title: Translating MDG 3: Gender, Empowerment and the Adolescent Girl in Maharashtra, India

authors: Nandedkar, Lalitgauri

subjects: Adolescent Girls

abstract: This thesis is an exploration of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 3, tracing its path from a global aspiration to its translation into a developing world context. Adopted in 2001 by the United Nations, the eight MDGs represented a global effort to address issues such as poverty, health, social injustice and environmental degradation. Goal 3 specifically was aimed at gender equality and women’s empowerment. Despite an extensive scholarship on the MDGs in general and on the specific issue of women’s empowerment in the development context, there has been little scholarly attention directed at the place and role of adolescent girls in the context of gender equality and empowerment. Similarly, there is a critical need to examine how policy formulated at the global level is translated into local contexts and with what consequences. This research undertakes a qualitative, in-depth, small-scale case study of a gender empowerment programme located in rural Maharashtra, India, to examine how a broad goal of gender empowerment is translated into a UNICEF-funded local programme for adolescent girls. 

The absence of adolescent girls in the gender and development and feminist scholarship has meant that existing feminist analytical frameworks are inadequate for this study. Hence, I draw on a range of scholarship on Third World feminism, the women, culture and development paradigm, the social relations framework, as well as on youth and citizenship to develop an adolescent girl and development perspective. Deploying this perspective as an analytical tool serves to provide a fresh insight into how Goals conceptualised at the global level translate to influence policy affecting the lived realities of adolescent girls in rural India. 

The empirical case study, grounded in feminist qualitative research methodology, employs this perspective to undertake a thematic analysis of primary documents and transcripts of interviews and focus groups to illustrate how themes and ideas about empowerment, responsibility and development play out in the neoliberal context of development in India. In deploying this framework, the thesis seeks to understand how well-intentioned programmes, such as the Deepshikha programme in rural Maharashtra, often become the site of neoliberal development initiatives that maintain rather than challenge power structures. In addition, it explores the implications of excluding adolescent boys from development interventions. 

The analysis demonstrates that while the Deepshikha programme offers many avenues to political, social, economic, and personal empowerment for adolescent girls, it is not without its contestations. Embedded in narratives of self-responsibilisation, adolescent girls are burdened by multiple pressures in their daily lives. Although often socially perceived as a person of lesser value, the adolescent girl, nonetheless, becomes an object of investment through which she is meant to uplift herself. The thesis examines how, through processes of volunteerism and instrumentalism embedded in notions of the active citizen, the adolescent girl fulfils her duties within family and community while continuing to challenge established hierarchical and structural forms of power. 

This research is significant as there is a paucity of academic scholarship on adolescent girls in the development context. It demonstrates how the translation of a global policy initiative, MDG 3, into a local empowerment programme affects the dynamics of gender relations, with specific reference to adolescent girls and boys in rural Maharashtra. It also contributes to a critical scholarship in the area of gender and development that explores the structural and hierarchical oppression that adolescent girls face and the implications this has for their communities.

text: Translating MDG 3: Gender, Empowerment and the Adolescent Girl in Maharashtra, India This thesis is an exploration of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 3, tracing its path from a global aspiration to its translation into a developing world context. Adopted in 2001 by the United Nations, the eight MDGs represented a global effort to address issues such as poverty, health, social injustice and environmental degradation. Goal 3 specifically was aimed at gender equality and women’s empowerment. Despite an extensive scholarship on the MDGs in general and on the specific issue of women’s empowerment in the development context, there has been little scholarly attention directed at the place and role of adolescent girls in the context of gender equality and empowerment. Similarly, there is a critical need to examine how policy formulated at the global level is translated into local contexts and with what consequences. This research undertakes a qualitative, in-depth, small-scale case study of a gender empowerment programme located in rural Maharashtra, India, to examine how a broad goal of gender empowerment is translated into a UNICEF-funded local programme for adolescent girls. 

The absence of adolescent girls in the gender and development and feminist scholarship has meant that existing feminist analytical frameworks are inadequate for this study. Hence, I draw on a range of scholarship on Third World feminism, the women, culture and development paradigm, the social relations framework, as well as on youth and citizenship to develop an adolescent girl and development perspective. Deploying this perspective as an analytical tool serves to provide a fresh insight into how Goals conceptualised at the global level translate to influence policy affecting the lived realities of adolescent girls in rural India. 

The empirical case study, grounded in feminist qualitative research methodology, employs this perspective to undertake a thematic analysis of primary documents and transcripts of interviews and focus groups to illustrate how themes and ideas about empowerment, responsibility and development play out in the neoliberal context of development in India. In deploying this framework, the thesis seeks to understand how well-intentioned programmes, such as the Deepshikha programme in rural Maharashtra, often become the site of neoliberal development initiatives that maintain rather than challenge power structures. In addition, it explores the implications of excluding adolescent boys from development interventions. 

The analysis demonstrates that while the Deepshikha programme offers many avenues to political, social, economic, and personal empowerment for adolescent girls, it is not without its contestations. Embedded in narratives of self-responsibilisation, adolescent girls are burdened by multiple pressures in their daily lives. Although often socially perceived as a person of lesser value, the adolescent girl, nonetheless, becomes an object of investment through which she is meant to uplift herself. The thesis examines how, through processes of volunteerism and instrumentalism embedded in notions of the active citizen, the adolescent girl fulfils her duties within family and community while continuing to challenge established hierarchical and structural forms of power. 

This research is significant as there is a paucity of academic scholarship on adolescent girls in the development context. It demonstrates how the translation of a global policy initiative, MDG 3, into a local empowerment programme affects the dynamics of gender relations, with specific reference to adolescent girls and boys in rural Maharashtra. It also contributes to a critical scholarship in the area of gender and development that explores the structural and hierarchical oppression that adolescent girls face and the implications this has for their communities.

year: 2017

title: The use of a Self-Help book based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: To improve General Well-being and Reduce Stress among Support Workers in Disability Sector

authors: Thomas, Leny Philip

subjects: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

abstract: The randomized two group design (control and intervention group) study was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-help book based on ACT for support staff working in disability sector. 10 participants in the intervention group engaged with the book and did the exercises for a 7-week period while 12 participants waited. The researcher contacted the participants in the intervention group by telephone every week to discuss the respective section assigned for each week. 10 participants from the intervention group and 12 from the control group completed pre and post intervention measures for acceptance, mindfulness, quality of life, stress, thought suppression, values, general mental health and on thought control. Participants from the intervention group who read the book rated the usefulness of each section, answered if they were able to engage with the material and rated the difficulty level of the section. The questions at the end of each section helped to assess the comprehension of the content. Results of the group data showed that there was significant interaction for acceptance and depersonalization (a measure of burnout) for participants who completed intervention. Large effect sizes for interaction were seen for measures of stress and burnout while medium effect size was seen for quality of life and mindfulness. The current findings partially support the hypothesis that engaging with self-help book on ACT could improve general well-being of support staff working in disability sector. Previous studies have used ACT in form of workshop for support staff, results again suggest that a self-help book along with minimal guidance from therapist can help improve staff well-being and reduce stress.

text: The use of a Self-Help book based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: To improve General Well-being and Reduce Stress among Support Workers in Disability Sector The randomized two group design (control and intervention group) study was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-help book based on ACT for support staff working in disability sector. 10 participants in the intervention group engaged with the book and did the exercises for a 7-week period while 12 participants waited. The researcher contacted the participants in the intervention group by telephone every week to discuss the respective section assigned for each week. 10 participants from the intervention group and 12 from the control group completed pre and post intervention measures for acceptance, mindfulness, quality of life, stress, thought suppression, values, general mental health and on thought control. Participants from the intervention group who read the book rated the usefulness of each section, answered if they were able to engage with the material and rated the difficulty level of the section. The questions at the end of each section helped to assess the comprehension of the content. Results of the group data showed that there was significant interaction for acceptance and depersonalization (a measure of burnout) for participants who completed intervention. Large effect sizes for interaction were seen for measures of stress and burnout while medium effect size was seen for quality of life and mindfulness. The current findings partially support the hypothesis that engaging with self-help book on ACT could improve general well-being of support staff working in disability sector. Previous studies have used ACT in form of workshop for support staff, results again suggest that a self-help book along with minimal guidance from therapist can help improve staff well-being and reduce stress.

year: 2011

title: Teaching te reo Māori as a second language in primary schools: two case studies.

authors: Hill, Richard Kenneth

subjects: second languages

abstract: The provision of second language education in New Zealand primary schools has been, until recently, a rare addition to programmes. Its wider implementation in New Zealand primary schools has always been limited by low numbers of fluent bilingual teachers, and a perception that in a predominantly English speaking country such as New Zealand there is no need to teach additional languages in primary schools. The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007) provides the first opportunity to formally include second language education in primary schools, and to establish the learning of second languages as a worthwhile pursuit in New Zealand. However, the success of such a policy change will depend on the ability of the Ministry of Education and course providers to upskill teachers in their ability to speak additional languages and teach them. This article reports on the outcomes of a Ministry-funded project designed to strengthen the second language teaching approaches of upper primary school teachers who teach te reo Maori. It provides case studies of two of the teachers who completed this course, and finds that while there are clear benefits to be derived from such teacher professional development courses, these courses need to focus on long-term objectives and be channelled to those teachers and students who stand to benefit the most from professional development courses.

text: Teaching te reo Māori as a second language in primary schools: two case studies. The provision of second language education in New Zealand primary schools has been, until recently, a rare addition to programmes. Its wider implementation in New Zealand primary schools has always been limited by low numbers of fluent bilingual teachers, and a perception that in a predominantly English speaking country such as New Zealand there is no need to teach additional languages in primary schools. The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007) provides the first opportunity to formally include second language education in primary schools, and to establish the learning of second languages as a worthwhile pursuit in New Zealand. However, the success of such a policy change will depend on the ability of the Ministry of Education and course providers to upskill teachers in their ability to speak additional languages and teach them. This article reports on the outcomes of a Ministry-funded project designed to strengthen the second language teaching approaches of upper primary school teachers who teach te reo Maori. It provides case studies of two of the teachers who completed this course, and finds that while there are clear benefits to be derived from such teacher professional development courses, these courses need to focus on long-term objectives and be channelled to those teachers and students who stand to benefit the most from professional development courses.

year: 2010