Gender dimension and teaching profession. Perspectives for a renewal of teachers’ skills by data of a research in Tuscany

Abstract

Discrimination based on difference, in particular that based on gender, which
regards culture, religion, and race, hinders a limit to the development and to
the realization of democratic citizenship.
This research’s focus is to stress the importance of education that gives importance
to gender difference since the early degree of education, to allow, for
each individual, to make free and authentic educational choices and therefore
try to eliminate the gender-gap in scientific and technical fields.
The sense of adequacy to various subjects, tends to occur at young age, during
the processes of socialization and schooling. For this reason the role of teachers
is particularly important and strategic who, for the first, start the study of
subjects, to convey positive images of both sexes, eliminating gender stereotypes
that for centuries and partially even day characterize our culture.
The research here presented aims to explore the degree of awareness of gender
identity among primary school teachers and how much issues related to
gender difference are perceived by teachers in their training and in their work.