What is being done to promote a gender fair curriculum in primary teacher training programmes?

Abstract

This thesis is a response to concerns about the invisibility and undervaluing of women's and girls' perspectives in the primary school curriculum and examines what is being done in primary teacher training programmes to promote a gender fair curriculum. Some of the relevant research on gender issues in education in Aotearoa and overseas is reviewed, with particular reference given to the work of Adrienne Alton-Lee and Graham Nuthall in primary school social studies programmes. A model for developing a gender fair curriculum in an integrated reading, language and social studies unit involving student teachers, primary school teachers and staff of a College of Education is described. The possible reasons for teachers being unaware of the invisibility or undervaluing of women's and girls perspectives in curriculum and resources is discussed and the ways that students and teachers can work together in pre-service and in-service courses are explored. Investigations were also carried out in Schools of Education in Polytechnics, Universities and Colleges of Higher Education in England & Wales. The investigations involved interviews with staff and students using open ended questioning within a framework of selected topics. Some of the problems involved in gathering data relevant to the research question are documented as well as the frustrations that teacher educators have encountered in trying to promote a gender fair curriculum in their programmes. The conclusions showed a lack of consistency in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of policies on equal opportunities and the promotion of a gender fair curriculum across programmes. The work that is being done in Sheffield City Polytechnic was particularly interesting in the way that they have developed a 'focused permeation' model to place equal opportunities issues at the centre of the professional teacher education programme. Several methods which they have developed are incorporated in the recommendations offered on how a gender fair curriculum could be promoted in primary teacher education in Aotearoa. However awareness of the position of women and girls of the tangata whenua and Pacific Islands both in society and the education system also needs to be addressed in any developments of a gender fair curriculum.