School Culture and Gender Equality: Principals’ Strategies in Realizing SDG 5 and Asta Cita 4 (Gender Equality)
(1) Indonesian Language and Literature Education, Universitas PGRI Semarang, Indonesia
(2) Early Childhood Teacher Education, Universitas PGRI Semarang, Indonesia
(3) Development Practice, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Abstract
Gender equality is more than just an issue in Indonesia and globally. In Indonesia, the government launched Asta Cita 4, while at the global level, the UN launched SDG 5. This study aims to describe principals' strategies in creating school cultures that promote gender equality, to achieve SDG 5 and Asta Cita 4 (gender equality). This study used a quantitative survey method. Data were collected via Google Forms using closed-ended questionnaires. The respondents were 177 principals, selected purposively. Data analysis was done with SPSS. The results reveal that there are four strategies of principals in creating school cultures that promote gender equality in realizing SDG 5 and Asta Cita 4: the role of principals in improving gender equality in education; school policies that support gender equality in education; teacher training on gender equality; and the implementation of gender equality in learning. This research concludes that the strategies can promote gender equality. This research’s contribution is to raise awareness of the significance of school cultures that promote gender equality, thus achieving Asta Cita 4 and SDG 5. Moreover, this study's results can serve as a guide for creating a school culture that supports gender equality in educational environments.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Abeng, A. T., & Faridah, F. (2025). Kepemimpinan Kepala Sekolah Perempuan Berbasis Gender. JAMP: Jurnal Administrasi Dan Manajemen Pendidikan, 8(1), 66–80.
Ackah-Jnr, F. R. (2022). Enabling Inclusive Education: The Leadership Ecosystem in an Early Childhood-School-Community Context. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 1–19.
Agbenyega, J. S., & Klibthong, S. (2022). Giving Voice: Inclusive Early Childhood Teachers’ Perspectives About Their School Leaders’ Leadership Practices. International Journal of Leadership in Education.
Alemu, A. (2024, Oktober). How Female Principals in Ethiopia Fight for Gender Justice: A Qualitative Study of Their Challenges and Strategies. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 9, p. 1383942). Frontiers Media SA.
Ansari, M. S. A., Abouraia, M., El Morsy, R., & Thumiki, V. R. R. (2024). Influence of Transformational and Transactional Leadership on Agile Project Success. Project Leadership and Society, 5, 100136.
Asadullah, M. N., Webb, A., & Islam, K. M. M. (2024). SDG 4 Mid-Point Challenge: Fixing the Broken Interlinkages Between Education and Gender Equality. International Journal of Educational Development, 106, 103015.
Asri, K. H., Amalia, K., Thahir, M., & Kurniady, D. A. (2021). The Woman School Principals’ Leadership Facing the Educational Change in the Globalization Era. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Research of Educational Administration and Management (ICREAM 2020), 526.
Aznar-Martínez, B., Grané-Morcillo, J., Lorente-De-Sanz, J., Pérez-Testor, C., & Castillo-Garayoa, J. A. (2025). Evaluación de la Eficacia de un Programa Piloto de Formación en Igualdad de Género Para Profesorado. Revista Fuentes, 1(27), 31–46.
Baten, J., de Haas, M., Kempter, E., & Meier zu Selhausen, F. (2021). Educational Gender Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Long-Term Perspective. Population and Development Review, 47(3).
Belingheri, P., Chiarello, F., Fronzetti Colladon, A., & Rovelli, P. (2021). Twenty Years of Gender Equality Research: A Scoping Review Based on a New Semantic Indicator. PLoS ONE, 16(9).
Beloskar, V. D., Haldar, A., & Gupta, A. (2024). Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: A Bibliometric Review of the Literature on SDG 5 Through the Management Lens. Journal of Business Research, 172.
Brussino, O., & McBrien, J. (2022). Gender Stereotypes in Education: Policies and Practices to Address Gender Stereotyping Across OECD Education Systems.
Brutt-Griffler, J., & Kim, S. (2018). In Their Own Voices: Development of English as a Gender-Neutral Language. English Today, 34(1).
Cameron, L. (2023). Gender Equality and Development: Indonesia in a Global Context. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 59(2), 179–207.
Campbell, S., Greenwood, M., Prior, S., Shearer, T., Walkem, K., Young, S., Bywaters, D., & Walker, K. (2020). Purposive Sampling: Complex or Simple? Research Case Examples. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(8).
Cheng, L., Walshe, N., & Mi, Z. (2025). Reducing Gender Inequalities in Education Helps Mitigate Climate Change. Energy Economics, 145, 108494.
Chotim, E. R. (2022). Implementation of Gender Equality in Schools. International Journal of Science and Society, 4(2).
Condron, C., Power, M., Mathew, M., Lucey, S., Henn, P., Dean, T., Kirrane Scott, M., Eppich, W., & Lucey, S. M. (2025). Gender Equality Training for Students in Higher Education: Scoping Review. JMIR Medical Education, 11, e60061.
Cook, R. E., Nielson, M. G., Martin, C. L., & DeLay, D. (2019). Early Adolescent Gender Development: The Differential Effects of Felt Pressure from Parents, Peers, and the Self. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(10), 1912–1923.
Correa, A., Glas, M. G., & Opara, J. (2025). Females in Higher Education and Leadership: Insights from a Multi-Method Approach. Frontiers in Education, 9.
Creedon, P. J., & Wackwitz, L. A. (2023). Women in Mass Communication Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (4th ed.). Routledge.
Dagher, R. K., McGovern, P. M., Schold, J. D., & Randall, X. J. (2016). Determinants of Breastfeeding Initiation and Cessation Among Employed Mothers: A Prospective Cohort Study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 16(1).
Davies, S. E. (2018). Gender Empowerment in the Health Aid Sector: Locating Best Practice in the Australian Context. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 72(6).
De Paola, M., Gioia, F., & Scoppa, V. (2022). Female Leadership: Effectiveness and Perception. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 201.
De Souza, C. B., Venancio, S. I., & da Silva, R. P. G. V. C. (2021). Breastfeeding Support Rooms and Their Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals: A Qualitative Study. Frontiers in Public Health, 9.
European Commission. (2019). 2019 Report on Equality Between Women and Men in the EU.
Gaur, D., Gupta, K., & Pal, A. (2024). Transformational Women Leadership: A Road to Sustainable Development Goal of Women Empowerment. Journal of Global Responsibility, 15(2).
Gaus, N., Larada, N., Jamaluddin, S., Paramma, M. A., & Karim, A. (2023). Understanding the Emergence of Females as Leaders in Academia: The Intersections of Gender Stereotypes, Status and Emotion. Higher Education Quarterly, 77(4).
Ghozali, I. (2021). Aplikasi Analisis Multivariate dengan Program IBM SPSS 26 Edisi 10. Badan Penerbitan Universitas Diponegoro.
Govindasamy, P., Cumming, T. M., & Abdullah, N. (2024). Validity and Reliability of a Needs Analysis Questionnaire for the Development of a Creativity Module. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 24(3).
Graham, L. (2020). Inclusive Education for the 21st Century: Theory, Policy and Practice. Routledge.
Gruenert, S., & Whitaker, T. (2024). School Culture Rewired: Toward a More Positive and Productive School for All (2nd ed.). ASCD.
Huyge, E., Van Maele, D., & Van Houtte, M. (2015). Does Students’ Machismo Fit in School? Clarifying the Implications of Traditional Gender Role Ideology for School Belonging. Gender and Education, 27(1).
Iqbal, A., Hassan, S., Mahmood, H., & Tanveer, M. (2022). Gender Equality, Education, Economic Growth and Religious Tensions Nexus in Developing Countries: A Spatial Analysis Approach. Heliyon, 8(11).
Irdiyansyah, I., Karmila, N., Agustina, C., & Aisy, K. R. (2024). Development of Transformational Leadership Instrument to Measure Principal’s Leadership. Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 5(4), 624–633.
Jaya, A. C., Agustina, E., Basuki, A., Zahra, P. L., & Insani, L. J. (2024). The Influence of School Culture on the Motivation of High School Students in Yogyakarta. Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 5(3), 501–509.
Kaufman, M. R., Eschliman, E. L., & Karver, T. S. (2023). Differentiating Sex and Gender in Health Research to Achieve Gender Equity. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 101(10), 666–671.
Keating, S. (2023). The Road Less Travelled: The Journey to Meaningful and Empowering Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in Irish Schools. In B. Górnicka & M. Doyle (Eds.), Genders and Sexualities in the Social Sciences (pp. 107–130). Palgrave Macmillan Cham.
Keating, S., & Baker, C. R. (2024). Parental Involvement and Engagement in Gender Equality and LGBTQI-Inclusive Education: A Case Study from Gender Equality Matters in the Irish Primary School Context. Cambridge Journal of Education, 54(3), 357–375.
Keating, S., & Baker, C. R. (2025). Gender Equality Matters: A Precious “GEM” to Tackle Gender Inequality Through a Whole-School Community Educational Programme. Educational Review, 77(3), 710–730.
Khaleel, N., Alhosani, M., & Duyar, I. (2021). The Role of School Principals in Promoting Inclusive Schools: A Teachers’ Perspective. Frontiers in Education, 6.
Killen, M., & Rutland, A. (2022). Promoting Fair and Just School Environments: Developing Inclusive Youth. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 9(1), 81–89.
Lave, R., & Lane, S. (2025). The Field Guide to Mixing Social and Biophysical Methods in Environmental Research (Vol. 1). Open Book Publishers.
Leal, W. F., Kovaleva, M., Tsani, S., ?îrc?, D. M., Shiel, C., Dinis, M. A. P., ... & Tripathi, S. (2022). Promoting Gender Equality Across the Sustainable Development Goals. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1.
Liu, K., Raisolsadat, A., Wang, X., & Van Dau, Q. (2024). Quantitative Assessment of the Group of Seven’s Collaboration in Sustainable Development Goals. Nature Communications, 15(1), 7274.
Lowe, A. N. (2020). Identity Safety and Its Importance for Academic Success. In Handbook on Promoting Social Justice in Education (pp. 1849–1881). Springer International Publishing.
Lucas-Palacios, L., García-Luque, A., & Delgado-Algarra, E. J. (2022). Gender Equity in Initial Teacher Training: Descriptive and Factorial Study of Students’ Conceptions in a Spanish Educational Context. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14).
Lumban, N. T. G. (2017). Teori dan Implementasi Gaya Kepemimpinan Kepala Sekolah. Kelola: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan, 4(2).
Maciver, D., Hunter, C., Adamson, A., Grayson, Z., Forsyth, K., & McLeod, I. (2018). Supporting Successful Inclusive Practices for Learners with Disabilities in High Schools: A Multisite, Mixed Method Collective Case Study. Disability and Rehabilitation, 40(14).
Maheshwari, G., Gonzalez-Tamayo, L. A., & Olarewaju, A. D. (2025). An Exploratory Study on Barriers and Enablers for Women Leaders in Higher Education Institutions in Mexico. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 53(1).
Malik, A., Abrar, D., Khan, N. A., & Alhussami, A. M. (2025). Sustainable Development Goals: Students’ Perception on Quality Education, Gender Equality, and Sustainability. Discover Sustainability, 6(1), 410.
Maria, L. A., Bernabé, M., & José, P. F. (2020). Lactation and Work: Managers’ Support for Breastfeeding Enhance Vertical Trust and Organizational Identification. Frontiers in Psychology, 11.
Maryono, M., Kurniasih, D. D., Khusnadin, M. H., Samsuddin, S., Siswanto, S., & Wijaya, R. (2025). The Moderating Role of Gender in the Relationship Between Teacher Competence, Learning Satisfaction, and Students’ Intrinsic Motivation. Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 6(2).
Merma-Molina, G., Urrea-Solano, M., & Hernández-Amorós, M. J. (2024). The Integration of Gender Equality (SDG 5) Into University Teaching: The View from the Frontline. Innovative Higher Education, 49(3), 419–452.
Miiro, G., Rutakumwa, R., Nakiyingi-Miiro, J., Nakuya, K., Musoke, S., Namakula, J., Francis, S., Torondel, B., Gibson, L. J., Ross, D. A., & Weiss, H. A. (2018). Menstrual Health and School Absenteeism Among Adolescent Girls in Uganda (MENISCUS): A Feasibility Study. BMC Women’s Health, 18(1).
Milazzo, A., & Goldstein, M. (2019). Governance and Women’s Economic and Political Participation: Power Inequalities, Formal Constraints and Norms. World Bank Research Observer, 34(1), 34.
Miralles-Cardona, C. (2025). Teaching Gender Equality in Teacher Education: Does Existing Practice Actually Support Gender Mainstreaming Implementation? Frontiers in Education, 10.
Mitander, T. (2024). Undoing the Regional Demos? Gender Equality and Economic Growth in Regional Development. NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 32(1), 49–61.
Muafia, E., & Werdiningsih, W. (2021). Gender Equality in Educational Management in Educational Institutions. 9(2), 339–358.
Müller, U., Lude, A., & Hancock, D. R. (2020). Leading Schools Towards Sustainability: Fields of Action and Management Strategies for Principals. Sustainability, 12(7).
Mustofa, M., Karya, D. F., & Halim, A. (2021). Indonesian Students’ Perception of Gender Equity in Education. Pegem Egitim ve Ogretim Dergisi, 11(4).
Nengyanti, N., Permatasari, I., Saptawan, A. S., Imania, K. I., Wulandari, P. U. W., Adventy, M. I. Y. A., ... & Yanti, M. Y. (2025). Gender Equality in Achieving Inclusive Education in Elementary School and Junior High School. The Journal of Society and Media, 9(1), 260-282.
Noor, R. S., Hamzani, A. I., Widyastuti, T. V., & Kristanto, K. (2024). Gender Equality in Indigenous Peoples in Indonesia (Challenges and Efforts Towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals). Journal of Law and Sustainable Development, 12(1), e2173-e2173.
Nur, R. J., Komariah, S., & Wilodati, W. (2024). Realizing Gender Equity Through Education. Jurnal Perencanaan Pembangunan: The Indonesian Journal of Development Planning, 8(1), 77–90.
Nur, R. J., Komariah, S., & Aba, A. (2025). Achieving Equality Through Education as a Response to Gender Stereotypes in Women: A Quantitative Analysis. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 14(1), 382-392.
Nurdin, N. (2022). Implementing Gender Mainstreaming in Indonesian Local Government: The Case of Tangerang Regency. Jurnal Transformative, 8(1).
Nurwahyuningsih, P., Nurianti, N., & Nurlinda, N. (2024). Gender Equality in Schools: Providing Gender Equality Learning Environment. ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 7(1), 134–140.
Opoku-Nkoom, I., & Ackah-Jnr, F. R. (2023). Investigating Inclusive Education in Primary Schools in Ghana: What Inclusive Cultures, Environment, and Practices Support Implementation? Support for Learning, 38(1), 17–36.
O’Toole, L., Kiely, J., McGillacuddy, D., O’Brien, E. Z., & O’Keeffe, C. (2019). Parental Involvement, Engagement and Partnership in Their Children’s Education During the Primary School Years. National Parents’ Council.
Plan International. (2025). The Right to Inclusive Quality Education.
Pojok Prabowo. (2023, 1 Desember). Program Kerja: Asta Cita 4.
Putri, N., Munandar, A., Jordiansyah, M., Paridotullah, M. A., Noviasari, Y., Karmila, K., Nazilah, H., & Wati, H. (2025). The Role of School Principals in Improving Education Quality Management in State Elementary School 149/IV Jambi City. Jurnal Ilmiah Mandala Education, 11(1), 50–60.
Raabe, I. J., Boda, Z., & Stadtfeld, C. (2019). The Social Pipeline: How Friend Influence and Peer Exposure Widen the STEM Gender Gap. Sociology of Education, 92(2), 105–123.
Rahma, H. (2023). The Implications of Patriarchal Culture Toward Gender Discrimination Behavior in Anne With an E Movie Series. CaLLs (Journal of Culture, Arts, Literature, and Linguistics), 9(2).
Ratnawati, D., Sulistyorini, S., & Abidin, A. Z. (2019). Kesetaraan Gender Tentang Pendidikan Laki-Laki dan Perempuan. Jurnal Harkat: Media Komunikasi Gender, 15(1).
Reddy, A. Y., Alomari, E. S., Rashmi, S., Shrivastava, A., Kathiravan, M., & Chaturvedi, A. (2023). A Secure Machine Learning-Based Optimal Routing in Ad Hoc Networks for Classifying and Predicting Vulnerabilities. Cybernetics and Systems.
Redmond, P., Gutke, H., Galligan, L., Howard, A., & Newman, T. (2017). Becoming a Female Leader in Higher Education: Investigations from a Regional University. Gender and Education, 29(3).
Rollins, N. C., Bhandari, N., Hajeebhoy, N., Horton, S., Lutter, C. K., Martines, J. C., Piwoz, E. G., Richter, L. M., & Victora, C. G. (2016). Why Invest, and What It Will Take to Improve Breastfeeding Practices? In The Lancet (Vol. 387, Issue 10017, pp. 491–504).
Samudrala, V., Yeruva, A. R., Jayapal, N., Vijayakumar, T., Rajkumar, M., & Razia, S. (2022). Smart Water Flow Monitoring and Theft Detection System Using IoT. International Conference on Automation, Computing and Renewable Systems, ICACRS 2022 - Proceedings.
Santia, S., Astuti, B., & Syafitri, D. (2024). The Relationship Between School Culture and Student Achievement in High School. Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 5(4), 693–701.
Sari, G. R., & Ismail, E. (2021). Polemik Pengarusutamaan Kesetaraan Gender di Indonesia. Jurnal Penelitian Ilmu Ushuluddin, 1(2).
Sari, K. N., Heliawati, L., & Rubini, B. (2024). Analysis of Sustainable Awareness of Junior High School Students on Biotechnology Material. Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 5(4).
Satriawan, B. H., Haridison, A., Sandi, J. R. A., Iskandar, D., Utami, P. J., Irwan, A. I. U., & Hartaman, N. (2025). Politainment in the 2024 Indonesian Presidential Election and Positioning in Downstream Industry. Frontiers in Political Science, 6.
Savitri, F. N., Waty, E. R. K., Nurrizaliah, M., Adillia, A., Ramadhanti, T., & Marwiyanti, H. (2024). Implementasi Pengarusutamaan Gender dalam Sistem Pendidikan di Desa Purnajaya, Kecamatan Indralaya Utara. Jurnal Pendidikan Non Formal, 1(3).
Shaukat, S., & Pell, A. W. (2017). The Impact of Socio-Cultural Factors on Females Passing Through Higher Education in Pakistan. Egitim Arastirmalari - Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 2017(71), 193–214.
Siahaan, A., Aswaruddin, A., Maulidayan, M., Zaki, A., Sari, N., & Rahman, A. A. (2023). Principal Leadership Ethics as a Role Model in High School. AL-ISHLAH: Jurnal Pendidikan, 15(3).
Ssewanyana, D., & Bitanihirwe, B. K. Y. (2019). Menstrual Hygiene Management Among Adolescent Girls in Sub-Saharan Africa. Global Health Promotion, 26(1), 105–108.
Sudrajat, F. I. (2024). Looking at the Future of Indonesia in GEDSI Mainstreaming Through the Prabowo-Gibran Vision and Mission Document. Eduvest - Journal of Universal Studies, 4(6), 5388–5397.
Sudrajat, S., Saliman, S., & Supardi, S. (2022). The Evaluation of the Programs of Gender-Responsive School in Yogyakarta. Jurnal Penelitian Dan Evaluasi Pendidikan, 26(1).
Sugiyono, S. (2018). Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif, Kualitatif, dan R&D. Alfabeta.
Suhada, D. N. (2021). Feminisme dalam Dinamika Perjuangan Gender di Indonesia. Indonesian Journal of Sociology, Education, and Development, 3(1).
Thun, C. (2020). Excellent and Gender Equal? Academic Motherhood and ‘Gender Blindness’ in Norwegian Academia. Gender, Work and Organization, 27(2).
Tsouroufli, M., & Rédai, D. (2021). Gender Equality and Stereotyping in Secondary Schools Case Studies from England, Hungary and Italy. Palgrave Macmillan Cham.
UN Women. (2018). Why Gender Equality Matters Across All SDGs: An Excerpt of Turning Promises Into Action: Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
UNDP. (2021). Why It Is Important for Women to Be Equal in Society.
UNESCO. (2017). Global Education Monitoring Report: Gender Equality Through School Providing a Safe and Inclusive Learning Environment.
UNICEF. (2018). Quality of Education.
UNICEF. (2019). Gender Equality.
United Nations. (2015). Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
United Nations. (2025). Goal 5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls.
Van Houtte, M. (2023). When the Context Withholds Girls from Gender A?Typical Conduct: Schools’ Gender Role Culture and Disruptive School Behaviour of Boys and Girls. Sociology Compass, 17(12).
Vashisht, A., Pathak, R., Agarwalla, R., Patavegar, B., & Panda, M. (2018). School Absenteeism During Menstruation Amongst Adolescent Girls in Delhi, India. Journal of Family and Community Medicine, 25(3).
Villarama, J. A., Fabros, B. G., Angeles, C. I., Dela Cruz, L. M. M. V., Dela Fuente, A. V., Concepcion, E. A., Antalan, J. A. A. R., & Barcelita, K. J. C. (2024). Knowledge, Practices, and Constraints Among Breastfeeding Employess Towards Implementation of Lactation Area. Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Terapan Universitas Jambi, 8(2), 794–803.
Waluyo, B., & Anita. (2024). Integrating Gender Awareness Into EFL Pedagogy: Insights from Indonesia’s Islamic Universities. Issues in Educational Research, 34(3), 1180–1201.
WHO. (2025). Gender and Health.
WHO & UNICEF. (2016). Core Questions and Indicators for Monitoring WASH in Schools in the Sustainable Development Goals.
Widodo, H. P., & Elyas, T. (2020). Introduction to Gender in Language Education. Sexuality and Culture, 24(4).
Wigati, I. (2019). The Social Aspects of Gender-Responsiveness in Schools. Sawwa: Jurnal Studi Gender, 14(2).
World Economic Forum. (2024). Global Gender Gap 2024 Insight Report June 2024.
Wormley, A. S., Scott, M., Grimm, K., Li, N. P., Choy, B. K. C., & Cohen, A. B. (2021). Loosening the Definition of Culture: An Investigation of Gender and Cultural Tightness. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 2.
Zabaniotou, A. (2020). Towards Gender Equality in Mediterranean Engineering Schools Through Networking, Collaborative Learning, Synergies and Commitment to SDGs-The RMEI Approach. Global Transitions, 2, 4–15.
Zanchi, F., & Watson, P. (2024). The Influence of Peers on the Gender Divide Within Secondary Technology Education in Aotearoa, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 59(1), 251–267.
Zhu, Z. (2022). The Causes and Solutions of Gender Inequality in the Workplace. Proceedings of the 2021 4th International Conference on Humanities Education and Social Sciences (ICHESS 2021), 615.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
View My Stats