¿IMPORTA EL GÉNERO? PERCEPCIONES DE ESTUDIANTES QUE RECIBEN ACOMPAÑAMIENTO EN PROGRAMAS DE ACCESO A LA EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR, EN EL MARCO DE CARRERAS HISTÓRICAMENTE FEMINIZADAS EN CHILE

Abstract

The study explores the perceptions of students enrolled in historically femi­nized careers in Chile (Nursing and Early Childhood Education), on how gender dif­ferences are understood and addressed during the mentoring practices deployed by tutors from the Program for Access to Higher Education (PACE) at a private university in Santiago. Semi-structured interviews were used to access the discourses of students from different cohorts. For the most part, the gender representation expressed differs greatly from biological rationality, being understood as a personal, variable, and diverse decision. They also identify that the approaches to gender differences during PACE mentoring depend on the intention and expertise of each tutor, with private and infor­mal mentoring spaces prevailing over collective and institutional instances. In conclu­sion, the absence of a synergistic foundation supporting the strategies for embracing gendered differences in PACE accompaniment practices is highlighted, and it is recom­mended to include other cultural variables in the process.