Perceptions and academic and professional aspirations of teachers-in-training: Gender barriers or possibilities?

Purpose: This paper presents the results of the application of an adaptation of the "Perceived Barriers Questionnaire" (PBQ) (Rodriguez-Lajo, Vila & Freixa, 2008) to identify if there are gender roles and stereotypes that influence the perceptions and future expectations, both in academic and the professional spheres, of teachers-in-training at the University of Cordoba. Design/methodology: The sample of the study is composed of the students enrolled in the Social Education Degree and the Masters in Inclusive Education and Teaching Staff of Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate, Vocational Training and Language Teaching at the University of Cordoba. The questionnaire was administered to 157 students. The data were subjected to descriptive analysis, comparative means, correlational and regression analysis, study of internal consistency and factorial structure through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Findings: The results show, among other issues, some professional aspirations related to training rather than leadership, a greater fear of negative evaluation in women than in men and an important relationship between the perception of the gender role attributed to men and women in the workplace and their own aspirations and educational and professional expectations. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of the study s in its sample, as it is focused only on students of careers belonging to the field of Education Sciences and, specifically, at the University of Cordoba, so it would be interesting to carry out future studies with samples wider population. Originality/value: This study aims to highlight the importance of detecting possible gender barriers during the training of educators to implement the necessary measures to promote true equality between women and men. In this sense, this research can be extrapolated to any educational environment, as well as work.