JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Despite recent improvements, gender inequality persists within the higher education sector, as evidenced by the proportionally greater number of student and academic leadership positions occupied by male students and staff. Gender equality training for students will build capacity to address biases and accelerate culture change in higher education institutes (HEIs).

Objective:

This scoping review maps the literature related to current best practice in gender equality training for students in higher education.

Methods:

Systematic database searches of peer-reviewed and grey literature were carried out for the years 2011-2021. 3140 titles, 33 abstracts, and 52 full-text articles were screened for eligibility with 14 articles selected for inclusion.

Results:

The selected studies detail a range of pedagogical approaches, including didactic lectures, participatory and co-design workshops, reflective writing, and service learning, with durations ranging from a single interaction to one year. Most articles reviewed do not explicitly state their study aims or research question, and the theoretical underpinnings are generally vaguely described. The longer term impact of most interventions is unclear, as evaluation metrics seldom go beyond the level of adoption.

Conclusions:

This scoping review shows that the literature base for gender equality training for third level students lacks coherence, highlighting the need for further work to evaluate its impact. Clinical Trial: Condron C., Power M., Mathew M., Lucey S. (2023). Gender equality training for students in higher education: A scoping review protocol. JMIR Research Protocols https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/44584/accepted.