Gender Studies and Teacher Education: A Proposal

Abstract

Although gender studies have become a central concern in Canadian universities through women's studies programs or programs in feminist theory, they have not influenced courses and programs in faculties of education to the extent they should. We propose the "mainstreaming" of gender studies and argue that courses and programs should be reconceived and reconstructed to incorporate the findings and approaches developed in feminist and women's studies. We talk of "gender studies" because, unlike "women's studies," we are not advocating a separatist strategy and do not propose a particular theoretical framework, as may be suggested by "feminist" theory. We justify mainstreaming gender studies in teacher education programs because they can contribute to the general education of teacher candidates and can help develop the attitudes, knowledge, and skills central to the practice of teaching.

‘You're not a teacher, you're a man’: the need for a greater focus on gender studies in teacher education

“…Despite a global push for gender studies to have a stronger focus in pre-service education (Equal Opportunities Commission 2007; Pearson and Rooke 1993;UNESCO 2003), responses from the interviewees in New Zealand and England indicated that such content had been minimal during their student-teacher days. This was the case even for the men new to teaching.…”

A Critical Analysis of Gender Mainstreaming

“…Pearson and Rooke (1993, 416) asserted that if it “is legitimate to have separate women's courses, it is also appropriate to mainstream core courses” because doing so eliminates “imbalances that are perpetrated by sex role stereotyping and sex biases.” For example, significant numbers of women continue to seek civic jobs, like school board and county clerk positions, that can be perceived as extensions of their gender role, and these stereotypes point to an inherent problem with gender role stratification (Lublin and Brewer 2003; Verba, Schlozman, and Brady 1995). Gender mainstreaming is essential to changing attitudes about gender from the ground up.…”