Gender roles and the American academe: a case study of graduate student mothers

Studies have found that motherhood is significantly associated with attrition for female graduate students in the United States. Few, however, have examined this phenomenon from the point of view of current students. Utilizing data from 30 in‐depth interviews with student mothers from a number of academic fields, this study details both the structural environments and the socio‐cultural constructs that affect the women’s daily experiences. The data highlight the fact that the symbolic nature of both roles – mother and student – is often in conflict with the structural elements around which each role is performed. Student mothers confront this dilemma through a number of strategic practices including ‘maternal invisibility’, ‘academic invisibility’, luck, and reliance on the more traditional means of economic and emotional support that come from spouses and parents. In detailing these practices, the study offers both important clues about the factors that may contribute to attrition for graduate student mothers as well as suggestions for institutional improvement.     

Planning for leadership succession: creating a talent pool in primary schools

This article reports on a study that was funded by the National College for School Leadership in order to explore practices, drivers and barriers to leadership talent identification, leadership development, leadership succession planning and leadership retention within a group of contextually different schools. The article offers two narratives from primary school headteachers, operating in different circumstances, in order to show the ways in which schools are attempting to ‘grow their own’ leaders through systematic policies for leadership development. Key features of successful schools which consider themselves to be good at leadership development, which may be relevant to other primary schools, are outlined.     

文科研究生学术精神的培养——以研究生毕业论文为例

文科研究生论文应该体现学术精神与价值中立的原则.学术论文的终极追求是彰显学术精神,而当前研究生学术论文中存在没有明确的命题、缺乏独创性为表现的学术精神缺失现象.要保证研究生论文具有一定学术精神,应改革某些当前高校教学科研和研究生培养的理念与制度.     

Gender equity in mathematical achievement: the case of China

Gender differences in achievement in mathematics, a traditionally male-stereotyped subject, have long been a concern for many educators around the world. Gender differences in mathematical achievement have decreased in recent decades, especially in Western countries, and become small or insignificant in large-scale tests, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The situation in China has not yet been studied. The recent PISA report lists China B-S-J-G (representing Beijing–Shanghai–Jiangsu–Guangdong) as an educational system with no significant gender difference in mathematical achievement. Based on a secondary analysis of PISA 2015 mathematics data from China B-S-J-G, this study more deeply scrutinized gender differences in Chinese students’ mathematical performance, emphasizing societal factors, namely students’ socioeconomic status, school level, school type, school location, and socioeconomic status at school level. This analysis revealed important differences within the overall picture. Most importantly, significantly more boys than girls scored in the top tier of mathematics achievement. At the lower- and upper-secondary school levels, boys performed significantly better than girls, with the achievement difference increasing at the upper-secondary level. Furthermore, this study found that, on average, Chinese (B-S-J-G) girls achieved significantly lower average scores on the PISA 2015 mathematics test than boys in the same school. Overall, students’ individual characteristics and school characteristics need to be separated and both taken into account to examine the role of gender in mathematical achievement, which has not been thoroughly investigated in the past.     

从一元主导到多元平衡:研究生教育质量保证模式的发展趋势

作为整个高等教育制度的一个有机组成部分,现实中各国研究生教育质量保证模式特征各异,但也表现出一些共有的演变与发展趋势,即从一元主导型模式向多元平衡型模式过渡。     

Gender balance in teaching awards: evidence from 18 years of national data

Gender implications of nationally competitive teaching awards were examined to determine whether women receive sufficient accolades, given their dominant position in university teaching. Quantitative methods and secondary data provided objective analysis of teaching awards for Australian universities, for an 18-year data set with 2046 units of analysis. Results indicate that women were over-represented in lower-level citations and under-represented in higher-level awards. Women did not dominate, particularly the highly prestigious Prime Minister’s award, where men constituted 65%. Policy and management implications include that universities could review the gender balance in their teaching award processes and set goals as internal support is a springboard to national awards. Groups of the same gender could be encouraged to work together at the highest levels to overcome individualistic, competitive barriers. National teaching award applications could be gender blind, at least for the higher levels. There are no clear trends towards a better gender balance, possibly because there has been a very limited gender spotlight on the awards at any level of policy and management.     

Conceptualising Gender Differences in Educational Research: the case of the Netherlands

This article analyses educational research on gender inequality carried out in the Netherlands between 1982 and 1991. It can be regarded as a case study on the conceptualisation of the problem of gender inequality in education. In the Netherlands two types of research can be identified: policy‐orientated research, which was largely concerned with primary and secondary education, and action research which developed from within and focused on adult education. In the beginning most researchers in both types of research were aware of the problems related to the concept of ‘disadvantage’. Later on, policy‐orientated research on gender and education has increasingly approached education primarily as a means of preparing for a promising position on the labour market. The concept of disadvantage, which at first appeared to have been superceded, has been frequently applied in the analysis of gender in education. Action research, however, focused on the learning processes of women considering feminine qualities to be positive and valuable. We discuss the criticism from women's studies of the research carried out. Finally, the central concepts of the Dutch research are related to the classifications used in England.     

The graduate record examination as a predictor of graduate student performance: The case of criminal justice

Research on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as a predictor of graduate student performance has been marked by much debate. Thornell and McCoy (1985) have found that the relationship between student performance and the GRE may be sensitive to the discipline being studied. While unexplained to date, this disciplinary variation may be related to the differences in means and/or relative dispersions of GRE scores among disciplines. Further, there has been only one study (McKee, Mallory, and Campbell, in press) for criminal justice, the field with the lowest mean GRE score. This paper focuses on this neglected field. Data were collected from the files of 70 criminal justice majors in a master's program at a large midwestern urban university. The results indicate that GRE scores are largely unrelated to indicators of graduate student performance (GPA, grades in specific classes, and the completion of the M.A. degree). The one exception is a strong relationship between verbal GRE and graduate GPA. This relationship may indicate a nonlinear ceiling effect wherein verbal GRE scores affect GGPA, mainly in disciplines with means at the low end of the verbal GRE score distribution.     

Gender balance amongst educational psychologists: an attempt to explain the male minority

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has begun an investigation into why most jobs currently have a gender imbalance within their workforce. The latest in a series of updates has been published by the Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) on gender distribution amongst educational psychologists. This may therefore be an opportune time to look at issues of gender balance within the population of educational psychologists (EPs). Currently males are in a minority throughout the study and practice of psychology. The small and diminishing proportion of male EPs appears to be seldom discussed within the profession. This paper attempts to evaluate a range of possible explanations for the lack of male EPs. The process of gender stereotyping was offered as one theoretical framework which might help guide further investigations into this much overlooked area.     

Gender balance in teaching debate: tensions between gender theory and equality policy

This paper draws on findings from a research project funded by the Scottish Executive which analysed the gender balance in teaching and explored the underlying reasons for the decline in the number and proportion of men, particularly in secondary schools. As in other developed countries, such as Australia, the USA and Canada, the proportion of men entering teaching has declined fairly rapidly over a ten‐year period. At a time when women are participating in paid work in greater numbers than ever before, their concentration in certain areas of work, particularly in the service sector and the ‘caring’ professions, is increasingly apparent. Despite the clarity of this trend, it is evident that responses from academics and policy‐makers have been very different, with some policy‐makers linking the declining proportion of men in teaching with the problem of boys’ underachievement and a perceived ‘crisis in masculinity’, whilst some feminist writers have questioned these views, drawing on recent gender theory which questions the utility of the binary categories of ‘man’ and ‘woman’, instead suggesting that gender is performed and may have little to do with the body of the person who is involved in the particular performance. Sex and gender thus become decoupled, with the focus on individual actors freely choosing the version of gender they wish to practice. This line of argument suggests that the sex of the teacher is irrelevant; what really matters is the way in which they perform gender in the classroom. Work on the gender balance in teaching therefore provides an opportunity to reflect on underlying tensions in gender theorising and policy‐making. The paper begins by considering tensions between modernist and post‐structuralist accounts of sex and gender. Having outlined the underlying theoretical tensions, it then goes on to consider the accounts given by teachers and students of the reasons for their own choice of teaching as a career, their experiences in teaching and their views of the reasons underlying the declining proportion of men in teaching. The aim is to consider whether students and teachers believe that sex is an important variable structuring their lives, including their decision to become a teacher and their experiences of working as a teacher, or whether they regard gender as something which is chosen from a wide repertoire of options and is relatively free from the constraints of embodiment. In relation to research on the gender balance in teaching, the paper concludes by suggesting that there is a need to make use of the idea of gender as performance, whilst at the same time holding on to the foundational concepts of ‘woman’ and ‘man’. This is necessary to monitor and understand the career paths and underlying power relations of women and men in teaching and to transform these over time.     

A case study of graduate professional development in the TAFE sector

There has been very little provision of professional development for teachers of mathematics in the technical and further education (TAFE) sector and even less evaluation and reporting on such programs. This paper presents a model for a professional development program in mathematics that was designed for TAFE teachers, as well as those from the K-12 sector. It is a case study that describes the implementation of the model with a group of TAFE teachers, considering such issues as the professional development needs perceived by the teachers, the components included in the program, and the evidence for the short- and long-term effectiveness of the program. The flexible structure of the program and the qualitative research base for the evaluation could be used as a model for professional development in other TAFE curriculum areas.     

Evaluating the impact of the graduate certificate in academic practice (GCAP) programme

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and postgraduates in the UK are taking on greater responsibility for teaching, and therefore it has become increasingly necessary to explore the teacher training that supports them in this endeavour. This paper outlines an impact evaluation carried out on a graduate certificate programme primarily aimed at GTAs and support staff at a research-intensive institution. The concept of impact evaluation is explored. This qualitative research establishes impact on the approaches participants took and their understanding of teaching following on from the programme. Interviews with nine participants, analyses of their critical reflective portfolios, and analyses of their teaching observation commentary are reported on. Findings reveal participants felt they had gained particular skills of teaching, were more reflective, and adopted a more student-centred approach to their teaching. It is recommended that training on specific teaching skills be incorporated into the provision available for GTAs and that disciplinary differences accommodated.     

When inputs are outputs: The case of graduate student instructors

We examine graduate student teaching as an input to two production processes: the education of undergraduates and the development of graduate students themselves. Using fluctuations in full-time faculty availability as an instrument, we find undergraduates are more likely to major in a subject if their first course in the subject was taught by a graduate student, a result opposite of estimates that ignore selection. Additionally, graduate students who teach more frequently graduate earlier and are more likely to subsequently be employed by a college or university.     

Gender differences in educational attainment: the case of doctoral degrees in Norway

Despite strong trends in most Western countries towards gender equality in educational attainments, men are still considerably more likely to obtain doctoral degrees. Using data comprising nearly all students graduating from Norwegian universities during 1981–1996, separate event history analyses are carried out of recruitment to and completion of doctoral studies. Multilevel models are used to take both differences among individuals and among educational fields into account. With regard to recruitment, a moderate gender difference is partly accounted for by men’s higher grades. Children have no impact for either gender. The remaining gender difference could be due to discrimination, but the fact that this difference is not larger in predominantly male fields is an argument against this. There is no overall gender difference in completion probabilities. Men, however, seem more likely to drop out of their studies in applied fields, probably due to attractive opportunities in the non‐academic labour market.     

Socialization of graduate teaching assistants: a case study in an American university

Although graduate teaching assistants [GTAS] play an important role on most American university campuses, and despite the fact that the GTA experience is often the only formal professional training that faculty receive, little is known about how GTAS are prepared for their role. One of the most enigmatic processes related to GTA role development is that of socialization. This paper reports the results of a study examining the types of messages that new GTAS receive about their role and the manner in which particular types of communication strategies are used to cope with inconsistencies and conflicts among those messages. It was found that GTAS are exposed to thematic messages about what it means to be a GTA, that they experienced difficulties when attempting to use those messages to guide behavior and decision‐making, and that information‐seeking strategies were used in response to the specific types of problems that were experienced.     

The Closing of the Gender Gap in Schooling: The case of Thailand

The results from the 1990 national census indicate that the long standing gender gap in educational attainment favouring boys over girls has closed in Thailand at all levels. This occurred as responses to generalized questions on attitudes about schooling for boys and girls on nationally representative surveys are showing a substantial reduction in the preference for educating sons more than daughters, although some preference for sons persists. Qualitative data from focus group discussions in rural areas reveal that parental views on gender and schooling are complex and do not operate uniformly to favour one sex over the other. Moreover, the changing socioeconomic context of schooling decisions in Thailand are likely to encourage parents to favour girls at least as much as boys in education. While gender inequality in schooling is no longer important, the socioeconomic level continues to influence starkly Thai children's chances for higher levels of education.     

School in the (im)possibility of future: Utopia and its territorialities

Abstract

Utopia makes itself heard as Raphael voices a critique of who we are and configures that no-where which, paradoxically, we want to reach. We look to Deleuze and Guattari when we say that that critique can be envisioned as resistance to the present. In the passage from no-where to now-here, we revisit the territories of utopia as critique of our times, as a way to approach the question of who we are and who we want to be. In our view, education still rests on the image of a future that unfolds in the encounter with others. Education and its need/potential to enable tomorrows, to invent promises that look to places of desire, spaces that take shape as heterotopias. The notion of utopia is strained at root because defined as a no-where. At school, it is bound to the potential to create new possibilities and alternatives for life in the here and now. In this article, we will grapple with the work we do in university classrooms and in educational institutions in the slums on the outskirts of the city of Buenos Aires as a gateway from which to envision and to problematize the world. From there, we will approach the voices where other possibilities are conquered and other spaces created on the basis of the unpredictable, voices rooted in education and the need for it that produce and produce themselves in the tensions of that (im)possibility. In sum, wording the world as creation of worlds.     

Conceptions of student talent in the context of talent development

This paper reports from a case study of a ‘talent class’, a special development programme for talented pupils, established in a Danish municipality. It analyses student backgrounds and motives for joining this talent class programme, which is seen in relation to ordinary schooling in Denmark. Drawing on Bourdieu, the paper links social background resources and success in school via the concepts of habitus and capital; it views talent as the product of an investment of time and cultural capital, which is easily accumulated by children of resourceful families. Based on the analysis and its discussion of school talent, the paper proposes a typology of talented students, encompassing the distinguished, the quiet, the versatile and the industrious students. For each type of talent, a student narrative illustrates the link between social backgrounds and student approaches and understandings of their own talents.