The hierarch between teaching and bachelor degrees in different areas of knowledge: An analysis of gender inequality

This study aims to discuss how the hierarch between teaching and bachelor degrees reflects the gender inequality. The lower prestige and status of teaching degrees in relation to bachelor degrees has been shown in studies of power relationship in academic field as well as studies about the socioeconomic and cultural profile of students in higher education in Brazil. We intended to discuss specifically gender inequality, related to the feminization of teaching.

It is known that teaching in Basic Education in Brazil has a low attractiveness. This study tries to understand the profile of students and its impact on education in schools.

We analyzed the students of several courses from different areas of expertise at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG): Biology, of Biological Sciences area, Physical Education, of Health Sciences area, Physics, of ​​Exact and Earth Sciences area, History, of Human Sciences, Geography, of the area of Applied Social Sciences, and Letters, of the area of ​​Linguistics, Literature and Arts.

This study will discuss gender, socioeconomic and cultural differences between students in teaching and bachelor degrees analyzing data collected by the University. But it will also verify if there are differences in the quality of academic performance of the students, by analyzing the ratio of income of the students as well as information regarding their involvement in academic activities. Finally we will analyze the provisions which congregate for career choice and conceptions of how students perceive themselves as located in a hierarchical scale of values, conducting interviews with them.