Abstract:

This article examines the integration of gender equality and LGBTI+ perspectives in the teaching and curricula of the bachelor's degree in digital information and documentation management at the Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media (FIMA) of the University of Barcelona (UB). The article delves into students' and teachers' knowledge about the current level of integration of gender and LGBTI+ perspectives in the bachelor's degree. It also explores their perceptions of integrating the gender perspective in teaching and curricula, along with the advantages, resistances, shortcomings, and challenges associated with this process.

The study utilized participatory action research, involving researchers and participants working together to understand and improve the situation. This methodological option was particularly appropriate in this project because it gave a voice to the research participants to understand their own needs, demands and difficulties (related to the object of the research), share them and propose lines of action to address these needs.

The research used a multi-method approach, including focus groups and field diaries. Four focus groups were conducted, two with teachers and two with students, to cover subjects from the bachelor's degree. Each focus group was composed of six to eight people and covered between six and eight subjects of the bachelor’s degree. The selection of subjects considered various criteria such as course, semester, topics, and the nature of contents. Diverse gender representation was ensured in the participation of both students and teachers in these groups. The focus groups were conducted between May and October of 2021. For its part, field diaries were created just after the session as a record that could be used later in the analysis and writing process.

From the perception of students and university professors, this research has highlighted, on the one hand, that the LGBTQ perspective still generates many doubts, distance, and discomfort, especially among more established teachers. While students seek more education on gender and LGBTQ perspectives, some teachers have reevaluated their teaching practices through such reflections. Teachers highlighted training and institutional recognition issues, while students valued the inclusion of gender and LGBTQ perspectives but noted limitations.

Our analysis provides empirical evidence on the implementation of the gender and LGBTI+ perspectives in information and documentation studies, which is a relatively unexplored area. In addition to understanding the current situation, this analysis also has allowed us to detect good practices that tend to be invisible in everyday teaching activity and give them visibility and recognition. Therefore, this research will become action.

It is important to highlight that the Catalan case is especially interesting in the current context, as the gender dimension has become a strategic line in the Catalan university system in general, and in the UB in particular. In addition, in May 2020, the FIMA approved its Action Plan on Gender Equality, which includes, as one of the main strategies to be applied in the next two years, the integration of the gender dimension in university teaching. Finally, this communication is an outcome of the ‘Gender Perspective in Information and Media Studies (GENDIMS): anàlisi i proposta’ research project, funded by the REDICE-ACCIO-23 research programme of the UB.

Keywords:

Library and information studies (LIS), Gender and LGBTQ perspectives, Participatory action research, qualitative research.