Beyond gender identity?

This paper focuses on the continuing significance of gender identity as a category of analysis within the field of gender theory and research in education. I begin by considering contemporary discussions of the limitations of research relating to gender theory and research in education. Following on from this, I explore some contemporary theorising on the category of gender within educational research in order to highlight ongoing debates that I perceive in the field. Finally, via a discussion of school toilets and gender performance, I consider how theoretical discourses relating to space and architecture might further develop the utility of gender as a category of analysis within education.     

Basotho teachers’ constructions of gender: Implications on gender equality in the schools

Abstract

This paper gives prominence to rural teachers’ own accounts of gender in three co-educational primary schools in Lesotho. The paper employs the social constructionist paradigm as its theoretical framework. Drawing from ethnographic data (observations and informal discussions), it discusses factors that inform teachers’ constructions of gender and the implications of these on gender in/equality in the schools. Twelve teachers’ (male = 1; female = 11) participated in the study. Analysis denotes how teachers constructed masculinities and femininities as inherent gender qualities, and the role of Basotho culture, language and its discourse in promoting gender inequalities. The conclusion provides strategies that would strengthen teachers’ ability to promote gender equality in schools.     

Why does teacher gender matter?

This paper shows that high school math and science teacher gender affects student interest and self-efficacy in STEM. However, such effects become insignificant once teacher behaviors and attitudes are taken into account, thus pointing towards an omitted variables bias. Teacher beliefs about male and female ability in math and science – as well as how teachers treat boys and girls in the classroom – matter more than teacher's own gender. The student fixed effects estimates also highlight that creating a positive learning environment and making math and science interesting are pivotal in engaging students in these subjects.     

Does sibling gender affect personality traits?

This paper studies whether sibling gender affects personality traits. We use the idea that if parents decide to have a second child, it is random whether they will have a boy or a girl. Therefore, the relationship between the second-born sibling's gender and the first sibling's personality traits is causal. We employ longitudinal data from a large British cohort which is followed from birth onwards. The dataset includes personality traits at age 10 and 16. Our main result is that oldest boys in a household are more agreeable if their next-born sibling is a girl. This effect is robust across age (10 and 16), when controlling for among others family size, and when applying corrections for multiple hypothesis tests. Agreeableness is an important trait in life as it has been shown to correlate positively among others with being employed, having a skilled job, savings, and life satisfaction.     

Differing perspectives of non-native speaker students’ linguistic experiences on higher degree courses

We report a small-scale study investigating the perceptions of postgraduate students who are non-native speakers of English and those of academic staff with regard to those students. Previous research has focused only on the former and identified a number of linguistic and cultural challenges these students face in adapting to Anglophone institution environments. A sample of 43 students in one department at a Russell Group university were surveyed and a sub-sample interviewed. Six members of academic staff were interviewed and some observed in their teaching. Findings suggest that, despite the high linguistic admission requirements set by the university, this group of students faced a range of difficulties in all four language skills but particularly in skills needed for oral interaction in seminars. Students and staff provided differing accounts of the source of these difficulties and students expressed a desire for better integration with native speaker students. There were also differing accounts regarding the amount of linguistic support students should receive, particularly with regard to proofreading written work. The study suggests a need for further research of this comparative kind potentially leading to recommendations for additional support for students and staff development.     

A course on gender equity in education: Does it affect gender role attitudes of preservice teachers?

The aim of this study is to investigate if a semester-long course on gender equity in education has an impact on the attitudes of preservice teachers toward gender roles. To this end, a pretest–posttest analysis is carried out in a state university in Ankara, Turkey, employing a sample of 133 preservice teachers; 33 of whom had taken the course and 100 of whom had not. The results reveal that the course has a substantial impact on the attitudes of the preservice teachers. Indeed, the attitudes of the teacher candidates taking the course change considerably at the end of the semester, developing more favorable attitudes toward gender issues.     

Reconsidering SES and gender divides in literacy achievement: are the gaps across social class and gender necessary?

This study evaluated factors within families that enhance kindergarten reading readiness of children and are also linked to maternal education (a common proxy for SES). We were interested in identifying factors that would be more accessible to families and school administrators as sources of potential change than broad and un-malleable reflections of socio-economic status. Consistent with current research, we found that maternal education had a broad impact on the reading readiness of children. Maternal education was linked to the amount of time children spent with non-literary media (television, computers, videos, video games). Re-running analyses using time with media as a covariate resulted in reduced differences in reading outcomes of children as a function of maternal education. Effects of maternal education were reduced by the end of the kindergarten year, indicating that literacy programming implemented by the school was successful in closing this academic gap.     

Job skills： What gender are they？

The purpose of the research is to find out which job skills Greek graduate students of high school and their parents consider as important qualifications for the youngsters＇ entry into the active working life with regard to their gender. The sample, consisting of 215 graduate students of high school and their parents （210）, evaluated the importance they think the examined job skills have for the students＇ future entry into the labor market and also the extend to which the youngsters possess these skills. Results have shown that there were significant differences between students＇ and their parents＇ opinions with regard to gender concerning job skills that are considered as important for finding a job. This was also confirmed by the factor analysis applied. Significant gender differences were also found concerning the degree to which teenagers possess the examined skills. In concluding, male young students and their fathers believe that skills related to self-management, self-discipline and the use of technological means are more important for finding a job, whilst female young students and their mothers outline a more positive and social profile, confirming typical and stereotypical attitudes and vocational choices.     

Discrepancy between native English speaker teachers＇ teaching styles and Chinese English learners＇ learning styles

Recent decades have witnessed a growing number of native English speakers teaching English in Chinese classroom. However, their teaching does not gain expected ends. Extensive studies have found that the mismatch between learning styles and teaching styles is a possible reason for this phenomenon. This paper aims to investigate whether the teaching styles of NS English teachers are matched with learning styles adopted by Chinese English learners with quantitative methods.     

Australian English‐language textbooks: the gender issues

This paper examines the nature and extent of gender stereotyping, both linguistic and pictorial, in a set of 10 Australian English‐language textbooks for intermediate learners. In order to determine how accurately the books reflect the status of women in contemporary Australian society a content and linguistic analysis was conducted, focusing on, amongst other things, the ratio of male to female characters, the portrayal of women and men in social and domestic settings, the use of gender‐inclusive expressions, and the ordering of items in female/male symmetrical constructions. Despite the generally high level of sensitivity to gender issues displayed by most of the writers, the findings suggest that the ideal of a truly balanced treatment of men and women has yet to be achieved.     

Using technology to break gender barriers: gender differences in teachers’ information and communication technology use in Saudi Arabian classrooms

How does teachers’ gender influence their information and communication technology-based instruction in Saudi Arabian government schools? Using unique data collected in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2014, the analyses presented here show that male and female teachers in intermediate school classrooms differently use information and communication technology. As one of the only completely gender-separated educational systems in the world, the differing pedagogies, knowledge and skills of teachers by gender in Saudi Arabia reveal the unique approaches that both the Saudi and technology context provide for students’ learning. Female teachers’ use of technology in the classroom is more frequent and of different types than that of males. Implications are discussed for teacher professional development and for understanding the important role of cultural context around gender and information and communications technology in education.     

Do gender and physical attractiveness affect college grades?

In this study, data on grades awarded for bachelor and master theses at a large Polish university were used to identify possible discrimination on gender or physical attractiveness. The focus is on the gap between the grades awarded by the advisor (who knows the student personally) and the referee (who typically does not, so that gender is less salient and attractiveness is not observable). This provides an excellent control for actual quality of the work, which is often problematic in previous literature. Observations on nearly 15,000 students are available, of which some 2600 also have their physical attractiveness rated and are included in the analysis. It can thus be checked if the advisor–referee grade gap depends on students’ gender and attractiveness, also in interaction with their genders. Based on stereotypes discussed in the literature one can hypothesise that females are treated relatively favourably by advisors (and males by referees). Likewise, it can be expected that physically attractive individuals’ advisors award them relatively high grades. Overall, we observe some evidence that females indeed get relatively high grades from advisors and no evidence of influence of physical attractiveness.     

Beyond stereotypes? Talking about gender in school booktalk

The Swedish educational system states that work in schools should depict and mediate equality. One way of achieving this is through fiction, which according to the syllabus provides students with knowledge about the living conditions of women and men during different epochs and places. The present paper examines gender in a Swedish school, analysing ‘book club’ discussions, using a discursive approach. The data consist of video-recorded teacher-led booktalk sessions, involving small groups of pupils in grades 4–7. It was found that the teachers and/or the pupils invoked gender issues in all book club sessions. The fictive events were, at times, discussed in gender-stereotyped ways. Yet, the teachers and pupils also transcended gender stereotypes in several cases. In many of those cases, there was a generational pattern, in that the participants tended to apply less stereotyped thinking when talking about fictive characters of their own age.     

Religion and education gender gap: Are Muslims different?

This paper uses individual-level data and a differences-in-differences estimation strategy to test whether the education gender gap of Muslims is different from that of Christians. In particular, the paper uses data for young Lebanese and shows that, other things equal, girls (both Muslim and Christian) tend to receive more education than boys and that there is no difference between the education gender gap of Muslims and Christians. Therefore, the paper finds no support for the hypothesis that Muslims discriminate against female education.     

Can gender differences in educational performance of 15-year-old migrant pupils be explained by societal gender equality in origin and destination countries?

In this paper, we attempt to explain the differences between reading and math scores of migrants’ children (8430 daughters and 8526 sons) in 17 OECD destination countries, coming from 45 origin countries or regions, using PISA 2009 data. In addition to the societal gender equality levels of the origin and destination countries (the gender empowerment measure), we use macro indicators of the origin countries’ educational systems, economic development and religions. We find that migrant daughters from countries with higher gender equality levels obtain higher reading scores than comparable migrant sons do (but this is not the case for math scores). In addition, the higher the gender equality levels in the destination countries, the lower the reading and math scores of both male and female migrants’ children in their destination countries. Further analyses suggest it is the difference between gender equality levels, rather than the levels themselves, that explains the educational performance of both female and male migrant pupils. Our results also show the low gender equality level in Islamic origin countries offers a possible explanation for the low educational performance of Islamic pupils, both male and female. Finally, migrants’ daughters seem to perform slightly better educationally, compared with migrants’ sons.     

British‐Chinese pupils’ constructions of gender and learning

British‐Chinese pupils are the highest achieving ethnic group in the British education system, and British‐Chinese boys’ performance equals that of girls. This paper investigates aspects of British‐Chinese pupils’ constructions of learning, focusing particularly on subject preferences and their constructions of themselves as pupils. The results are analysed according to gender as well as social class, and demonstrate that British‐Chinese pupils’ constructions of gender, subject preference and self‐image as pupils differ in some respects from those of pupils from other ethnic groups. Reasons for such differences are considered, and the paper also reflects on the implications of these findings in relation to broader findings concerning the stereotyping and ‘othering’ of the British‐Chinese within the British education system.     

Learning from video modeling examples: does gender matter?

Online learning from video modeling examples, in which a human model demonstrates and explains how to perform a learning task, is an effective instructional method that is increasingly used nowadays. However, model characteristics such as gender tend to differ across videos, and the model-observer similarity hypothesis suggests that such characteristics may affect learning. Therefore, this study investigated whether the effectiveness of learning how to solve a probability calculation problem from video modeling examples would vary as a function of the model’s and observer’s gender. In a 2 (Model: Female/Male) × 2 (Observer: Female/Male) between-subject design, 167 secondary education students learned how to solve probability calculation problems by observing video modeling examples. Results showed no effects of Model or Observer gender on learning and near transfer. Male students reported higher self-efficacy than female students. Compared to a female model, observing a male model enhanced perceived competence more from pretest to posttest, irrespective of observers’ gender. Furthermore, learning from a male model was less effortful and more enjoyable for male students than for female students. These results suggest that gender of both model and observer can matter in terms of affective variables experienced during learning, and that instructional designers may want to consider this when creating (online) learning environments with video modeling examples.     

Graduating as a ‘native speaker’: international students and English language proficiency in higher education

The current concern about low levels of English proficiency among international students who graduate from degree courses – that students’ English language skills are not being developed during their higher education experience – reflects negatively on the quality of Australian higher education and its graduates. More careful selection of students and increased use of English language testing are among the solutions put forward. These debates over English language proficiency tend to construct English language as a skill that can be applied in any context and ‘native‐speaker’‐levels of language ability as essential for employment. Within such a formulation international students can only ever be defined as in deficit. Drawing on socio‐cultural theories of language learning and academic literacy, alternative understandings of language proficiency in internationalized higher education are explored. Improved communication skills among graduates are likely to be achieved through a better understanding of issues beyond classroom instruction, such as barriers to social integration with native‐speakers, which reveal many international students unable to access adequate levels of language experience. Without wider perspectives on the debate over English language proficiency in higher education, the many benefits of having international students in higher education institutions are obscured by negative attitudes and unrealistic expectations.     

Does the gender of the teacher matter in the teaching of reading literacy? Teacher gender and pupil attainment in reading literacy in Hong Kong

A study of 148 primary school teachers and 4867 Grade 4 pupils in Hong Kong found no support for the proposal that boys learn to read better when taught by men teachers. In fact, it was found that both boys and girls learnt better when taught by women. Responses to a teacher questionnaire indicate significant differences in the preferred patterns of teaching favoured by male and female teachers. Responses from men teachers suggest they are more authoritarian, prefer to control pupils' learning, engage pupils in whole-class reading and like to read passages aloud while pupils follow the text. Responses from women teachers suggest they prefer to teach reading in groups, to group pupils according to reading ability, set tasks that suit pupils' stage of learning, allocate more time for pupils to read books and use the school library and encourage pupils to discover for themselves the meaning of new vocabulary encountered in text. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Examination of the gender–student engagement relationship at one university

Research examining the relationship between gender and student engagement at the post secondary level has provided mixed results. The current study explores two possible reasons for lack of clarity regarding this relationship: improper parameter estimation resulting from a lack of multi‐level analyses and inconsistent conceptions/measures of ‘student engagement’. Data from the 2006 administration of the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) at a southeastern university were analysed. Results indicated that the relationship between gender and engagement is related to engagement type as well as an institution level factor (gender composition). Implications and directions for future research are discussed.