Attitude Of Secondary School Teachers Towards Gender Sensitivity In The Schools Of Kolkata

Gender inequality in education has undergone many changes in the recent past. Gender sensitivity advocates for adjustment of behaviour by increasing awareness of issues related to gender equality. As an instrument of character building, teachers are the prime medium through which gender sensitivity can be established in society. The objectives of the present study were to find out the attitude of male and female school teachers towards gender sensitivity in government, government-aided, and private schools in urban and suburban areas. The present study employed a quantitative empirical research design. This study involved a descriptive survey method, which included a sample of 225 secondary school teachers randomly selected from 27 schools in Kolkata. Data were collected using a self-constructed attitude scale. The collected data were systematically tabulated, analyzed, and interpreted. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analyses, SPSS 20 was used for data calculation, and MS Excel 2007 was used for graphical presentation. The results of the survey revealed that teachers lacked sufficient education specifically focusing on 'gender' as a separate topic. However, the majority demonstrated a strong desire to further their understanding of gender issues. Results showed that there was no significant relationship between male and female teachers, and urban and suburban teachers in their attitude towards gender sensitivity. It was also revealed that there existed significant differences among the attitude of government, government-aided, and private teachers in secondary schools. The present study showed that the status of teachers' attitude towards gender sensitivity was not equally distributed.