Gender Frameworks in Explaining Patriarchal Power in Selected Schools of Zambia: The Efficacy of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Abstract

This article analyzed gender frameworks in the midst of patriarchal power in selected secondary schools in Zambia. By using gender theoretical frameworks, such as the Harvard Analytical Framework (HAF), Moser Gender framework (MGF), the Social Relations Approach (SRA), the intersectionality Gender Framework (IGF) and the Longwe Women’s Empowerment Framework (LWEF) the article explored their relevance in understanding patriarchy in the midst of AI. Patriarchal power in selected secondary schools have shaped cultural norms and expectations that uphold male supremacy embedded in the concept father of the school, commonly known in the Zambian school system a Tata. Patriarchal power has perpetuated gender inequalities in schools and reinforced stereotypes related to masculinity and femininity, influencing how bodies are objectified, sexualized and policies shaped in different contexts in the Zambian schools. At issue is the relevance of gender theoretical frameworks in explaining patriarchal power in schools. To do this, the paper question the relevance of Gender theoretical frameworks (GTF) and artificial Intelligence, positing their efficacy as essential tools that move beyond biological definitions of sex to examine the reasons why and how schools’ constructs gender roles, reinforces it, and acts upon it. Of concern is how do these tools of analysis help to explain behaviors, and power dynamics associated with femininity and masculinity in selected secondary schools of Zambia. These analytical tools are essential for challenging traditional, often patriarchal norms and for guiding policies that promote gender equality. In terms of theoretical framing, the paper uses the poststructuralist feminist theory to analyzes patriarchal power as a fluid, socially constructed, and linguistically mediated concept rather than natural, fixed, or an essential truth or fact. The paper critiques patriarchal discourses and power relations, focusing on how language creates subjectivity and how power is dispersed throughout everyday life and cultural practices in selected secondary schools in Zambia. Methodologically, the paper uses survey methods to review relevant literature for this article. The paper explored these theoretical frameworks as a way of analyzing and synthesizing them. This was found to be crucial for developing a better understanding on how they are applied to different gender discourses such as patriarchal power in schools. Notes were simultaneously taken and book-ended by critically reviewing the emerging trends on patriarchal power in schools. The paper puts forward several theoretical tools grouped in themes based on relatedness and relevance to explaining gender inequalities in patriarchal power in secondary schools. The paper concludes by noting the relevance of gender theoretical frameworks and AI as the best tools of analyzing gendered power in patriarchal structures of a school system. Specific recommendations are proposed to help enhance the potency of gendered education-related research.