Inclusive Higher Education Challenges: Promoting Knowledge and Practice of Gender Equality

Spanish teachers, in general, are committed, sensitised and in favour of integrating gender equality into their professional development. Despite this, the gender perspective has not been systematically integrated into the training of future teachers. One of the reasons for this is education professionals’ lack of knowledge about the most elementary constructs of gender mainstreaming. The present study explores primary school teachers’ perceptions and knowledge. To this end, it considers some critical elements of gender equality (gender, gender equality, the glass ceiling, and feminism). A qualitative and quantitative approach was adopted, and the methodological design was based on Grounded Theory. An intervention programme was designed to make students aware of and able to distinguish between these terms. Ninety-two prospective primary school teachers took part in the study. Of these, 69% were female, and 61% were between 17 and 18. To assess students’ perceptions of gender equality, students completed an initial and final questionnaire before and after the educational innovation. The findings show that future primary school teachers had superficial and limited knowledge about gender, gender equality, the glass ceiling, and feminism. In this regard, the design and implementation of transversal and innovative educational actions can help overcome these deficiencies.