GENDER-ED: Combatting Gender Stereotypes in Education and Career Guidance

Coordinator:Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies in Cyprus.

Partners: Cyprus Family Planning Association (CDPA) in Cyprus, the Women’s Issues Information Centre (WIIC) in Lithuania, the Association for Gender Equality and Liberty (ALEG) in Romania, and the Centro documentazione donna (CDD) in Italy.

Associate Partners:

•Cyprus :Pedagogical Institute (under the Ministry of Education) and the Department of Labour Relations (under the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance)

•Romania: National Agency for Equal Opportunities (under Ministry of Labour), National Institute for Education Science (under Ministry of Education), School Inspectorate of Sibiu.

•Lithuania: Siauliai University, Lithuania.

•Italy:  The City of Modena, City of Savignano, Istituto Comprensivo di Savignano sul Panaro

The main aim of this project is to deconstruct traditional and stereotypical attitudes and behaviours related to gender within the education system in the partner countries and 'build' new meanings to replace them, based on gender equality, in order to ensure that both girls and boys, women and men can benefit equally in relation to their access, integration, participation and advancement in the labour market.

Objectives:

•Explore the role that schools, teachers and curricula play in terms of perpetuating gender stereotypical behaviours and expectations among girls and boys.

•Identify the attitudes and beliefs of girls and boys on gender stereotypes in relation to their career choices.

•Develop innovative pedagogical tools and materials for teachers and career guidance counselors to combat gender stereotypes in the classroom.

•Raise awareness on how gender stereotypes inform daily practices in the education setting among all those key actors who are involved: a) secondary school teachers B) in career guidance and mentoring.

•Raise awareness and understanding among boys and girls on the ways in which gender stereotypes shape and influence the perceptions, attitudes, beliefs and personal choices;

•Challenge gendered attitudes and behaviour patterns among girls and boys through a reflection process to renegotiate the way they see themselves and others beyond the 'prohibitions' and 'restrictions' associated with their gender

•Widely spread policy recommendations and messages in relation to the eradication of gender stereotypes in education.

Activities:

•Conduct a diagnostic study using quantitative and qualitative research tools in order to identify those attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate gender stereotypes

•Convene and co-ordinate Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG) in each partner country.

•Develop gender sensitive educational programme for teachers to implement in schools with girls and boys (aged 13-16);

•Update/Develop career counselling manual and teacher’s guide to facilitate and support the the implementation of the educational programme for girls and boys (aged 13-16).

•Develop innovative online game for adolescents (aged 13-16), as a resource to support the deconstruction of traditional and stereotypical attitudes and behaviours related to gender.

•Teachers' training seminars, aiming at their capacity building to implement interventions with adolescents utilizing the pedagogical tools and materials developed in Workstream 2.

•Awareness raising workshops with adolescents at schools by the trained teachers in order to pilot-test & evaluate culturally adapted material and online game (National Packages)

•Dissemination events in all partner countries.

•Final conference in Cyprus presenting the results of the project including the recommendations and messages.

For more information, please contact Maria Angeli, Project Coordinator, Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS); angeli.m@medinstgenderstudies.org, Tel.: 22795153