Gender in the study plans of education degrees in Spanish public universities

The aim of the doctoral thesis is to study the role of gender in the teaching guides of the courses that are included in the Education degrees, in Spanish public universities. To achieve this aim, three goals were set: a) To explore inclusion of gender in the teaching guides, within the Education degrees; b) To identify how gender is treated in each of the courses of the curricula; and c) To identify the elements that have an influence on how gender is treated and included in the teaching guides, in the Education degrees. In the first part of the research, we explained a concept of gender from the established difference between men and women, which is a product of an historical process that brings to the social construction of this concept; or as Burin and Meler (2000) conceptualize gender, as a net of beliefs, personality traits, attitudes, values, behaviours and activities which contradistinguish women and men. In second place, we explained the relationship of gender with the curriculum; and in third place, we described the university as an institution in which curricula are applied. The methodological approach of the research is descriptive-explanatory, focused on determining what is gender like and how it manifests, within the teaching guides of the courses in the Education curricula (degrees) in Spanish public universities; and on determining which elements favoured of tied down the inclusion of gender in the teaching guides, that are the physical representation of each of those courses. A mixed approach was used, obtaining and analysing data both in quantitative and in qualitative ways. In the first place, we realized a documentary analysis of the teaching guides of the curricula of Pre primary and Primary Education, Social Education and Pedagogy degrees, which are the four degrees that are more often taught in the Spanish public universities. A probability sampling was used, stratified according to the type of university. The first instrument applied was an on-line questionnaire, whose goal was to measure the level of importance that professors give to gender in the teaching guides; once the questionnaire was applied, data were introduced in a SPSS (v.17, Inc.) matrix, and descriptive and inferential analysis were carried out. Another instrument to collect data was the semi-structured interview; we interviewed 13 people, who were experts in the field of gender and the concepts that are related to it, and curriculum. All the interviews were transcribed, and codified with MAXQDA11 according to three great codes, that matched the answers and opinions of the experts. Results show a lack of presence of gender topic in the teaching plans; despite the existence of guidelines from governmental agencies such as the ANECA, both professors and the interviewed experts agree that the issue of gender has to increase its treatment in the curriculum. From the results of the theses, we intend to generate new research lines on the treatment of gender in training of teachers and education practitioners; and to invite policy makers within the university system to be aware of the need of the inclusion of gender issue.