The Centre for Social Studies (CES) of the University of Coimbra has just released some of the research results of the project ENGENDER - Gender mainstreaming in curricula and pedagogical practices in Portuguese Public Universities, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The research, which is in its final phase, aimed to determine the place occupied by Women’s, Gender, Feminist Studies in the different disciplinary fields of higher education in Portugal.

The study developed by the project mapped gender issues in curricula and pedagogical practises, offering the first complete analysis of gender studies and the integration of the gender dimension in the content taught.

This mapping, based on documentary analysis of course syllabuses and curricular unit programmes available on institutional websites, revealed an incipient, ancillary and precarious incorporation of gender studies in higher education in our country.

In general, gender is rarely part of the curricula of higher education institutions in Portugal. Only a third of institutions and 5% of courses include Gender Studies. In addition, 76% of Gender Studies subjects are optional, and in undergraduate courses, this proportion rises to 96%. This shows that the integration of Gender Studies is still incipient and seen as complementary and marginal.

The diagnosis clearly reinforced the urgency of producing resources that can help change this situation and support the expansion and deepening of the gender dimension in the curricula and teaching/learning system. In response to this need, the Guide to Gender Mainstreaming in Higher Education was produced.

Aimed at lecturers in all scientific areas (and not specifically at lecturers in the field of Gender Studies), this Guide provides useful guidelines in response to the demands of gender-sensitive teaching, presenting possible ways of mainstreaming the gender dimension into higher education, both in curricular content and in pedagogical practises and classroom behaviour.

From the analyses carried out, it was possible to produce a set of other valuable resources which, like the Guide to gender mainstreaming, can be accessed in the “Resources” section of the project’s website:

• Timeline of Women’s/Gender/Feminist Studies courses
• Database of curricular unit programmes with a gender perspective
• Survey of Master’s and PhD theses with a gender perspective

_{Team:
Virgínia Ferreira (Coordinator) - Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra.
Mónica Lopes - Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra.
Cristina C. Vieira - Researcher at the Centre for Research in Adult Education and Community Intervention at the University of the Algarve and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Coimbra.
Caynnã de Camargo Santos - Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra.}