MATHESIS-G is a project aimed to act where the gender gap in STEM subjects takes shape: in the teaching of mathematics in lower secondary schools.

Empirica’s work in educational research, training and design has given shape to MATHESIS-G, a European project involving schools and universities to rethink the teaching of mathematics in lower secondary schools and tackle gender inequalities in STEM courses at an early stage.

On this basis, the project’s transnational capacity-building workshop was held at the Istituto Comprensivo di Atri on 27 and 28 January. For two days, researchers, trainers and teachers from the partners met to work together on educational approaches and practices capable of influencing participation in STEM courses.

The workshop provided an opportunity for structured discussion among partners, with the aim of establishing common references for the project’s subsequent activities. The focus of the workshop was the STEAM mathematics curriculum as a space in which concrete educational choices are translated and opportunities for access to knowledge are opened up or restricted.

During the workshop, Valahia University in Târgoviște led sessions dedicated to gender-sensitive mathematics curricula and the contribution of ethnomathematics, focusing on how curricular choices, disciplinary languages and teaching practices affect participation in STEM courses and the recognition of different cultural contexts as educational resources.

In this context, the methodological work coordinated by Empirica guided the joint reflection on Student Participatory Curriculum Design, an approach based on the traditions of student voice, participatory design and curriculum studies, which considers students as legitimate interlocutors in educational design processes, influencing what and how they learn and recognising the curriculum as a social construct rather than a neutral given.

The workshop marked an important step in strengthening joint work between partners and launching the next activities of the project in a coordinated manner.