The Gender of Science: A Scientific Analytically-Based Project to Enhance Secondary School Students’ Awareness of Gender Stereotypes in STEM

This paper presents a pedagogical intervention targeted at secondary school students developed by two researchers in physics. The project seeks to narrow the gender gap in STEM fields by fostering students’ critical awareness of gender stereotypes and roles, helping them to recognize the influence that gender has on their educational choices and professional aspirations. Unlike other orientation programs, here STEM subjects are not the explicit content, rather the working methodology. Our intervention adopts a project-based learning approach introduced by a board game designed to engage students in the topic. Students are guided in carrying out an autonomous investigation of gender discrepancies within their family, school, and peer contexts through a scientific approach, by administering surveys, gathering and analyzing data, and using gender indicators. The final objective is developing a Gender Report of the school. After presenting the project, we document the project experience in nine schools of the Naples (Italy) area through a qualitative analysis of students’ Reports, focusing on the gender dynamics they have identified, as well as the facilitators’ observations. Our analysis shows that traditional gender roles and stereotypes persist, yet first-hand observation may stimulate students’ critical thinking skills from a gender perspective.