Portuguese Teachers’ Perceptions of Girl-Friendly Strategies in Physics Education: What Are the Challenges?

Ana Maia Fernandes (), José Luís Araújo, Fátima Simões and Sandra Guimarães
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Ana Maia Fernandes: Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
José Luís Araújo: Research Centre on Didactics and Technology, Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Fátima Simões: Department of Psychology and Education, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
Sandra Guimarães: Department of Psychology and Education, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-21

Abstract: (1) Background: The under-representation of women in STEM fields, particularly in areas such as physics and computing, is far from being resolved. This gender gap has complex causes. This research was carried out to understanding how physics teachers in Portugal are aware of the existence of a gender gap and how they use or are willing to use girl-friendly strategies in their lessons; (2) Methods: A sample of 55 Portuguese physics and chemistry teachers from the third cycle of basic education and secondary education and an 8-item survey were used. (3) Results: The results show that most teachers perceive girls’ participation in physics as satisfactory, and that girls do not perceive a gender gap and are interested in the subject, but may not be aware of the concept and application of girl-friendly strategies. (4) Conclusions: No correlation was found between gender or years of service and interest in the topic of girl-friendly strategies. Further research with a more diverse sample is needed to generalize these findings.

Keywords: physics education; girl-friendly strategies; gender gap; Portuguese teachers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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