Our project is called " Gender Stereotypes and career choice " and brings together three schools from France, Italy and Poland. Its main goal is to fight against stereotypes about jobs and gender. Indeed, most of the young people consider that there are jobs for men and jobs for women. Therefore, when they have to choose their vocationnal specialities, they are guided by these mass clichés, and they don't wonder if the job they have chosen is interesting for themselves, well-paid and guarantees a social advancement. Finally, men reach high positions and women get low-paid and poor quality jobs. During our three-year project, about 40 teachers from the three countries will work together and share their professional practices to create a toolbox of teaching methods to help pupils to realize and identify the stereotypes which guide their way of thinking. It should help them to make informed choices of their future job. It also should fight against bad school results, especially for male pupils who often think that they must be rebels and use strength or violence to prove their value. This behaviour is another effect of gender stereotypes and leads many boys to a difficult scolarship. The toolbox that we will build will be tested with the pupils of our schools involved in our project. It will be online on a dedicated website for all the teachers. In a medium term we hope to observe a better balance between girls' and boys' choices in our schools' different educational paths.
This project was based on a common acknowledgment in the three involved schools : pupils’ vocational choices are widely influenced by their stereotypes about male and female social duties and skills. Many of them think that there are jobs for men and jobs for women : male would fit jobs with logical and technical skills ; female would fit jobs with psychological skills, sensibility, care for others. That is why most of male pupils choose first scientifical and technical trainings, and females choose artistic, health or social trainings. These choices have serious consequences on career advancement : males will reach a well-paid job with responsability, though females will get badly-paid, insecure and junior job, without promotion possibility. The main goals of this project are - to limit the effects of gender stereotypes on vocational choices by making pupils aware that jobs can be both for male or female and get equality and mixity in the different trainings. - to make pupils aware of the gender stereotypes in their daily life and their representations in workplaces. - to improve skills in English - to improve digital skills - to improve oral skills - to improve skills in collaborative works - to deepen knowledges about Europe and partners’way of live Activities Teachers from partner schools organized, prepared and wrote together teaching documents in English and native langages, including descriptions of activities for teachers and instructions for learners. All these documents are available on the project web site www.createyourownway.fr Learners’ activities are shared and organized according three skills : oral communication (shows, accounts), writing communication (accounts, analysis), pictures creations (exhibitions, posters). Most of them needed digital skills. Results : The results are available on the project website, in English or native language with a summary in English. Teachers’ results : - project logo and slogan - website to load teaching documents and pupils’works - descriptions of activities in English and native languages (French, Italian, Polish) - instructions for learners’ activities ( English and native langages) - assessment grids (for learners and teachers) Learners’results : - survey results (charts) with comments - exhibitions - studies of novels and paintings - studies of schoolbooks - shows - pictures creations : advertisements, photographs - course observation reports - reports of company visits Impacts : - taking in account gender stereotypes in teaching practise - Using teaching documents available for teachers in and out of the partners schools - loading new teaching documents and pupils’ works on the website - increasing mixity in vocational choices