Pre-service primary and secondary teachers’ gender stereotypes about students’ academic abilities and ambivalent sexism

Abstract

This study analyses pre-service primary and secondary teachers’ gender stereotypes about boys’ and girls’ abilities in STEM subjects, Plastic, and Languages, controlling for the effect of ambivalent sexism. 308 students (M age = 23 years) participated from different Spanish universities. Benevolent sexism was positively correlated with these gender stereotypes. The analyses of variance indicated that benevolent sexism influenced the stereotypical statements about boys’ and girls’ abilities in the different subject areas, when gender and the specialty was chosen (STEM or non-STEM). The higher the level of benevolent sexism among pre-service teachers, the higher their endorsement of gender stereotypes about students’ abilities. The present research contributes to the study of the relationship between gender stereotypes about girls’ and boys’ abilities and ambivalent sexist attitudes among a group of pre-service primary and secondary teachers.