Teachers’ Challenges and Strategies in Fostering Gender Equality in the Classroom

Abstract

There have been several studies about gender equality in different levels of education. However, there is a lack of research which focuses on gender equality in senior high school education. Unfortunately, a possible reason is that senior high school is a relatively new curriculum introduced by the Department of Education (DepED) in 2016. The purpose of this narrative research study attempted to determine the perspectives of gender equality in the classroom using different strategies of six senior high school teachers in mathematics in the academic track in the Division of Quezon City in the school year 2023 – 2024. Data were collected using interviews to the participants, questions were checked and validated by three educational leadership, management and research specialists. After the conduct of the interviews, data were transcribed and analyzed. The study indicated that despite equal educational opportunities for men and women, issues of gender inequality still exist in different educational setting including the senior high school education. The challenges of teachers led to the themes gender stereotype and bias as well as gender-based discrimination. As with the teachers strategies themes were gender awareness, gender sensitivity and gender responsiveness. Furthermore, the study revealed that there are varied strategies for teachers to use to promote gender equality within the classroom like the use of gender-neutral language, group activities, group discussions, cooperative learning, avoiding stereotypes and gender bias. To contribute to the knowledge base that will be useful in fostering gender equality in the classroom. Thus, it is recommended that there is a need for a whole school approach to foster gender equality. Gender equality is not only a concern for all teachers in different levels of education but families as well.