Girls’ Education
I. Foundational Learning
II. Gender-Disaggregated Data
III. Challenging Gender Norms
IV. Leadership & Voice
V. Child Protection & Safeguarding
VI. The Essentials
Why We Must Ensure Girls Learn and Thrive in School
The one thing people think they know about the global learning crisis is that more girls than boys are out of school. This is simply not true. In fact, today there are 128 million boys out of school compared with 122 million girls (UNESCO). This equality of access is the result of twenty years of concerted investment and focus on the part of many stakeholders. Yet the challenge of girls’ education does not end at the classroom door. What girls — and boys — learn in the classroom is equally important to ensure we are truly investing in a thriving next generation of young people, unencumbered by gender stereotypes. Research shows that when girls are not just in school but also learning, it improves their health outcomes, stimulates economic development, promotes gender equality, reduces child marriage and early pregnancy, and fosters social development.
Nearly equal numbers of boys and girls are out of school globally:
So how do girls learn best in school? It is tempting to assume that access to the classroom automatically results in learning. Yet the fact that nine out of ten children in low-income countries cannot read by age ten proves that delivering effective education in low-resourced settings — both for girls and for boys — is harder than it looks.
Studies indicate that girls learn just as well in co-educational programs as they do in gender-specific ones. At the Luminos Fund, we have also found this to be true in our classrooms, where girls and boys experience similar, significant learning gains throughout our program and continue in school at the same rate. This element of the Luminos Method details our comprehensive approach to creating a joyful classroom environment where girls not only attend school, but thrive and succeed.
Key Messages
Our approach to girls’ education is built on creating a learning environment where girls thrive and succeed. We do this by:
This webpage includes an overview of how Luminos helps girls thrive and succeed in the classroom. For more detailed information, including recommendations based on our experiences and a discussion of some of the challenges involved, you can download this document.
Our Approach
Luminos’ Track Record for Girls
In the Luminos accelerated learning program, we serve both girls and boys in our joyful, co-educational classrooms. This approach has led to extraordinary learning results, with girls and boys reading, on average, 3.2 times faster than their peers in government schools (at a grade 2 level). From the start of our program, across countries, we see girls and boys enrolling at similar rates with similarly low learning levels. At the end of our program, learning levels and completion rates are consistently high for both girls and boys. After completing the Luminos program, girls and boys go on to enroll in government schools at similar rates, and they persist in government schools at similar rates. Our results for girls and boys allow us to move beyond generalized concerns and myths about girls’ education and reveal the actual status and achievements of girls in our programs.
“By truly understanding girls as individuals, we can better serve them and avoid narratives that do a disservice to everyone involved. Honoring girls begins with seeing them as they are and recognizing the unique contexts where they thrive or face challenges.”
Caitlin Baron, CEO, the Luminos Fund
Girls and Boys Travel Similar Journeys of Achievement Through the Luminos Program
I. Prioritizing Foundational Learning
A central focus on girls’ education must be establishing foundational learning right from the beginning. Without mastering reading, writing, and math, students are unable to progress further. Foundational learning is particularly important for promoting gender equality and leads to numerous societal benefits, including lower child mortality rates, improved family health, and greater economic participation of women.
The Luminos program is founded on the belief that great education unlocks the light in every child. Our structured pedagogy ensures that students master the basics and begin to see themselves as successful learners. By using a well-ordered curriculum, girls and boys are able to master foundational skills and concepts gradually, progressing step-by-step into increasingly complex skills. This approach boosts students’ self-confidence by providing early and frequent opportunities for students to experience academic success.
To learn more about how we deliver joyful, foundational learning, see the Joyful Learning element of the Luminos Method!
To learn more about the benefits of foundational learning for girls and how we prioritize it in our classrooms, download this document.
II. Tracking Girls’ Learning Through Gender-Disaggregated Data
Tracking our program outcomes using gender-disaggregated data is crucial to ensuring that girls and boys are learning equally in our classrooms. Surprisingly few education programs and evaluations have been able to make this investment. Our gender-disaggregated data reveals that while girls and boys report similar learning gains across our country programs, small differences do exist. IDinsight’s 2023 randomized controlled trial (RCT) of our Liberia program found that girls and boys experience similar learning gains in our program. Small differences between the genders proved interesting, however. The RCT found that boys outperform girls on non-word identification tasks (nonsense words that assess a child’s familiarity with letter sounds), which may signal that boys were more confident than girls when it comes to hazarding guesses when they do not know something with certainty. This insight has led us to look more closely at how we foster confidence in both girls and boys, and to add socio-emotional screenings related to identity and self-belief to identify any deeper mindset challenges.
III. Challenging Gender Norms in Teaching and Learning Materials
Traditional gender norms can reinforce stereotypes that limit opportunities for both girls and boys. For example, research shows that gender stereotypes in school textbooks negatively impact students’ academic performance, self-esteem, and attitudes toward gender equality. To demonstrate the future possibilities that education can open up for both girls and boys, our classroom materials and lessons feature girls and boys engaging in diverse activities and holding various professional roles.
Our curriculum intentionally incorporates lessons on gender inclusivity. “We teach a gender-inclusion lesson in the first few weeks of the school year,” said Corina Wornee, Senior Program Manager in Liberia and Global Safeguarding Lead. “This helps students understand right away that girls and boys are equal.” The lesson includes a class discussion on gender assumptions based on stereotypes, and how classmates can treat one another as equals. Throughout the year, our lessons feature stories and pictures of girls in professional roles assumed to be typically held by men, including police officers and lawyers.
To learn more about how Luminos challenges gender norms in our teaching and learning materials, you can download the full Girls’ Education PDF.
“We teach a gender-inclusion lesson in the first few weeks of the school year. This helps students understand right away that girls and boys are equal.”
Corina Wornee, Senior Program Manager in Liberia and Global Safeguarding Lead, the Luminos Fund
A page from the story “Adama and Potato,” part of our materials for our program in The Gambia. This story follows one of the twins, Adama, and his friendship with a dog named Potato.
A page from the story “Awa and the Lost Money,” part of our materials for our program in The Gambia. This story follows one of the twins, Awa, as she dreams of buying a soccer ball (football) of her own.
IV. Promoting Girls’ Leadership and Voice in the Classroom
Meet a Student: Ellen
When Ellen first joined the Luminos program in Liberia, she had been out of school for years. Her family was unable to afford the school fees, so she helped her mother with housework instead. Ellen was thrilled to go to school when the free Luminos program launched in her community. “I wanted to learn,” she explains.
Like many Luminos students who are new to the classroom, Ellen was initially very shy and nervous about her inability to read. “She couldn’t read or write before she joined,” remembers her teacher, Gbellay.
Gradually, Ellen began learning the foundational skills of reading, writing, and math. Through Luminos’ step-by-step curriculum, Ellen mastered simple skills like identifying letters of the alphabet and their respective sounds, and she began to feel more confident. By the end of the program, Gbellay says, “She is transformed. Ellen is doing very well.”
Today, Ellen’s favorite subject is math and she enjoys solving math problems on the chalkboard in front of her peers. “Learning is important,” says Ellen. “When you learn, you don’t suffer.” In addition to presenting in front of her classmates, Ellen gained confidence through being Gbellay’s teacher’s assistant several times throughout the school year. “She’s good at phonics activities, reading, and math,” says Gbellay. “When I teach her how to do something, she can demonstrate it to the rest of the class.”
Equipped with foundational learning skills and a newfound confidence as a learner, Ellen hopes to continue her education all the way through college. “I want to be a doctor,” says Ellen.
Equal learning outcomes alone are not sufficient to ensure that girls thrive in the classroom; equal opportunities to lead are also essential. In our classrooms, we distribute leadership and participation roles equally among girls and boys. This sends a powerful message that both genders are capable and deserving of taking on responsibilities and making decisions, which helps to break down stereotypes and promote gender equality from a young age. It also helps girls develop confidence, assertiveness, and decision-making skills.
“The government teachers who receive the graduates from our program note how confident our girls are. They see the magic of our program in their sense of self and classroom leadership.”
Suwaida Abdul Aziz, Ghana Program Manager, the Luminos Fund
We provide our teachers with gender-responsive training, and we have detailed protocols for teachers to ensure equal participation and roles for girls and boys in the classroom. To ensure teachers are applying their training in the classroom, we also track teacher progress on being gender responsive. For example, teachers are expected to evenly distribute questions to learners between girls and boys, something we check via our weekly classroom observation data. In some Luminos classrooms, teachers come up with creative classroom roles that they assign to students. These roles, rotated weekly, give students a sense of responsibility and pride. We also make sure that roles are not assigned based on gender, which means that both girl and boy students have roles like floor sweeper, teacher’s assistant, chalkboard eraser, etc.
Sample Gender-Responsive Protocols for Teachers:
V. Implementing Strong Child Protection and Safeguarding Standards
Topics Covered in “Your Promise,” a Story for Luminos Students About Safeguarding
The right to go to school and learn
Inclusive learning and celebrating differences
All children are special: girls and boys
Protection from violence
Protection from bullying
Protection from unwanted touch
What to do if things go wrong
Our child protection and safeguarding standards ensure that all children, including girls, feel safe and protected in our classrooms, thus enhancing their ability to learn. Our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy delineates the protocols we have put in place to prevent and address physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and/or exploitation of our students. We reinforce our child protection and safeguarding standards in the classroom throughout the year, ensuring our students are educated about their rights using “Your Promise,” a storybook Luminos developed specifically for them.
To learn more about Luminos’ child protection and safeguarding standards, download the full PDF.
VI. Girls’ Education Essentials
Our classroom approach provides girls with a learning environment in which they thrive. At the Luminos Fund, we help girls achieve significant learning gains and develop leadership skills by:
- Prioritizing foundational learning: At Luminos, we establish foundational learning — reading, writing, and math skills — right from the beginning. Foundational learning provides numerous benefits for girls, empowering them to make informed decisions about their lives, health, and future.
- Tracking girls’ learning through gender-disaggregated data: Consistently disaggregating our data by gender provides a clear picture of the learning progress for both girls and boys in our program, enabling us to better promote gender equality.
- Challenging gender norms in teaching and learning materials: To demonstrate the future possibilities that education can open up for both girls and boys, our classroom materials and lessons feature girls and boys engaging in diverse activities and holding various professional roles.
- Promoting girls’ leadership and voice in the classroom: When girls actively engage in their education, including through leadership roles in the classroom, their academic performance improves, they are more likely to stay in school, and they have a clearer pathway to pursuing higher education. We make sure that girls and boys have equal opportunities, responsibilities, and leadership roles in the classroom.
- Implementing strong child protection and safeguarding standards: Our standards ensure that all children, including girls, feel safe and protected in the classroom. This sense of safety in school creates an environment where our students fully engage with their education, leading to better academic outcomes and personal growth.
In Ethiopia, Luminos students Fayze (right) and Tegest (left) have fun during a small group literacy activity. (Photo by Mara Chan/Luminos Fund)
As powerful as the Luminos Method has been in delivering transformative learning to both girls and boys, the fact remains that gender inequality is still rife globally. As the United Nations poignantly notes, “Despite gains in education, the world is still a violent, highly discriminatory place for girls.” By ensuring that girls receive a quality education that empowers them to thrive both inside and outside the classroom, we can tackle the broader societal and structural barriers that continue to hold women and girls back.
The time has come for a more holistic approach to girls’ education — one that not only ensures access, but also enhances the quality of learning and shifts attitudes so that systemic inequalities will be reduced in the future. If the global education sector could achieve equal access to schooling for girls and boys, it is well-prepared for the ambitious task of ensuring that education translates into real, lasting equality in human flourishing for women and men alike.
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