, known as “the civilizational dynamism resulting from the rapid pace of change and transformation in the world”(1).

- The cognitive explosion which is the result of the upswing in information in today’s world. This explosion has had a tremendous impact on people in various professions, and has put them on a constant search for ways to continue their training.(2)

- The population explosion mentioned above has increased the social demand for education and work.

- Increase in spare time due to a decrease in the number of work hours and the role of the new inventions in replacing the human being in some tasks.

If we look at these aspects in the light of the requirements of women education, we can notice the special place which the woman occupies in this context in terms of the need for her contribution in dealing with issues (such as population, environment and health issues), and her being knowledgeable in the ways of spending her leisure (for housewives) carrying out some useful functional activity, in addition to availing herself of the information available to her today.

This is why many researchers have called for a functional curriculum which links learning to the women’s work with a view to enhancing their productive and skill competencies in application of the idea that an adult learns for the purpose of realizing immediate, practical objectives(3).

If we look at these new reasons in the light of the requirements of women education, we will find out that the strategy of this education is contingent upon education strategies, and that behind them lie the goals of developing the community as a whole. That is so because this is undoubtedly a borderline teaching strategy between the country’s general social policy, on the one hand, and educational strategy, on the other. Today, women education and learning are based on the goals of the community, the decisions of the social forces and on the country’s comprehensive educational perspective.

Women’s needs are in themselves a determining justification for taking decisions pertaining to their schooling and education.

- The woman has the last word in population development, for her awareness and education are the key to realizing a rational population strategy; one that heeds quality, rather than quantity, and that seeks to achieve the well-being of the citizen.

- The woman is today called upon to keep pace with the cognitive and technical progress because she constitutes the other half of the society and the person who is immediately responsible for children’s education because of her daily immediate contact with them.

Last, but not least, the woman is provided with hopes and inspirations so that she can meet her own needs, basic and luxurious, i.e. health, clothing, housing, good companionship, education, learning and social advancement.

 Input Two : the present situation of women

One cannot talk about women education without talking about a special curriculum that derives its components from the context of the goals and objects expected from that education. This is so because women are today the focus of educational systems, and a basis for the projects seeking to achieve the progress of countries and the development of societies.

The 1975 Mexico Conference was a critical turning point in the interest in women education issues. During this conference, it was noticed that the level of women education had dwindled significantly and that illiteracy was rife among them. Matters get worse when we realize that illiterate women are more prone to producing large numbers of children, and that they are more resistant to sending their children (especially daughters) to school(1).

Abdulwahid Youssef holds that there are numerous reasons behind this dwindling, some of which are:(2)

- The wrong view of the woman’s role which maintains that her place is at home; therefore, it is imperative that she stay away from school or quit it.

- The inherited customs and traditions which stand in the way of equal opportunity, which has excluded women from education and schooling.

- The existence of financial impediments pertaining to the inability of poor women to pursue their education, because of the woman’s household tasks and her wasting of her energies on the various domestic burdens.

The woman’s situation today in terms of education is the outcome of a number of reasons and factors that have prompted most organizations to call for its changing. Among these factors, we find the following:(3)

- Economic factors, such as division of labor, giving males a better chance than that of the females, which has almost restricted the woman’s activity to running the domestic daily business. 

- Social factors, such as the predominant customs and traditions which also include misconceptions regarding the situation of women, i.e. preference of males to females and the girls’ reluctance to carry out productive activities.

- The frail educational opportunities for women, which has a negative impact on the woman’s mind and intellect and, consequently, reinforces her social condition. 

This situation has produced a negative image of the woman, some of whose immediate effects on society are:

- The impact of illiteracy and ignorance on raising children and running family affairs.

- The woman’s dwindling work productivity.

- Unjust treatment of some groups in the community, because of her being ignorant of her own rights.

- The low level of the woman’s participation in democratic life in the community because of her turning away from political activity and discharging civil duties, such as polling and voting.

This situation, no doubt, calls for the education of women and, therefore, constitutes one of the inputs and points of departure of this education. Multifaceted, these inputs could be of great use to researchers in selecting the best ways and alternatives for setting up projects that are in line with them. These ways are:

- Taking the educational curriculum for the women’s orientations as a basis for designing its contents, units and purports.

- Making the curriculum seek to influence the woman’s behavior and to effect changes in her stances vis-à-vis population, health and environmental values and phenomena.

- Seeing to it that the curriculum stem from what is already there in the community, and not be alien to its way of thinking or incongruent with its activities.

- Ascertaining that the curriculum adopt the experiences which the woman has acquired in the community through fulfilling her roles both at home and in the community.

- Taking into consideration the learning environment and its conditions in terms of the means, the people involved and the stimuli that constitute the topics for study.

- Considering the educational curriculum as one that is designed for adults, given the fact that their specificities and characteristics are different from those of children.

Specificities of Women Educational curriculum

Goals

Principles Governing the Curriculum

- Adopting the woman’s orientations and adjusting her attitudes.
-  Readjusting activities to what already exists in the community.
- Building the curriculum on the basis of experience.
- Taking into consideration the women’ s environment and milieu.

How can these specificities and principles be put into practice?

The women educational curriculum rests on the points of departure that are manifest in scientific sources from which we can draw educational strategies and methods. These points of departure are clearly seen in fundamental aspects defined as follows:

These are the points of departure which could be considered as immediate or non-immediate components to women educational curriculum; they constitute sources for selecting the most appropriate solutions and the best activities.

A Summary of the Inputs upon which

The Curriculum will be based

- Diagram of these inputs –

Input Three : Religious and valuational reasons.

No doubt, our Islamic religion urges individuals to learn and to acquire knowledge and wisdom. The Holy Koran abounds in verses that do just that, one of which was revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him). It reads as follows: “Proclaim! (or read) in the name of thy Lord and cherish, who created” (Surah al-Alaq). Other verses are: “But say, ‘my Lord! Advance me in knowledge” (Surah Taha), “and Of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you” (Surah al-Israa). Likewise, the Prophet’s Hadiths stipulate that knowledge should be sought. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says: “He who sets out to seek knowledge shall be on the Path of Allah till he returns[home]” (narrated by at-Tarmidhi). He also said: “He who travels in search for knowledge, Allah shall make it easy for him to enter Paradise.” (narrated by Muslim), and “The Greatest thing for Allah is a man who, having acquired knowledge, passes it on to people.” (narrated by Muslim).

These are proofs that Islam holds education and learning in high esteem, and a confirmation that it is the religious duty of every Muslim, male or female, to acquire knowledge. Woman occupies a special place in this context: her status in Islam makes her education compulsory as is indubitably demonstrated by these proofs:

- Islam has made learning compulsory for all people, considering it like Zakat (alms) or Jihad. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Acquire knowledge, for acquiring it is showing fear of Allah, seeking it is worship, remembering it is glorification, searching for it is Jihad, teaching it to he who has it not is Zakat, and giving it to one’s relatives is kinship. Knowledge is a companion in loneliness and a friend in solitude” (narrated by Abdulbarr).

- Islam has honored women, emphasizing that there is no difference between man and woman, except in righteousness and good deed. Allah says in Surah al-Hujurat: “O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted with all things”. The Holy Koran has demonstrated in many a Surahs (Ali-Imran, al-Maidah, Mariam, al-Mujadilah, and Tatliq) the numerous functions which the woman assumes. Similarly, Islam has honored the woman and the wife, and commanded kindness to them. Allah says: “And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts)”. (S_rah ar-R_m).

- Islam has granted the woman full rights, among them the right to education; evidence of this is the many Muslim women who were Faq_hat(1), such as Aicha (may Allah be pleased with her), or poetesses or thinkers. Islam granted the woman the right to work, so long as the work that she does guarantees her respect and chastity, in such fields as teaching, administration, agriculture, industry, medicine and nursing. Moreover, Islam acknowledges the woman’s right to inheritance, as is stated in the following _yah (verse): “From what is left by parents and those nearest related there is a share for men and a share for women, whether the property be small or large, a determinate share.” (S_rah an-Nissa’). She is entitled to possess property, for Allah says: “To men is allotted what they earn, and to women what they earn.” (S_rah an-Nissa’).

These points of departure are a fundamental principle that nowadays allows for women education, regardless of time or venue, in application of Shariaa teachings and values. The aims of the Holy Koran and Hadith include the following:

- Cultivating the woman’s mind and refining her intellect and feelings so that she will not lose sight of the Islamic values, morals and virtues.

- Using this cultivation and refinement as a means to provide children with good education; one that would free the community from immorality and evil.

- Enabling the woman to contribute effectively to the development and progress of society, through carrying out various human activities.

Input Four: adult education as an input to women education

The fourth requirement of women education is to be found in the adoption of the methods of adult education; for the latter provides services to the designers of women educational curriculum as it presents them with three frames of reference. They are:

- The psycho-pedagogical framework that highlights the psycho-pedagogical specificities of adults which are very distinct from those of children.

-  The socio-pedagogical framework which links education with interaction with the group and with the characteristics of the local environment.

- The pedagogical framework represented in the methods and activities used in the teaching context.(1)

These motives require that there should be a link between the goals and the specificities of the learners, and that they should contribute effectively to their learning and to keeping them at school through a new teacher-student relationship, which in turn requires the utilization of group dynamics and stimulation methods.(2)

In this connection, researchers stress the importance of discovering the learners’ conceptions, of listening to their opinions, and of using their experiences as a way of developing their learning abilities.(3)

Adult education, of which women are part and parcel, seeks to achieve the following goals:(4)

- Professional advancement through enhancing the competencies and capabilities required by specific professions, which helps to improve the social condition.

- Social advantage manifests itself in the individual’s awareness of his status amongst others, as a result of the improvement of his culture and intellectual level.

- The feeling of peace and stability as a result of the individual’s feeling that he is keeping abreast with the fast changes in the flow of information.

- Adults tend to take part in their own learning through their choice of the means and methods of their own education, and through their desire, via this education, to realize a personal project that is of great interest to their personal and social life. Therefore, this education should rest on the following plan:

PLAN FOR CURRICULUM DESIGN IN THE LIGHT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF ADULT EDUCATION 

• Using the real needs of women as a basis

- Knowing the groups of literate women (their ages, professions, family status).

- Identifying national policies in the field of women education.

- Allocating the available potentials, means and services.

- Stating the practical goals of this education.

• The Curriculum's inputs

- Adopting the reading input to women education.

- Focusing on functional competencies (training and vocational training) .

- Focusing on the system of values and readjustment of behavior.

- Training the instructor who specializes in this education.

• Teaching techniques

- Teaching based on  accurate goals and objectives.

- Teaching through animation methods and experience curriculum.

- Teaching through group interaction.

- Teaching through contact with the milieu.

- Self education

- Teaching through assigning projects. 

• Means and services

- Studying the needs of target groups (a survey study).

- Building a frame of reference of the educational goals.

- Designing the administrative and educational organization of the curriculum (training kit).

- Selecting the content and organizing it according to specific centers of interest and axes.

- Making use of appropriate activities and methods.

Operations and Measures

The operations and measures describe the various activities involved in the preparation of the curriculum until it is put at the disposal of those in charge of implementing it. They also include those activities that are to be prepared later during and after the implementation stage. Most of these operations and measures rest on the inputs and points of departure mentioned earlier. There are three basic operations and measures that can be initiated in this context:

. Operation 1: analysis of inputs

Realizing this operation requires analyzing the inputs mentioned earlier as requisites and as a basis for the orientation of choices and decisions adopted in the planning of the curriculum, and in putting it into effect. This analysis is based on the following:

- Identifying the inputs and the points of departure which include:

1. Determining the country’s orientations and the objectives it seeks to achieve from setting up a women education policy :

• Learning about women’s affective, intellectual and social specificities.

• Organizing teaching in the form of a daily or weekly or periodical programming.

•  Determining the philosophy upon which the curriculum will be built.

• Assessing the means and resources available for implementing the curriculum.

2. Developing an initial conception of the curriculum in terms of goals, contents, activities and measures for implementing it.

3. Making an initial assessment of the project, and effecting the necessary adjustments in accordance with the exigencies and orientations of the country desirous of launching women education programs, and determining the choices upon which the curriculum is to be constructed.

. Operation 2: Planning the curriculum.

This operation requires a varied set of curriculum plans set up in accordance with the modern methods of curriculum design. In this operation, it is necessary to draw upon the following principles:

- Planning the curriculum objectives that describe the desired overall goals and the changes expected to be effected amongst the women targeted by the educational project.

- Planning and designing the contents in accordance with the principle of systematic gradation and sequencing governed by exact programming, according to the stages of implementation of the project.

- Selecting the activities and means of the program through opting for the appropriate methods and techniques suitable for adult education, on the on hand, and for women education, on the other.

- Drawing up assessment measures, designing backup activities and gearing the learning women’s effort towards achieving the highest goals of the project.

. Operation 3: preparing and designing training tools

Training tools are all the possibilities and means that are at the disposal of the trainer. They are designed to help him to implement the curriculum in the best possible manner, and keep him solidly committed to its orientations, in addition to guiding him towards selecting the best ways to achieve the desired goals. 

These tools should include documents that are especially designed for the trainer, similar to those designed for the women targeted by the training.

After a study of the compatibility and usefulness of the project, work begins to focus on drawing up training tools which should include the following:

• The trainer’s guide: it is an educational document that describes:

- The goals of the program.

- The methods of preparing and teaching lessons.

- The set of means that can be utilized.

- Assessment methods.

- The curriculum: it is a document that describes the theoretical conceptions, the bases and frames of reference  adopted by the project, in addition to its activities, contents and the ways of implementing it. This document is a model of the contents included in the curriculum, such as:(1)

- Approaches and points of departure of the curriculum
- Elements and components of the curriculum
- Ways of implementing the curriculum

 SUMMARY OF THE PLANNING OPERATIONS OF THE WOMEN EDUCATION CURRUCULUM

RESULTS AND EFFECTS

Results and effects are the goals and objectives to be achieved through putting the curriculum into effect. Generally, they represent the changes which we seek to effect in the mind and thinking of the women targeted by the training.

At the level of the curriculum plan and strategy, these effects afford an opportunity for curriculum assessment and for identifying the discrepancy between the objectives set for women education and what has actually been achieved on the ground. This is one of the principles governing systems and curricula analysis which holds that every curriculum falls within the following conception:(1)

The bigger the discrepancy between our expectations and the results on the ground, the more certain we become of the fact that the curriculum has failed to achieve the desired goals. Likewise, the smaller the discrepancy, the more certain we are that the goals have been reached and that the curriculum and the means utilized in it are effective. In a reverse situation, it is necessary to take the measures that are likely to avert the gaps and to improve the output.

Moreover, the curriculum should also include an assessment and a follow-up scheme during its implementation so as to unveil its results and effectiveness. This scheme aims to achieve the following:(2)

•  Assessment of implementation methods

This is concerned with examining the method of preparing and implementing the curriculum, as well as the means for achieving that. Hence the necessity to make field trips to training centers to assess the extent to which women, who are participating in the training, interact with the curriculum and the trainer’s behavior towards them.

• Assessment of documents

This concerns revising and emending the books that will be used to teach women, so as to make them fit the characteristics of the educational context. Revising can focus on the following:

* the cognitive and scientific contents of the book.

* the methods and techniques used in it.

* the layout and the aesthetics of the book.

• Assessment of effects

This concerns the effects of the curriculum on the women targeted by the training and identifying the kinds of changes they have gone through and the extent to which they match up with the desired goals.

The examination of the effects and results uses a set of various methods and techniques, such as:

- Studying the answers given in the assessment test by the women targeted by the training.

- Examining the opinions of the trainers in charge of preparing the curriculum.

- Proofreading the documents.

In brief, the first of the inputs to women education concerns the adoption of the "Theory of Curricula", which is based on the following:

- The curriculum must be based on a system analysis approach which views the curriculum as an integral system with homogenous elements.

- The curriculum must be planned according to operations that require an analysis of inputs and determine the strategies for implementing it.

- The Curriculum must include these steps: follow-up, evaluation, guiding and development.