Pedagogy and student change in the women's and gender studies classroom

Abstract

Women's and gender studies (WGS) classes and programmes have been developed on many university and college campuses around the world. Despite some success in the establishment of WGS in higher education, WGS has been the target of significant criticism. Detractors of WGS have charged that WGS is intellectually frivolous and that WGS teachers focus excessively on students' personal thoughts and experiences, are intolerant of differing opinions, present a narrow political ideology and, in many cases, cause distress to students. In contrast, WGS pedagogists have emphasized the importance of allowing students to express their thoughts and opinions and of developing open‐mindedness and scholarly, critical thinking. Further, they have asserted that WGS courses promote important educational goals, including increased awareness of sexism and other social inequities, more egalitarian attitudes toward women and other traditionally oppressed groups, and active community involvement to promote social equality. This review considers the empirical evidence for these competing opinions of the value and impact of WGS.