Closing the Gap: A Mixed-Methods Study on Aligning Explicit and Hidden Curriculum for Gender Equity and Teen Dating Violence Prevention in Upper Secondary Schools

Teen dating violence (TDV) is a relevant threat to adolescent wellbeing, and schools may contribute to prevention by promoting gender equity through both the explicit curriculum (formal content and materials) and the hidden curriculum (everyday norms, interactions, and climate). This convergent mixed-methods study descriptively compared teachers’ and students’ perceptions of gender equity practices in three technical upper secondary schools in Southern Italy. Thirty-five teachers and 82 students completed an online, mirrored questionnaire developed for this study, including Likert-type items across three domains (explicit curriculum, hidden curriculum, and affective relationships/TDV-related education) and brief open-ended prompts. Closed-ended responses were summarized using descriptive frequencies and stacked distributions based on aggregated Likert categories, and open-ended responses were analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. Across domains, teachers reported higher endorsement of equity-oriented practices than students, whereas students more often indicated limited visibility of gender equity in materials and activities, greater neutrality/uncertainty in everyday practices, and weaker perceptions of school-wide consistency. Qualitative themes aligned with these descriptive patterns, emphasizing variability across contexts and requests for clearer, more consistent practices. These findings should be interpreted as perceptions within a context-specific convenience sample and may inform future school-based research and program development on gender equity and TDV-related education.