Gender Equitable Schools Project

Strengthening gender-responsive school leadership to build safer, more equitable learning environments in Telangana.

Project Introduction

Global School Leaders (GSL), with DIA facilitating large-scale field research and data collection, designed a comprehensive study to strengthen gender-responsive school leadership in Telangana. Spanning July 2023 to August 2025, the initiative engaged over a hundred co-educational secondary schools in Rangareddy district, supporting school leaders in creating safer, more equitable learning environments for all students — especially girls, who often face risks such as early marriage, teenage pregnancy, or limited access to technology and learning resources.

Partners

Researchers

Project Methodology

DIA facilitated extensive fieldwork and monitoring activities, conducting baseline surveys with principals, teachers, and students at the start of the programme and endline surveys at its close, reaching hundreds of principals and teachers and thousands of students in total, alongside administrative data collection to triangulate findings. In parallel, a comprehensive education system diagnostic examined the wider structural conditions shaping gender equity in school leadership and learning, combining a representative phone survey with 400–500 school principals across Telangana, in-depth interviews with principals and government officials at block, district, and state levels, focus group discussions with senior teachers, and a desk review of policy documents using the RISE accountability framework, adapted with a gender equity lens.

Impact

The study strengthens evidence on how to build safer, more equitable schools through gender-responsive leadership practices in government schools across Telangana. Through carefully designed, ethically conducted surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions, it captures the experiences and perspectives of school leaders, teachers, students, and government officials — while upholding strict standards for informed consent and data confidentiality throughout the research process.

Documentation

This project is currently in progress, and will be updated with findings as results arise.

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