Abstract
This work offers a systematic literature review of Brazilian and international research on gender in physics and physics education published over the last decade (2010–2019). We draw on a poststructuralist analytical approach to discuss assumptions about gender and forms of problematization of gender inequalities in physics, referred as problem representations, underlying one hundred and thirty studies. Results show that most studies (76.9%) assume a binary gender model that restricts “gender” to sex-specific issues related to female individuals. The “problem” is represented as the low number of women pursuing careers related to physics. The implied solution is to attract girls to physics and retain female academics in their careers. Around 22.3% of studies assume that “gender” is a relational construct that constitutes power relations between individuals, who may or may not conform to hetero-cis-normative social expectations. The “problem” is represented as the reproduction of gender discourses and stereotypes within and about the cultures of physics and physics education. Only one study assume “gender” as one of several axes of a complex and dynamic power system that constrains knowledge production in physics, then representing the “problem” as a matter of how theories and practices are perpetuated in the field. We conclude that a call for more gender diversity in physics and physics education should not only address hetero-cis-normative conceptions of gender, but should also challenge strict and specific cultural, social and epistemological norms within the physics community.
Highlights
Este artigo apresenta uma revisão sistemática da literatura brasileira e internacional sobre pesquisa em gênero na física e no ensino de física publicada na última década (2010–2019)
This work offers a systematic literature review of Brazilian and international research on gender in physics and physics education published over the last decade (2010–2019)
We draw on a poststructuralist analytical approach to discuss assumptions about gender and forms of problematization of gender inequalities in physics, referred as problem representations, underlying one hundred and thirty studies
Summary
Este artigo apresenta uma revisão sistemática da literatura brasileira e internacional sobre pesquisa em gênero na física e no ensino de física publicada na última década (2010–2019). Adotamos uma abordagem analítica pós-estruturalista para discutir pressupostos sobre gênero e formas de problematização das desigualdades de gênero na física, referidas como representações de problemas, subjacentes a cento e trinta estudos. O objetivo geral deste artigo é contribuir para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa em gênero na educação em ciências por meio de uma análise crítica dos estudos que abordam as questões das desigualdades de gênero na física e no ensino de física. Discutimos pressupostos sobre gênero e as formas de problematização das desigualdades de gênero subjacentes a esses estudos, também indicando seus possíveis efeitos para o ensino de física e para a formação acadêmica em física e em programas relacionados. As formas de problematização das desigualdades de gênero e seus efeitos nos contextos educacionais e científicos relacionados à física são denominadas representações de problemas (Bacchi, 2009)
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