The unequal concentration of women and men in the educational programmes on offer, with women preferring areas such as education, health, social work, humanities and the arts, has been pointed out as a persistent problem in Portugal, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality. This problem has led to an enormous segregation in education and the labour market, in terms of graduates in technological sectors. From this difference, it can be inferred that the education system is not complying with its primary vocation: that of ensuring equality for all male and female pupils. And yet, education is the field par excellence for transforming rigid conceptions of the social roles assigned to men and women, and this process should begin as early as possible. Various international bodies (such as UNESCO, the European Commission and the European Parliament) highlight this goal as a priority. Therefore, intervention at the primary school stage and maintaining the interest of girls in STEM helps combat negative stereotypes in relation to roles assigned based on gender.

In the DIGEQUALGENDER project, it was considered that the increase in the use of digital media in teaching, motivated by the pandemic situation, represented an opportunity to build knowledge around digital literacy, pedagogical practices and gender equality and how they intersect. For this, the aim of the study was to understand how primary school teachers perceive and integrate their digital knowledge into their teaching and how they perceive differences between the digital skills of boys and of girls and support them differently to attain equality. The sample consists of 3,871 teachers (18% of total primary teachers), who teach in 628 school clusters in mainland Portugal (88% of total clusters). The structure of the sample is identical to the total of primary teachers in terms of sociodemographic and territorial characteristics. The majority of the teachers are female (89%), with ages ranging between 40 and 59 years (83%) and they teach in clusters in the North and Centre of Portugal (58%).

Primary teachers are practically unanimous (96%) regarding the importance of developing the digital skills of boy and girl pupils. However, only half (51%) consider sufficient the ICT infrastructures and media available to do this. As for digital skills training, 78% reported it to be sufficient.

The perception that primary school teachers have of their own competence in the research and use of digital technologies is greater than the regular pedagogical use that they make of them, which, in turn, is greater than the choice, use and creation of digital resources. It is possible to infer differences between perceived competence relating to the use of digital resources in curriculum planning and development tasks that require different pedagogical mastery of the technologies: creating resources, or choosing to use resources appropriate to the diverse range of motivations of pupils or of their learning, is more difficult than using technologies generically adaptable to classroom contexts. In short, teachers perceive themselves as more competent in the research and standard use of technologies than in their creation, choice and use as appropriate to their mandate of differentiated instruction.

What characterises the digital pedagogy practices used by the respondents is their direct association with the perception of effectiveness: those most used are considered most effective. This is the case of those that stem from the curricular and educational understanding with which teaching/learning activities are explored, i.e., those associated with the principle of differentiation and inclusion are most used by teachers who attach greater importance to the development of the digital skills of male and female pupils. Moreover, graded assessment practices are the least used and considered the least effective. Teachers who use more differentiating practices are also the ones who use more graded assessment practices.

Digital technology-based activities were added in coordinated association between the scope for use by respondents and a possible logical categorisation. A first set of more used activities are those that involve a basic use of Windows/Office (or equivalent) tools, such as word processors, slide presentation programs or image editors. A second level includes the use of digital tools that need, comparatively, more literacy skills. A third set, less used, corresponds to resources associated with robotics/programming or the creation of interactive videos, which represent more advanced mastery on the part of the teachers. Those teachers who attach the most importance to the development of digital skills among pupils are the ones who use the most digital technology-based activities.

A more detailed analysis regarding reasons for less use leaves two hypotheses open: either teachers do not use the activities because they do not recognise their educational value, or they do not feel competent in their use. In cross-analysis of the data, it could be concluded that significant differences exist between the answers from teachers which reflect an increasing number of years spent teaching. Moreover, the use of interactive videos and programs with artificial intelligence functionalities is minor, probably because the teachers are not very familiar with these tools.

Beyond the equal treatment that 82% of the teachers surveyed reported that they dispense to their male and female pupils, the overwhelming majority (94%) do not consider that gender differences associated with the use of digital technologies, and manifested by male and female pupils, exist, although they consider that a reason exists for differentiated instruction based on their interests, motivations or difficulties. When questioned directly and explicitly, a significant number of the sample (48%) consider it wrong to make distinctions based on gender. Indeed, while over 82% of respondents are in agreement and consider individual differences, barely 35% agree that what motivates boys is not the same as what motivates girls. It is not possible to establish, beyond gender, and based on this data, what these differences are. In short, in the classroom, the majority of teachers responding are not aware of differences between boys and girls, specifically with regard to digital skills. 

Despite nearly all primary school teachers having affirmed that they did not notice differences in the way in which boys and girls execute digital-based activities, there were 143 (3.7%) who responded differently. These teachers did notice differences, mainly in the execution of Internet searches, in the production of multimedia presentations and in the use of a word processor (55 or more affirmative answers). In total, these teachers indicated 278 digital-based practices in which they noticed these differences. In 232 (83%) of these activities, the teachers identified the favouring of boys to the detriment of girls. These activities belong to the same types: Internet searches, the production of multimedia presentations and the use of a word processor. In conclusion, the gender differences are perceived by the teachers as more disadvantageous for girls, which reproduces the traditional perceptions regarding the issue.

The DIGEQUALGENDER project intended to characterise Portuguese primary school teachers and their beliefs and practices relating to the promotion of digital skills among male and female pupils, particularly those related with gender difference. In doing so, it has produced knowledge about equal opportunities conditions for boys and girls in the area of digital skills, so necessary for guaranteeing full citizenship in the digital era.

The results are evidence of a generalised perception of sufficiency of teachers’ digital skills in tasks related with teaching, which decreased when the issue concerned was instructing with differentiated resources and contexts. This is also clear from the diversified set of digital-based pedagogy practices which those surveyed indicated that they carried out. Furthermore, it was found that activities promoted were mainly those that use basic digital tools, in line with the beginner’s level of the pupils, with regard to their digital skills. Nearly 94% of the teachers stated that they did not notice differences in the way in which boys and girls execute these activities, despite recognising catering for individual interests and motivations in each class group. In the minority group of teachers that did notice differences in the use that boys and girls make of digital skills, the activities used most frequently are perceived as favouring boys. It is inferred that this is because teachers do not feel competent in using other skills or in promoting their use in such a way as to counter the trend. In short, even when they do recognise differences, these teachers do not contribute to gender equality with regard to digital skills.

Two recommendations emerge from this work: the first stems from the lack of recognition of gender differences in the use of digital technologies within the classroom; the second results from the lesser effectiveness in the use of technologies to promote gender equality. Both recommendations, that of promoting greater awareness among teachers regarding the problem and that of promoting a more effective use of digital technologies, can be made operational through teacher training geared towards the goal of gender equality.

Opting for collecting data exclusively online, may have excluded from the sample teachers with greater difficulties in using digital technology, which means that the study’s conclusions regarding teachers’ digital skills may be overestimated.

DIGEQUALGENDER project: https://digequalgender.pt/

EIGE (2020): Índice de Igualdade de Género 2020 Portugal.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2020): Digital Education Action Plan 2021–2027: Resetting education and training for the digital age.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (2021): “European Parliament resolution of 10 June 2021 on promoting gender equality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and careers” Official Journal of the European Union, C 67, 137-147. 

UNESCO (2017): Cracking the code: girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). 

UNESCO (2019): From access to empowerment: UNESCO strategy for gender equality in and through education 2019-2025.