Overcoming stereotypes in teacher training: Responses from a systematic review to address the gender gap in STEM

Abstract

The unequal presence of women in scientific and technological fields compared to men may have its origins partly in the compulsory educational stages and performance of teachers involved therein. This study aims to systematically review the existing literature on science and technology teacher training to address the gender gap in STEM studies, identifying aspects with didactic implications. Following the PRISMA systematic methodology, 37 references published between 2008 and 2022 were selected. The studies were carried out in 14 countries following different qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, together with the design and implementation of training proposals. The result of the content analysis of the studies is expressed in five emerging categories: attitudes towards science and technology and their teaching, perceptions and beliefs regarding the student profile, educational methodologies in pre-service teacher training, and the emotions and invisibility of female role models. In view of the results, up to now not enough attention has been paid to teacher training in aspects to address the teaching of scientific-technological disciplines from a gender perspective. It is proposed to train teachers through reflection to detect the persistence of gender inequality, break down stereotypes and incorporate female role models into scientific-technological education, as well as consider the effect of emotions in the learning of these disciplines. The ultimate aim is to incorporate a gender perspective into the teaching identity of future science and technology educators and, so that it is reflected in their teaching and contributes to reducing the gender gap in STEM professions