Rethinking What Safe Spaces in Education Really Mean
A child can be enrolled in school and still feel excluded.
A woman can be qualified for leadership and still struggle to find the opportunity to lead.
So, what does it really take to create spaces where everyone can thrive?
These were some of the questions explored by Ama Serwaa Nerquaye-Tetteh in her keynote address at the 2026 Women Changemakers for Education Conference.
Speaking on Shaping Safe Spaces for Equitable and Inclusive Education, Ama challenged participants to look beyond access to education and consider the barriers that prevent children and educators from fully participating, feeling included and having their voices heard.
Access to education is only the beginning
Reflecting on Ghana's progress in expanding access to education, Ama acknowledged the importance of initiatives such as Free Senior High School. However, she pointed out that making education free does not automatically remove the barriers that prevent some children, particularly girls, from attending school.
She illustrated this through the example of a mother who needs her daughter at home every morning to help grind corn for the family's kenkey business. In that situation, the barrier is not necessarily the cost of schooling. The family needs the girl's contribution at home.
There are many reasons why a girl may not be able to attend school, even when tuition is no longer a financial obstacle. For Ama, this is why conversations about educational access must also address the systemic barriers that continue to affect participation.
Women need safe spaces to lead, too
The conversation also extended beyond learners to women working to influence and transform education.
Drawing on research about Ghana and her own observations, Ama identified several systemic barriers that continue to affect women's access to leadership opportunities. These include gender expectations, community scrutiny, moral judgment, disproportionate domestic responsibilities and internalised self-doubt.
She highlighted how women sometimes hesitate to apply for opportunities even when they are qualified, focusing on what they lack rather than what they bring.
As she put it:
"When men think they have 50% of the qualifications, they will apply..."
Ama also discussed mobility and safety concerns, explaining how family responsibilities and expectations can influence whether women are willing or able to relocate for career opportunities. Institutional barriers, including opaque recruitment processes and heavy administrative workloads, can create further disadvantages.
However, she also identified three factors that help women reach leadership positions: solid support from partners and families, good guidance and mentorship, and opportunities to lead.
Her message to young women was to recognise the importance of these support systems and to seek opportunities to develop their leadership experience. Taking on leadership responsibilities, even at an early stage, can help build the confidence and experience needed to take on greater roles in the future.
Inclusion means making every voice count
For Ama, inclusion goes beyond bringing different people into the same educational setting. It requires recognising diversity, removing barriers and ensuring that everyone can participate meaningfully and develop a sense of belonging.
She challenged educators to consider what happens after a learner enters the classroom. A child may be physically present but remain overlooked throughout the school year.
She illustrated this with the example of a teacher who repeatedly overlooks a learner who raises their hand, choosing instead to call on another student because they assume the first learner will give an incorrect answer.
Her point was that acknowledging a learner's willingness to contribute matters, even when their answer is not correct. As she explained:. As she explained,
"What you have said is that your voice matters".
She also challenged educators to think about whether their teaching methods actually accommodate learners with different abilities. Having a blind learner in a classroom, for example, means little if the lesson relies entirely on visual materials without making any adjustments.
Equity means recognizing that people have different needs
Ama also made an important distinction between equity and equality, describing equity as the principle of fairness. It means ensuring that every learner receives the support, resources and opportunities they need, taking their individual circumstances into account.
To explain this, she referred to a familiar illustration of people trying to watch a football match over a fence. While a taller person can see over the fence, shorter people cannot. Giving everyone the same-sized block to stand on does not solve the problem. Providing different levels of support allows everyone a fairer opportunity to see the match.
She contrasted this with another illustration of animals of different abilities being asked to race to the same finish line. While some are naturally equipped to run, others, such as a fish, cannot compete under those conditions.
These examples demonstrate why providing everyone with exactly the same resources or opportunities does not always produce fairness. Creating equitable educational spaces means recognizing differences and responding to them.
Safe spaces extend beyond the classroom
Sharing an experience from public transport in Accra, Ama recounted how a male passenger questioned why she had been given a front seat instead of a man.
For her, the encounter was a reminder that gender-based assumptions continue to shape everyday interactions, even in ordinary public spaces. It also illustrated how far society still has to go in becoming equitable and inclusive.
She further drew attention to online safeguarding, describing it as an increasingly important concern for young people. From online grooming to cyberbullying and public humiliation, the experiences children have online can have serious consequences for their well-being and confidence.
She noted that young people often access the internet privately, away from the immediate attention of adults. This makes it important for parents, educators and other adults to pay attention to the risks they may encounter online.
Listening to children is part of creating change Whether teaching in a classroom, running a programme or working with young people, she encouraged participants to make room for children's voices and take their experiences seriously.
Adults may have knowledge and experience to share, but that should not mean assuming that they already know what children need. Without taking the time to listen, ask questions and understand their experiences, it becomes difficult to identify the challenges they face or create meaningful change.
For WC4E, these conversations speak directly to the importance of supporting women changemakers who are working to improve education and create opportunities in their communities.
Ama's keynote was a reminder that access alone is not enough. Children must be able to participate and feel that they belong, while women must have the support and opportunities to contribute to the decisions shaping education.
Creating safe, equitable and inclusive spaces takes all of us. And sometimes, it begins with something as simple as making sure we listen.
Comments