This study was commissioned by the UK Department for International Development to contribute to a broader study taking place within the Working Group of the OECD DAC on Gender Equality. Similar studies in health and agriculture have been undertaken by other donor agencies. The objective of this study is to examine the experience of gender mainstreaming in Sector Wide Approaches in education in order to identify lessons learned and good practices for promoting gender equality.

The study comprised three country case studies (Ghana, Uganda and India) and a literature review. In each of the country case studies a short field visit was carried out to interview key informants in government, the donor community and civil society. Due to restrictions of time and scale we were not able to extend the consultations to the level of community level actors (parents, children, teachers) – a limitation which should be born in mind when reading the conclusions.