Assessing Silences in History Assessment: The Case of Representation of Women in Zambian Secondary School History Examination Papers, 2015–2022

This chapter examines the aspect of gender in the Zambian secondary school history curriculum by focusing on the numerical and pictorial representation of women in Grade-12 national examination papers, between 2015 and 2022. Using qualitative analysis, the chapter analyses the representation of females in terms of their assigned roles and historical agencies in comparison to male figures. Theoretically framed within the decoloniality paradigm, it argues for decolonising Eurocentric and androcentric historical narratives in secondary school learning materials and assessment practices. The central thesis advanced in the chapter is that assessment and, in particular, national examinations at the school leaving level play a huge role in shaping learners’ historical experiences, their perceptions of subjects, and how their understanding of gender in history is legitimatised and assessed. To this end, the chapter foregrounds the need to address the silencing and omission of women in the history curriculum through the adoption of gender-inclusive assessment practices.