Does gender education improve gender equality awareness and empathy? A mixed-methods case study from a Chinese university

Gender inequality is a global social issue, yet the effectiveness of gender education remains insufficiently examined. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, this study evaluates the impact of a gender studies course on gender equality awareness, empathy, and self-reported behavioural changes at a Chinese university. Quantitative findings showed significant improvements in gender equality awareness and empathy among the experimental group, with male and female students having improved to a similar extent. Qualitative data revealed that students developed more nuanced, de-essentialised, and context-specific understandings of gender. They reported becoming more empathic and described behavioural changes at both the personal and interpersonal levels. The course’s effectiveness is attributed to its pedagogical design, which integrated lecturing, case studies, and essay writing. These findings suggest that well-structured gender studies courses have the potential to effectively enhance gender awareness, providing valuable implications for curriculum design in higher education.