Coeducación: un reto para las escuelas del siglo XXI

Abstract

Given the fact that inequalities between women and men still persist, nowadays coeducation remains a challenge for educational systems. The purpose of this study is getting to know how coeducation is handled in the schools of Vitoria-Gasteiz. Likewise, it aims to analyze how far coeducational policies are known in the educational centers and their influence in the schools’ daily life. In order to get a first approach of the educational reality under study, “ad hoc” questionnaires were carried out, one addressed to teachers, and the other to members of the schools’ head teaching team. 491 members of 30 local schools answered the questionnaire. Later on, 7 focus groups were held: two of them aimed to teachers, three to students, and two to families; in total, 51 persons took part. One of the most relevant conclusions of this piece of research is that there are numerous programs aiming to work on coeducation, and they are well known by the studied educational communities, however they have not achieved the desired impact. Those schools closer to coeducation address the need to establish a coeducational project that goes further than campaigns and punctual celebration days. In addition, they propose to tackle several needs, like training on gender, introducing coeducational contents in the curriculum, selection and preparation of adequate material and, finally, collaborative and coordinated work among the institutions which work in favor of equality.