Promoting gender-responsive pedagogies in open education at Eswatini’s higher education institutions

This qualitative study explored the promotion of gender-responsive pedagogies in open education at higher education institutions in Eswatini. The study, which was conducted across three different campuses, used a narrative inquiry design to record in-depth personal experiences of 18 purposively sampled lecturers, nine of whom were male and nine of whom were female. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data, which was then thematically analyzed to find significant themes about gender-inclusive teaching methods’ implementation, opportunities, obstacles, and institutional support. Using a critical feminist perspective, the study explored how lecturers perceive, apply, and resist gender norms in their educational practices. The findings show that lecturers actively incorporate gender-sensitive content, make use of open educational resources (OER), and understand the value of ongoing training and institutional policies in promoting gender equality. However, obstacles such as a lack of formal policies, ingrained cultural norms, and restricted professional development opportunities remain. The study recommends comprehensive initiatives to improve gender-responsive pedagogies, including policy reform, contextualized capacity training, curriculum reform, and the development of supportive institutional cultures. To improve inclusive and equitable higher education in Eswatini, recommendations emphasize the importance of institutional commitment to policy creation, ongoing professional development, and including gender issues in curriculum design.