Impact of Inclusive Teaching Practices on Gender Equity and Learning Outcomes in Anatomy Education: A Mixed-Methods Study

Impact of Inclusive Teaching Practices on Gender Equity and Learning Outcomes in Anatomy Education: A Mixed-Methods Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Impact of Inclusive Teaching Practices on Gender Equity and Learning Outcomes in Anatomy Education: A Mixed-Methods Study Ramendra Kumar Raman, Dhiren Kumar Panda, Anand Kumar Singh, Shruti Mahato This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7939015/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Gender inequities persist in medical education, particularly in anatomy teaching. Gender bias and underrepresentation of women and non-binary individuals affect learning outcomes. Inclusive teaching practices, such as gender-balanced case studies, active learning, and Virtual Reality (VR), hold potential to address these disparities. Objective To evaluate the impact of inclusive teaching practices on gender equity and learning outcomes in anatomy education. Methods A mixed-methods design was used, involving 1500 medical students across two institutions. The intervention group received gender-inclusive teaching interventions, while the control group followed traditional methods. Engagement, learning outcomes, and gender bias perceptions were assessed. Results The intervention group showed significant improvements in engagement (mean score: 4.2 vs. 3.2, p < 0.001), attendance (88% vs. 70%, p < 0.001), and learning outcomes (17.2% improvement vs. 6.2%, p < 0.001). Additionally, 78% of students in the intervention group reported a reduction in perceived gender bias, compared to 34% in the control group. Conclusions Inclusive teaching practices significantly improved engagement, learning outcomes, and reduced gender bias perceptions, suggesting their effectiveness in fostering a more equitable learning environment in anatomy education. Gender equity anatomy education inclusive teaching practices Virtual Reality active learning gender bias medical education learning outcomes Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 13 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 07 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 11 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 01 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 26 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 07 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 07 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7939015","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":553654077,"identity":"ca8b2e7b-d793-4120-8d24-7a5f7a9d3250","order_by":0,"name":"Ramendra Kumar Raman","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Dr KNS Memorial Institute of Medical Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ramendra","middleName":"Kumar","lastName":"Raman","suffix":""},{"id":553654078,"identity":"6526114b-3a5c-43ed-914f-db90bdbed4e3","order_by":1,"name":"Dhiren Kumar 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Gender bias and underrepresentation of women and non-binary individuals affect learning outcomes. Inclusive teaching practices, such as gender-balanced case studies, active learning, and Virtual Reality (VR), hold potential to address these disparities.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eObjective\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo evaluate the impact of inclusive teaching practices on gender equity and learning outcomes in anatomy education.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMethods\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA mixed-methods design was used, involving 1500 medical students across two institutions. The intervention group received gender-inclusive teaching interventions, while the control group followed traditional methods. Engagement, learning outcomes, and gender bias perceptions were assessed.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResults\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe intervention group showed significant improvements in engagement (mean score: 4.2 vs. 3.2, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), attendance (88% vs. 70%, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), and learning outcomes (17.2% improvement vs. 6.2%, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). 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