Development of sexist attitudes in primary school teachers during their initial teacher training

Initial Teacher Training does not show a real concern for embracing gender issues, despite the process of convergence to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This study aims to analyze the evolution of attitudes in primary school teachers, to determine whether there are changes towards less sexist positions during their initial training. We conducted a descriptive research, called a Development Study. It is cross-sectional, since a record of measurements was taken of different groups of people at different stages of a degree course. The questionnaires used, based on the Ambivalent Sexism theory, were applied to a sample of 1296 participants. Findings reveal the impact of Initial Teacher Training on students: attitudinal changes towards less sexist attitudes are only attributable to the female group. There is an urgent need to intervene in Initial Teacher Training, at all levels, to include specific feminist content and to implement positive gender actions in training.