Wicked Problem and Gender Inequality in the Educational Sector

Introduction

‘Wicked problem’ was coined by Rittel and Weber (1973) to refer to a pervasive socio-political problem that is difficult to solve. The authors adopted the word in the sense that the phenomenon is “malignant”, “tricky”, “vicious” and “aggressive”. In order words, the term is difficult to understand and appears not to have a solution (Bishop & Dzidc, 2014). Grint (2005) opines that wicked problem has no unilinear solution, no ‘stopping point’, and no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer, but there are better or worse alternatives. It is interrelated and symptomatic of other problems (Head & Alford, 2015). This interconnectedness makes wicked problem a complex and multi-dimensional concept (Walton, 2017) that has a ripple effect on other systemic components. In light of this, Mertens (2014) submits that a systemic nature of the world’s problems must be identified in order to come up with solutions.

One of the dimensions of the world’s wicked problem is gender inequality in education. Gender inequality in education is said to have a direct effect on economic growth by reducing the average level of human capital growth (Jayachandran, 2015; Kleven, Landais & Søgaard, 2018). This consequently leads to gender inequality on investment which indirectly affects population growth (Klassen & Cosgrave, 2002). The preceding argument is consistent with the position of Rittel and Webber (1973) that a wicked problem can be considered a symptom of another problem. Gender inequality in education can be seen as a social problem that has manifested as gender inequality effects poverty, general income level, human capital, health and politics (Meny-Gibert & Russell, 2012; Taylor, van der Berg & Mabogoane, 2013; Walton, 2017).

Previous studies by scholars such as O’ Brien, Fitzsimmons, Crane and Head (2017), Sen (2001) and Fotaki (2012) have identified gender inequality as a wicked problem. Scholarly works have also advanced on the link between education and a wicked problem (Southgate, Reynolds & Howley, 2013; McCall & Skrtic, 2009). However, the concept of gender inequality in education as an instance of a wicked problem has not been given adequate attention.

Gender inequality in education has been witnessed in Europe and North America (Fotaki, 2001) but is said to be more prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Caribbean countries. While Latin American and Caribbean countries show annual growth rate of 1.53 percent, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 0.57 percent (Klassen & Lamanna, 2009).

Furthermore, in terms of access to education, the girl child in Africa seems to suffer more discrimination (Shabaya & Konadu-Agyemang, 2004). There is continuous discrimination against girls and women in education as girls recorded more than 55 percent of out-of-school children (Wang, 2013). It is estimated that women made up two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population. A recent report by the UNESCO (2015) indicates that 58 million children and 63 million adolescents are not in school, and more than half of out-of-school children are girls. The report further explains that of the out-of-school children, not enrolled in school, 31 million girls are of primary school age and 34 million girls are of lower secondary school age. While 75 percent of women are literate, it is 86 percent for men across all developing countries (Antonio & Tuffley, 2014). It is in this sense that Walton (2017) conceptualised education exclusion as a “wicked problem”.