Gender Dynamics in STEM Education: Students and Pre-Service Teachers’ Voices

Abstract

Building on previous research on ICT and gender, this paper explores the interrelations between gender and STEM in educational contexts in Portugal. The research aims to improve the understanding of the co-production of gender and STEM careers and to develop strategies to promote gender equity in STEM. The methodology was based on a structured workshop divided into five phases (representations, facts analysis, causes and impacts, attitudes, and strategies), each designed to address a critical aspect of the intersection of gender and STEM. Aligned with an advocacy/participatory framework, this methodology empowers participants to actively engage in the dialogue on gender equity in STEM and take meaningful actions toward fostering more inclusive environments. The study involved two distinct populations: pre-service elementary school teachers from a higher education institution and ninth-grade students. This selection was based on prior research emphasizing the influence of elementary teachers’ attitudes toward gender and STEM careers on students’ educational choices, which are made at the end of ninth grade in the Portuguese education system. The results indicated differences in the representations and attitudes of ninth-grade students and pre-service teachers regarding the gender gap in STEM, as well as variations in how girls and boys perceive and approach this issue.

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