Should Teaching Guides Be Used As Indicators Of Gender Dimension In A University Degree?

Authors

Elisabet MAS DE LES VALLS, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech, SpainFollow
Marta PEÑA, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech, SpainFollow
Noelia OLMEDO-TORRE, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech, SpainFollow
Amaia LUSA, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech, SpainFollow

Document Type

Conference Paper

Abstract

In order to achieve a truly equality society, universities are making significant efforts towards gender mainstreaming. One of the main pillars of this approach is the implementation of a gender dimension in teaching. To assess the degree of progress towards this goal, suitable indicators, both qualitative and quantitative, are desirable. Surveys could be used to gather students’ perceptions or educators’ efforts as indicators, but an underutilised source of information is available in the teaching guides. Teaching guides are understood as those open-access documents where the public can find a subject’s description, goals, and contents, among other universityspecific features.The aim of the study is to analyse whether the teaching guides can become viable tools to assess the degree of implementation of gender perspective in university teaching.

In the present study, 16 teaching guides and their evolution over a five-week-long gender-in-teaching training program have been analysed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The former is based on participants’ and the trainer’s perceptions, while the latter is based on the appearance of gender-related terms within the teaching guide.

The results show how the teaching guide can provide evidence of the existence of a gender dimension within a subject, but also highlight the urgent need to train educators on how to include this dimension. Additionally, a systematic quantitative analysis of the teaching guides is proposed to assess the degree of gender dimension within a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.

The present study might help academic gender policy design bodies to define strategies towards monitoring and promoting gender dimension in teaching. Furthermore, it provides university educators with indications of how to transform their teaching guides according to a feminist point of view.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/08XP-NX24

Recommended Citation

Mas de les Valls, E., Peña, M., Olmedo-Torre, N., & Lusa, A. (2023). Should Teaching Guides Be Used As Indicators Of Gender Dimension In A University Degree? European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI). DOI: 10.21427/08XP-NX24

Creative Commons License

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