Assessing secondary teachers' gender competencies and stereotypes in physics

To create gender-sensitive learning environments that foster the development of girls' and boys' interest in physics teachers must have gender competencies (e.g. Bartsch & Wedl, 2015; Lembens & Bartosch, 2012). To that end, teachers require not only knowledge (e.g. on how to promote gender-sensitive teaching), but also the skills to notice and interpret gender-relevant factors in classroom situations that are important for their teaching practice and for their students’ learning success. This ability is referred to as professional vision (van Es & Sherin, 2002) and is considered to be a component of teachers’ gender competencies (Brovelli, Vogler & Schmid, 2019). However, little is known about teachers' gender competencies in physics teaching. To clarify this question, survey instruments are required that can validly capture teachers’ knowledge and professional vision of gender-relevant factors in physics teaching. In this study, a standardized vignette test is developed to investigate teachers’ professional vison of gender-relevant factors in physics teaching. In addition, a knowledge test is used to assess the knowledge of gender-relevant factors for physics teaching. Moreover, teachers’ gender stereotypes are examined more closely in this context, as it is assumed that they can influence teachers’ professional vision. The aim of this study is to investigate the structure of teachers’ gender competencies in physics teaching by studying the relation of teachers' professional vision of gender-relevant classroom situations and teachers’ knowledge and implicit and explicit gender stereotypes.