“Gender determination” in the minds of Polish and Czech students

Abstract

Sexual development is influenced by many factors acting during prenatal development, such as exposure to androgens, sex chromosomes and brain structure. As sexual differentiation of the genitalia occurs much earlier (i.e. in the first two months of pregnancy) than sexual differentiation of the brain, which begins in the second half of pregnancy, these two processes can be influenced independently of each other.The research aimed to diagnose students' knowledge of sex-determination disorders.The research question was:What knowledge do students have about gender dysphoria?Hypothesis:Science students will have a greater knowledge and awareness of the mechanisms of human sex determination.The research was conducted at two universities in the Czech Republic and Poland. 271 students (99 from the Czech Republic and 172 from Poland) participated in the study, including 240 females (74 from the Czech Republic and 166 from Poland) and 30 males (25 and 5 respectively). The research sample was selected based on the assumption that there are differences in awareness of gender and gender identity issues in Polish and Czech societies. The research was conducted using the diagnostic survey method and the survey technique. The research instrument was a questionnaire.It turned out that the students' knowledge of "gender determination" is insufficient, and in many cases, they are aware of the shortcomings. Czech students are more knowledgeable. It has been shown that there is an urgent need to pay attention to the education of students, especially pedagogical/teaching students, in the field of problems related to human gender determination in biological health and social aspects. To meet the challenges of social norms and consider that knowledge in this field is necessary in the modern world, universities should educate and present ethical attitudes towards the causes of the atypicality of the human body.