The Hidden Curriculum of Female Teachers’ Bodies: An Oral Storytelling Approach to Understanding Sexual Harassment in a Boys’ Senior High School in Ghana

All are warmly welcome to this presentation and discussion with BECHS-Africa Fellow Araba Osei-Tutu, PhD, on her research examining “The Hidden Curriculum of Female Teachers’ Bodies: An Oral Storytelling Approach to Understanding Sexual Harassment in a Boys' Senior High School in Ghana.”

Schools are expected to be institutions that challenge social injustices towards creating a safe environment for teachers, students, and the community. However, they are increasingly identified as sites where disproportionately high levels of sexual violence occurs. In this work, Osei-Tutu shares the sexual harassment experiences of female teachers in boys” senior high schools in Ghana using the African Oral Traditional Storytelling (AOTS) Framework. She will also discuss the teachers’ approach to addressing the issue, coping mechanisms and policy considerations.

Osei-Tutu is a lecturer at the Department of Teacher Education in the School of Education and Leadership at the University of Ghana and has joined the Center for the Humanities for the fall 2024 semester as a BECHS-Africa Fellow. With funding from the Mellon Foundation, and in partnership with the University of Ghana, American University in Cairo and Stellenbosch University (South Africa), the transnational BECHS-Africa program is aimed at enhancing research capacity for early career scholars in the humanities by supporting a residential fellowship exchange.

In addition to her presentation, Osei-Tutu will share two digital stories, co-created with an animator, based on collaborators’ experiences. After feedback from external scholars and her WashU mentor, Osei-Tutu will facilitate a conversation with participants about the topic and questions raised by her research.

All are welcome! Breakfast will be served and RSVPs are appreciated.