Even if men and women are doing things they have never done in the modern world, the fundamental characteristics of male and female roles remain essentially the same in many spheres of society. Women's roles remain subordinate to men's in many developing nations (Jayachandran, 2015). Gender difficulties persist in the social institutions, especially academia, in the Philippines. Gender segregation in higher education is one issue that never goes away. Gender biases and stereotypes are embedded in the curricula, instructional methods, materials, and learning media. Women and girls continue to be vulnerable to sexual harassment and violence in schools (Women's EDGE Plan 2013–2016, 2014).

Despite the enactment, these still exist in academia of Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women, which stipulates that the Philippine government must ensure the substantive equality of men and women in all aspects and sectors of society. Thus, it is important to emphasize gender and development, which relates to the development perspectives and processes that are participatory and empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from violence, respectful of human rights, supportive of self-determination, and actualization of human potential. It seeks to achieve gender equality as a fundamental value that should be reflected in development choices.

Sumadsad & Tuazon (2016) mentioned that gender and development integrate gender awareness and aptitude into mainstream development, recognizing development activities that may affect women and men differently and the need to apply appropriate gender planning to ensure fair outcomes for males and females. Gender and development stress the need for women to organize themselves and participate in political processes to strengthen their legal rights.

Gender mainstreaming is a widely acknowledged global strategy aimed at integrating gender ideas and promoting gender equality in all spheres of social development. This way was first introduced (Porter & Sweetman, 2005). According to a wealth of research, gender mainstreaming is regarded as a novel approach to structuring efforts related to gender equality that can get beyond the shortcomings of earlier approaches (Caywood & Darmstadt, 2024).

Gender and development (GAD) awareness is a prerequisite for gender mainstreaming at the institutional level, which applies to the entire academic community. The global gender pay gap and underrepresentation of women in leadership roles highlight the ongoing challenges that GAD awareness aims to address (Manuel, 2024; Nurwahyuningsih, Nurianti, & Nurlinda, 2024). GAD awareness equips educators with the knowledge to implement gender-sensitive pedagogical practices, as evidenced by a study that showed a significant correlation between GAD awareness and adopting such practices among pre-service teachers (Cagang et al., 2023). In order to do this, they must build GAD-related competencies and establish organized rules and procedures to facilitate and institutionalize the pursuit of gender equality and women's empowerment (Albaladejo, 2016). As a result, all educational institutions must adopt gender mainstreaming as a proactive strategy to promote women's human rights and eliminate gender discrimination in their systems, structures, policies, programs, processes, and procedures.

Gender mainstreaming is one of the significant strategies in educating and informing society on the need to recognize and respect the rights of women and men. Gender mainstreaming in higher education is therefore essential not only to individuals but also to national development. (CHED Memorandum Order No. 1, series. of 2015). Indeed, the success of any GAD program in educational institutions is possible only with the help of teachers who take the initiative to provide gender-responsive learning experiences to students.

The integration of gender-sensitive teaching strategies, however, continues to present challenges for educators because it necessitates more in-depth investigation, particularly in the classroom, to establish its significance and ascertain its applicability and effectiveness (Hernandez & Cudiamat, 2018). This is arguably observed in the context of physical education (PE) instruction; gender issues persist despite advancements in PE research and curricular improvements, and female students' active engagement presents a significant challenge (Murphy, Dionigi, & Litchfield, 2014). Although physical education classes encourage a more dynamic interaction among students, this can result in the perception of stereotypes that may go unnoticed in other classes. Currently, PE teachers lack a viable, alternative solution to the gender issues in the classroom (Valdivia-Moral et al., 2018).

The goal of physical education in schools is to encourage students to engage in physical exercise throughout their lives by giving them pleasant experiences and equal opportunity to do so, regardless of gender (Smiley, 2015). A high-quality physical education curriculum in schools should ideally give young people the tools they need to lead physically active lives, increase their self-esteem, and encourage and enable physical exercise in the lives of others.

Similarly, physical education offers a shared vocabulary to bridge differences in gender, race, and religion (Motevalli, Apflauer, & Wirnitzer, 2024). As a result, physical education has the power to uphold peace, foster the growth of character traits that are vital to democracies, like leadership, tolerance, solidarity, cooperation, and respect, and provide opportunities for equality, freedom, and a respectable means of self-determination, especially for women and girls.

The new K–12 physical education curriculum offered by the Department of Education in some way reflects these encouraging advantages of physical education. According to the 2016 K–12 Curriculum Guide for Physical Education, this new curriculum promotes an inclusive approach that recognizes and values the broad spectrum of learners. Additionally, it considers each student's unique requirements, skills, and talents to guarantee that every student has an equal opportunity and selection of physical education options. The new PE curriculum's goals demand physical education instructors to offer lessons that represent gender equality and gender sensitivity.

Even while the new curriculum aims to promote gender equality, there are still issues with how it is implemented in the classroom. The fact that some physical education teachers structure and organize their classes in a way that permits, and occasionally even encourages, minimal participation of female students due to pressures associated with male dominance and a lack of enjoyment is regrettable because it results in some students not receiving the full benefit of physical education (Valley & Graber, 2017).

In addition, the competitive and aggressive character of physical education in schools, which is based on prevailing ideas about sports and masculinity, marginalizes boys and girls in physical education environments (Gerdin, 2017). The aforementioned circumstance might be ascribed to the conventional approach to physical education, which involves a multi-activity, sport-based curriculum that emphasizes sportsmanship skills removed from their actual context. In addition, fair play and cooperation virtues are subordinated to the predominantly masculine traits of aggressiveness and excessive competition.

Some PE teachers have not yet evolved from the traditional physical education program, which typically offers few opportunities to progress students' learning and develop physical skills, specifically the girls (Hernandez & Cudiamat, 2018). Such programs are not inclusive and do not poster gender equality because they typically cater to the majority of students who are inclined to sports, and the students with inferior motor competence, particularly the girls, are left behind.

Although various studies have highlighted the importance of gender mainstreaming in higher education (Porter & Sweetman, 2005; Stoet & Geary, 2018), there are still gaps in its implementation in physical education (PE). Women (2020) stated that gender mainstreaming is a new approach that can overcome the weaknesses of previous strategies in achieving gender equality. However, research explicitly addressing how gender mainstreaming is implemented in PE teaching, especially in the Philippine academic context, is limited. Several studies show that gender bias still occurs in PE teaching, where women's roles tend to be marginalized due to the dominance of masculine characters in sports and competition-based curricula (Stride et al., 2018; Aartun et al., 2020; Gerdin & Pringle, 2023). Sfm et al. (2020) revealed that PE class structures still allow minimal participation for female students due to social pressure and a lack of gender-responsive teaching methods. On the other hand, Gråstén, Kokkonen, & Kokkonen (2022) emphasized that although gender-sensitive teaching strategies have evolved, more research is needed to measure their effectiveness and applicability in the PE classroom environment. Thus, this study aims to fill the gap by exploring the extent to which gender policies have been implemented in PE teaching at Batangas State University and how PE instructors utilize gender strategies and resources in creating an inclusive learning environment for both men and women.

These scenarios highlighting gender bias in physical education classes prompted the researcher to conduct this study. The tenets of 21st-century education have changed the perspective of physical education that it is not an exclusively male-dominated subject but a shared human experience. Hence, it is the obligation of the researcher, being a physical education teacher, to address the current issues in order to help fellow PE college teachers become gender sensitive and to generate their sense of innovativeness to provide gender-responsive learning activities. In turn, this would provide quality learning experiences for students and give equal opportunities for female and male students in the physical education program aligned with the thrusts of the Gender and Development program. The findings of this study will provide empirical evidence that can inform policy revisions and curriculum improvements in gender-responsive physical education. Additionally, this research will reference future studies on developing effective gender-sensitive teaching strategies in PE.

1. Implementation of Gender Policies and Guidelines in Physical Education

Gender policies and guidelines strengthen the responsiveness of higher education institutions, providing a framework for educators to integrate gender equality into the curriculum, especially in physical education. Table 2 illustrates the respondents' evaluation of how effectively these gender policies and guidelines are implemented in Physical Education.

The study reveals that physical education instructors at the university are committed to gender-responsive teaching, using non-stereotypical activities and promoting equality. While gender-sensitive topics like women's rights are addressed moderately, there is room for improvement in their integration into class orientations. Physical educators consistently assess students' fitness and health, ensuring adaptations for those with medical concerns.

This study found that the gender policy in physical education at Batangas State University is still moderately implemented (mean = 3.47). Strategies and resources have been highly utilized by both male (mean = 3.67) and female (mean = 3.63) faculty, indicating a commitment to gender-responsive teaching. There were no significant differences in ratings between male and female lecturers regarding teaching strategies, indicating similar perspectives regarding gender mainstreaming. This is due to the Lack of binding policies: Gender mainstreaming in PE still relies on individual initiatives without strict policies and consistent monitoring (Gråstén & Kokkonen, 2022). Second, Gender stereotypes in sport: Despite efforts, PE remains dominated by competitive masculine values, which inhibits the active involvement of female students (Gerdin & Pringle, 2023). Third, Lack of teacher training: PE teachers still face challenges integrating more gender-inclusive teaching strategies due to a lack of professional training (Stride et al., 2018).

This study's results align with those of Valley & Graber (2017), who found that despite gender policies in PE, classroom structures often remain unfair to female students due to male dominance in sports. In contrast, Delextrat et al. (2020) found that in some countries, gender policies in PE are more advanced with the integration of inclusive activities; this study shows that at Batangas State University, the policies are still in a moderate stage. Murphy, Dionigi, & Litchfield (2014) highlighted that despite increasing female students' participation in PE, they still feel marginalized in competition-based activities. Jabeen (2017) also supports this, mentioning that gender bias in sports discourages women from participating in male-dominated physical activities. Ananga (2021) points out that a more effective gender-responsive pedagogy requires changes in evaluation methods and PE curriculum, which remains a challenge in the context of this study.

In courses like PE 101 (physical fitness), PE 102 (rhythmic activities), PE 103 (individual and dual sports), and PE 104 (team sports), educators focus on safety, skill development, and teamwork. However, exposure to roles like coaching and officiating is limited, as the primary goal is teaching fundamental skills.

Despite progress, challenges remain in fully mainstreaming gender in physical education, including addressing students' self-perception, motivation, and individual differences. Continued collaboration and clearer guidelines are needed to improve gender inclusivity in the curriculum.

The implication of the findings for PE teachers is to develop more inclusive learning approaches, such as differentiated instruction that considers the needs of male and female students and implementing gender-sensitive assessments to ensure that students' skills are not assessed based on gender-biased standards.

The implications for the government are to integrate gender mainstreaming in PE teacher training so that they have the skills to adapt the curriculum inclusively, to form a more explicit policy on gender-responsive PE and conduct periodic evaluations regarding the implementation of this policy, and to provide more equitable facilities and resources for female students in PE so that they get equal opportunities to develop in sports.

The study shows that gender policies in physical education are moderately implemented, with room for improvement. While resources and strategies are widely used, sports-related content needs more focus. There were no significant differences between male and female educators' assessments. The main concerns include students' self-confidence, self-perception, and individual differences. The proposed responsive activities can help address these issues in the curriculum.

The researcher would like to thank the administrative staff, Physical Education teachers, and instructors for their moral assistance and cooperation in providing the researcher with relevant data for the study.

This research did not receive external funding.

The author officially certifies that there are no conflicts of interest with any party with respect to this research.