GENDER SENSITIZING PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS: A PEDAGOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

The plurality of causes and consequences of gender-based discrimination in human societies is a much known fact. The reason it is still prevalent in modern democracies for it has social sanction and acceptance either through religious scriptures, cultural practices, or traditional social institutions that are at times perceived unquestionable and to be rigidly adhered to. Transforming societies that are deeply rooted in traditional gender-discriminatory norms require education that will empower a person to question social conditions in the broader purview of scientific knowledge, rational mindset and humanitarian values. Teachers of modern age can instil this argumentative and deliberative or discursive democratic mindset among the learners of today that will be instrumental in creating more just and egalitarian society free from gender biases and discrimination. This necessitates the relevant pedagogical inputs through teacher preparation so as to equip prospective teachers for making it a part of their day to day teaching practices. The present paper is based on author’s classroom experiment of pedagogical endeavours with studentteachers of B. Ed. degree program in India. The major aim of this study was to gender sensitize prospective teachers through argumentative and reflective pedagogical strategies and to document their perspectives and learning while dealing with the Inter-disciplinary Course – Gender, School and Society from the present B. Ed. curriculum of University of Mumbai. Observation and diary documentation method was used in the study and the outcomes of the experiment were analysed qualitatively. The study discovered unique benefit of argumentative and reflective pedagogical strategies in guiding students’ moral judgements and sensitizing them for more balanced, rational and well informed scientific thought process on the issues of gender equality. The study revealed a growing positive scenario among the prospective teachers of the present age, irrespective of their gender, towards breaking the ageold gender-discriminatory social norms and gender stereotypes