Teachers’ Perceptions of Gender and Education During the Return to School in Kenya

Gender gaps favoring girls have defined education systems in high-income countries for many years and are becoming increasingly prevalent in low-income countries, including in Kenya. We conduct qualitative interviews with Kenyan primary school teachers and find that these key stakeholders are grappling with different gender narratives and the complexity of gender dynamics, particularly in the wake of extended school closures. Many teachers believe that issues such as early marriage and pregnancy significantly increased during school closures, uniquely affecting girls and girls’ education. At the same time, approximately half of teachers observed that girls were doing better academically than boys, both before and after the pandemic. Clear theories were expressed to explain the challenges girls face, but teachers seemed to speculate about the challenges facing boys.