Primary school prospective teachers’ perceptions and beliefs on gender stereotypes in science: A case study

Abstract

This study aims to investigate prospective primary school teachers’ attitudes towards scientific disciplines and perceptions of gender stereotypes. In particular, the objective is to understand how the perception of prospective teachers changes before and after attending a course on physics education at the degree course in primary education sciences at the University of Palermo, which is focused on innovative pedagogical methodologies. The participants, 119 prospective teachers, answered the same questionnaire before and after they took part in the course. They answered open-ended and closed-ended questions about gender stereotypes in scientific disciplines. We then conducted an interview with four prospective teachers to delve deeper into some of the topics covered in the two questionnaires. The analysis of the responses given to the questionnaire before the course showed that pre-service teachers’ perceptions largely conformed to typical gender stereotypes. On the other hand, the answers given to the questionnaire at the end of the course highlighted a change in pre-service teachers’ perception and awareness of gender’s impact.