| Abstrakt: |
Background and Study Aim: Given the recent mandate by the Budget Law 2022 for compulsory two hours of physical education (PE) in IV and V classes of Italian primary schools, understanding the dynamics of gender stereotypes during movement activities becomes crucial. This review aims to summarize the scientific evidence of the gender gap in PE lessons and identify barriers to female participation in movement activities. Material and Methods: The methodology employed was a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The literature search was conducted in April 2023, utilizing a range of databases including Web of Science and Scopus. The search strategy applied MeSH terms and text words, connected by AND: "gender stereotypes" OR "gender gap", "PE" OR "physical education" OR "school" OR "children". Additionally, relevant articles were manually selected from Google Scholar to supplement the database findings. The inclusion criteria were centered on studies within the school context. Only articles published in English within the time frame of 2012 to 2023 were considered. Exclusion criteria ruled out conference proceedings, literature reviews, articles published before 2012, and non-English language publications. Results: Thirteen items met the inclusion criteria. The main barriers included personal beliefs of pupils towards sporting activities, particularly highlighting concerns from the female gender. Other significant barriers were attitudes of teachers and the perpetuation of gender stereotypes in PE textbooks. Several interventions were conducted, primarily focused on co-educational methodologies. These interventions proved effective in dismantling some gender stereotypes. Conclusions: The results demonstrated the presence of gender stereotypes during PE lessons. There was a need to improve teacher training, which was perceived as inadequate to work on gender inequality from primary school onwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
