Female Gender Dynamics in Elementary and Secondary Education - Essay Example

Female Gender Dynamics in Elementary and Secondary Education Introduction Throughout academic history, males have received educational preference over women in the United States. This problem of educational bias against women has been addressed numerous times and in recent history efforts have been made to create gender equality in the academic setting. Unfortunately, although classrooms across the country have improved in this area, males continue to receive preference over women in the classroom. There are many reasons for this inequality experienced by females, including historical beliefs and practices, a use of language, time and space within the group, barriers that exist in classrooms, a difference in learning styles and teaching styles and practices. When addressing the gender bias it has frequently been asked if males and females are different as a result of social or biological reasons (Frawley, 2005). Unfortunately, the answer does nothing to change the fact that men and women are viewed in different ways and are expected to act in different manners. The differences that exist in the educational arena can be traced to society's views on acceptable behavior of men and women. Because males and females are expected to act in different ways, it is impossible to expect them to act in the same ways within the classroom setting. Instead, the differences in male and female behavior need to be correctly identified and taken into consideration when it comes to curricula in schools. History and Percentages The differences that exist in the education of men and women can be traced back to social views of the two genders. Traditionally, males have been more educated than females. In addition, males have been expected to achieve more intellectually as a result of the belief that men are smarter and more capable of intellectual accomplishment than women. In addition, women have been viewed in as inferior in academic settings and as a result, less encouraged to excel in academia. The effects of these views can still be seen in the behavioral differences that exist between males and females in classrooms (Banks, 2004). In colonial America, females received a very minimal education in the form of dame schools only at a very young age. The education of females at these schools consisted of learning how to correctly perform household duties that would be expected of them when they married. Classes consisted of cooking and sewing. Very few females knew how to read or write. In fact, "less than one-third of the women in colonial America could even sign their names" (Banks, p. 136). The reading females were taught was for the sole purpose of reading the bible to their children. In order to fully grasp the inferior education females have historically received, understand that "not until the 1970s and 1980s did they win the right to be admitted to previously all-male Ivy League colleges and universities" (Banks, p.136). Only thirty-six years have passed since then. When looking at education from a historical perspective, the education of women is still extremely recent and we have a long way to go before gender equality is reached in classrooms. The gender inequality has been so documented that in 1995, a Gender Equality Act was passed. As a result of this act, many teachers received special training on how to create a sense of gender equality within their classrooms (WikEd, 2005). Because much of the gender bias of teachers was subconscious, training in this area has been extremely beneficial in creating more equality for females in elementary and secondary schools. Use of Language, Time and Space Males and females are proven to have different linguistic styles. Males are louder, more assertive, and more aggressive in their speech than women. Females tend to speak in a softer tone with more hesitation. In addition, women are more likely to turn a statement into a question and follow it with a "tag" question ("don't you think"). Because of their linguistic differences, males are much more comfortable speaking in front of a group than females (Gender and Your Classroom, 1994). In addition to being less vocal than men, it was found that females are interrupted when speaking much more than males. This interruption was by both fellow students and teachers. Interestingly, it was discovered that female students were interrupted by other female students. Because of this frequent interruption, the time associated with talking per occurrence for females was much shorter than that of males (Krupnick, 1985). Perhaps, because males are more aggressive in conversation, females see their opportunity to speak while their passive peers have the floor. In order to further explore the linguistic differences, men were removed from the picture and female students were engaged in a conversation. The result was an extremely equal distribution of talking time among the remaining female students. When left to their own devices, they allowed one another to have an equal opportunity to talk and express opinions. Men were then placed in the same situation. The differences between the two groups were drastic. The male discussion had a very competitive aspect to it. Instead of sharing speaking time, the male students competed for it (Krupnick, 1985). In addition to the differences in linguistics, males and females differ in reference to time. When a teacher asks a question, males are typically much quicker at raising their hands than women. As a result, teachers have a tendency to call on them more. If a teacher were to wait an additional five seconds before calling on a student, they would find an increased female response among students (Frawley, 2005). Barriers to Learning in the Traditional American Mainstream School Setting There are many barriers to learning that exist for females in the traditional American mainstream school setting. These barriers include the differences in perceptions of men and women, the teaching styles of mainstream classrooms, and the practiced forms of assessment by teachers in the mainstream school setting. Adolescence can be a very difficult time for females. It is during adolescence that females frequently become depressed or battle with confidence. In many cases, female adolescents are faced with such issues as anorexia and bulimia (Gilligan, 2006). Facing these issues can serve as a distraction from academia during this very sensitive time. If teachers are aware of what female adolescent students are dealing with, they may be able to act as a positive influence and accomplish boosting the confidence of many girls. The current structure of the classroom tends to lean towards furthering male education more than female simply as a result of its closeness to their styles of learning. "The classroom structure, designed to foster independent non-collaborative thinking, is most supportive of white male, middle-class socialization models, and it continues through university" (Schwartz, p. 2). Because of their linguistic differences, male students are perceived to have a firmer grasp of subject matter because of the dominance in their voice and comments. As a result, teachers respect their comments more than those of the more hesitant females. In addition, because men are traditionally expected to achieve more intellectual success than women, teachers and other members of school administration are more encouraging and focused on helping them achieve higher education than they are of female students (Gender and Your Classroom, 1994). In an article by Catherine Krupnick, it was noticed that during her studies, females students never talked as much as male students, however, when there was a male teacher in the classroom, the percentage of male student speaking increased even more (Krupnick, 1985). If this is true, might it be assessed that when in the presence of a grown man, male students are more likely to dominate class discussion and request more attention than women as a result of the acceptance of male dominance by society Teachers are not the only ones who contribute to the gender bias. In many cases, the textbooks students use in classes are very male-based. Not only do the examples in textbooks traditionally refer to men, but also men dominate the subjects of textbooks themselves. Because most authors, scientists, mathematicians, inventors, and historical figures discussed in classes are men, female students may become discouraged. If all they are learning about is how males have dominated every area of academia, they may begin to believe that they are not able to achieve as much as male students as a result of historical data. This problem exists because of a lack of female presence in areas of academia in the past. However, a way to remedy this situation would be to make students aware of the women, especially of recent, who have made major strides in fields traditionally dominated by men (Gender and Your Classroom, 1994). One area in which males largely dominate is in the study of sciences. "In 1994, 74% of the students taking the Physics Advanced Placement portion of the SAT were male" (Geiger, p. 1). Male dominance in this field is widely documented and largely attributed to male favoritism within the field. Females in science classes are outnumbered and often out-performed by men. In addition, the majority of science teachers are male. The combination of the two results in an environment in which women feel very uncomfortable and lack encouragement (Geiger, 2005). Traditional Learning Styles Because men and women tend to have different learning styles, one sex always suffers as a result of the practices of the individual classroom, most often females. Although reasons for the differences in learning styles have not been established, evidence of their existence is clearly documented (Schwartz, 1992). "Females prefer to use a conversational style that fosters group consensus and builds ideas on top of each other; the interrelationship of thoughts and actions is paramount. Males, conversely, learn through argument and individual activity-behaviors fostered early (Schwartz, p. 2)." Once the differences in learning styles has been identified, it is clear to see that in the traditional American classroom, styles are definitely biased in benefit to the male students. Because these differences have been assessed, it would be beneficial to female students if teachers made a conscious effort to spend more time practicing different teaching methods, while not abandoning those that have been successful for male students. Bernard Whitley did a very interesting study on "Gender Differences in Cheating Attitudes and Classroom Cheating Behaviors." In his study he found "students in traditionally male-dominated field such as business and engineering were more likely to cheat than students in other fields" (Whitley, p.2). In addition, he found that males were more likely to cheat as a result of the higher moral standards females hold themselves to than men. He also recognized that his results could have been influenced by the fact that males are more likely to admit they have cheated than women, because of the moral standard women hold themselves to (Whitley, 1999). Teaching Styles and Pedagogy More often than not, classrooms are set up in a way that encourages the male learning style, as opposed to the female. Because women are less likely to find this style of learning conducive, they tend to be less vocal in classroom settings. Because males are then more vocal than women in classrooms, teachers unconsciously give males more individualized attention, overshadowing the needs of the female students (Schwartz, 1992). It is common practice for teachers to grade students on their involvement in the discussions. Because the learning preferences of males makes them more vocal in the classroom, females subsequently score lower in this area even though they may be just as intelligent as the males. The reason females are less vocal may be a result of "accepted sex-role behavior that compromises women's assertiveness" (Schwartz, p. 3). When females do speak, it is more likely that they will ask questions as opposed to making a statement. In many cases, their involvement in conversation is less respected than that of the dominant male view (Schwartz, 1992). When it comes to the assessment of students, it is commonly found that males score higher in areas of math and science while females excel in the areas of art and writing (Frawley, 2005). When it comes to assessment, it is important that teachers do not take this statistic into consideration and consequently expect more out of males when it comes to math and science and more out of females when it comes to writing and art. Teachers should instead, work at keeping all students on an equal level as far as academic expectations are concerned (Frawley, 2005). When this is considered it can also be ascertained that when a teacher expects less of one gender than another, it translates to the student of the inferior gender that they are less capable of success, which can be extremely detrimental to the development of that student. In an effort to create gender equality, many public schools have created single gender classes (Sadker, 1999). The problems associated with gender equality are not corrected by removing the opposite gender from the situation. Females are more comfortable in an atmosphere void of males, but that is not necessarily going to help them prepare for higher education in which they will be forced to interact with members of the opposite sex. Male students also experience negative side effects from the separation of males and females. The separation of males and females encourages both genders to fall into their stereotypical behavior and does not encourage them to adapt their experience to the existence of the opposite gender. Gender biases not only negatively effect females, but males as well. Males are stereotyped as the primary providers as well as the more successful gender. As such, it can be very hard for them to have a female achieve the same or higher status they do. Although males generally do better on tests, their class grades suffer. A possible reason behind this is the higher expectations teachers have for males. Females, on the other hand, test poorly and are graded higher (Sadker, 1999). While females are less likely to pursue a career dominated by males, males are less likely to pursue a career perceived as dominated by females (Ilatov, 1998). The unconscious actions of teachers can have a very negative impact on their female students. Studies have shown that teachers make eye contact with, call on, and are more patient with male students than female students (Gender and Your Classroom, 20004). This not only encourages males to dominate in the classroom, but also discourages females from speaking out in class. Conclusion It is clear that socially accepted behavioral differences between males and females has influenced the educational system and caused gender biases in the classroom. In a world where men have dominated academically, females are striving for acceptance and equality. In the past thirty years many efforts have been made to advance the education of female students, including the recent admissions of females into Ivy League schools. The difference between the treatment of males and females in the classroom is deeply rooted in common perceptions of the roles of males and females. As is true in history, females in the classroom are viewed as inferior to males. Fortunately, the recent success of females is helping to change the perceptions of the capabilities of women in the educational setting. Now that the linguistic differences between men and women has been recognized, gender equality could be improved by the inclusion of teaching techniques that would be conducive to the learning of both male and female students. Perhaps each classroom could use a variety of teaching strategies in an effort to ensure that each student is receiving an equal opportunity to flourish. The best way to solve the problem of the gender bias is to make all teachers aware of the existence and trained in ways to reduce the effects on students and the levels of education they receive. In many cases, teachers are unaware of the bias as well as the ways in which they promote the bias. It is not a conscious effort for teacher to call on males more than females or to encourage males more. It is also not their intent to allow the females in their classroom to be overshadowed by the more dominant and outspoken male. Unfortunately, creating gender equality is not enough, America as a whole must make a greater effort to create gender equality in society. Until women are seen, as the intellectual equals of men in society, it will be very hard for them to achieve an equal footing in elementary or secondary education. If children are taught that they are all equal from a very young age both at school and at home that lesson will carry through their educational careers and the effects will be seen in the American workplace in years to come. References Banks, J.A. & Banks C. A. McGee. (2004). Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives (5th Ed.). Hobokan, NJ: John Wiley & Sons: Ho Frawley, T. (2005). Gender Bias in the Classroom: Current Controversies and Implications for Teachers. Childhood Education, Summer. Geiger, J.F. (2005). Spatial Working Memory and Gender Differences in Science. Journal of Instructional Psychology, March. Gender and Your Classroom. (2001, January 30). Retrieved February 26, 2006, from http://ctl.unc.edu/tfi3.html Gender Inequalities in the Classroom. (2005, August 6). Retreived February 26, 2006, from http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.phptitle=Gender_Inequities_in_the_ Classroom.html Gilligan, C. (2006). Mommy, I Know You: A Feminist Scholar Explains How the Study of Girls can Teach Us About Boys. Newsweek, January 30, 2006. Ilatov, Z.Z. (1998). Teacher-Student Classroom Interactions: the Influence of Gender, Academic Dominance, and Teacher Communication Style. Adolescence, Summer, 1998. Krupnick, C.G. (1985). Women and Men in the Classroom: Inequality and Its Remedies. On Teaching and Learning, Vol. 1. Sadker, D. (1999). Gender Equity: Still Knocking at the Classroom Door. Retrieved February 26, 2006, from http://www.sadker.org/eq-leader.htm Schwarts, W., Hanson, K. (1992). Equal Mathematics Education for Female Students. ERIC/CUE Digest, No. 78. Whitley, B.E. Jr. (1999). Gender Differences in Cheating Attitudes and Classroom Cheating Behavior: A Meta-Analysis. Sex Roles, November. Read More