Perception of future Portuguese teachers about female underrepresentation in scientific-technological areas and careers

Abstract

Female students’ lack of interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) conditions their choices for scientific and technological careers, which are often influenced by the traditional way of teaching science, and by the androcentric image that teachers have about science, usually associated with gender stereotypes attributed to professions. Thus, to understand the perception of future Portuguese teachers about the underrepresentation of women in the STEM areas and careers, two research objectives were defined: 1) To perceive if future teachers consider that there are typical occupations of a certain gender or professions in which female invisibility prevails; 2) To understand if future teachers perceive that there are differences of aptitudes between men and women, as well as whether they consider that the pedagogical practice can influence the interest and the professional choices of the students towards scientific and technological careers. An essentially qualitative investigation was adopted, and a questionnaire was applied to 28 students of the master’s degree course in Pre-School Education and Teaching of the First Cycle of Basic Education. Categories of analysis were defined that allowed to analyse the answers given by the participants. The results show that most participants demonstrate a lack of training in this subject; others express androcentric conceptions / beliefs about these issues, which compromise their pedagogical practice, since they interfere with the socialization and formation of future citizens. Therefore, it is necessary that their training include an understanding of gender issues, allowing them to develop a critical sense of their own stereotypes and to demystify and deconstruct gender stereotypes.