‘What's coming up in the exam?’ A survey of teachers and the delivery of a gender-balanced curriculum.

This articles reports on the findings of a study carried out in 2003–2004 which examined gender perspectives in the delivery and assessment of junior cycle history. The study was a collaborative effort between the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University College Dublin, and the Centre for Gender and Women's Studies, Trinity College Dublin. Commissioned by the Gender Equality Unit of the Department of Education and Science, the principal aim of the study was to examine how men and women are represented in the junior cycle history syllabus. The principal focus of this article is to report on a key aspect of the overall research study—namely, the gendered nature of examination questions at junior cycle history and teachers’ beliefs in relation to gender equality in the classroom. Central to the study was a survey of the views of practising (n = 249) and trainee history teachers (n = 46). Key findings included the under-representation of females in the historical narrative and in the state examinations in junior cycle history and the frustration of a significant number of teachers at the lack of gender balance in available teaching materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]