Anjana Mangalagiri, an official with the UNICEF Office for China, has said that school text books that show images such as Dad reading a newspaper and Mum doing housework, are no way to illustrate the family relationship in "child-friendly school" textbooks."Schools using textbooks with pictures like that are not gender responsive and will not be termed child-friendly schools," she was quoted as saying.
Xinhua reports that China, with support from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), plans to spread "child-friendly school" teaching methods to 1,000 primary schools in 10 western provinces and regions over the next five years. The "child-friendly school", a learning quality philosophy promoted by UNICEF, is spreading to 155 countries and regions worldwide.
According to Mangalagiri, child-friendly schools should have five key dimensions.
* They should include all children,
* be academically effective and relevant for children,
* be healthy, safe and protective,
* be gender responsive,
* be involved with students, families and communities.
