Counterstories of college persistence by undocumented Mexicana students: navigating race,class, gender,and legal status

This paper draws from four sets of four in‐depth interviews and one subsequent focus group to examine how undocumented Mexicana students navigate identities and the meanings of race, gender, class, and legal status. We mobilize a critical race theory framework to center and explore the content of students’ counterstories. While majoritarian stories perpetuate stereotypical narratives that portray communities of color as culturally deficient, counterstorytelling creates a space for exposing and resisting hegemonic narratives in the home, community, and college settings. We argue that, through counterstories, Mexicana students are able to develop a positive self‐image that allows them to hang on to their academic aspirations, to persist in college, and to envision and pursue the possibility of success. We look at how undocumented Mexicana students’ narratives also reproduce and/or reinscribe elements of oppressive discourses of race, class, and gender in the contemporary USA. We consider some implications of our discussion of counterstories for educational theory and policy.     

Women teachers and professional development: gender issues in the training programmes of the Aga Khan Education Service, Northern Areas, Pakistan

In the area of this study, teaching continues to provide the vast majority of formal sector jobs available to women. Within teaching, women's restricted access to training is addressed by AKES, whose programmes appear to meet women's immediate needs for localised training. Nevertheless, women remain largely unrepresented beyond the lowliest levels of the Service. This paper considers why this is so, and explores strategies for facilitating their professional and career development. It stresses the need for a contextualised, gender-aware approach to teacher education, and an avoidance of a simple correlation between girls' and women's education and their broader empowerment.     

Ameliorating gender differences in attitudes about science: A cross-national study

The outcomes of two studies reported here indicate that the teacher inservice workshops, combined with activity-based science lessons, affected students' attitudes and perceptions about electricity. Australian and U.S. studies produced different patterns explored and explained in the paper.This material is based upon research supported by the National Science Foundation under grant MDR-88-50570 in the United States and supported by a grant from the Special Projects Program of the Commonwealth Schools Commission in the Education of GirlsDD section of Projects of National Significance in Australia. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the Commonwealth Schools Commission.     

International students with dependent children: the reproduction of gender norms

Extant research on family migration for education has focused almost exclusively on the education of children. We thus know very little about family migration when it is driven by the educational projects of parents. To begin to redress this gap, this paper explores the experiences of families who have moved to the United Kingdom primarily to enable the mother or father to pursue a degree. It argues that, in common with what we know of UK student-parents, both choices about and experiences of higher education are strongly differentiated by gender.     

A critical review on studies of relationship education in the gender equity education of Taiwan: 10 years and beyond

With discourse analyses, this paper attempts to review the research development of relationship education in Taiwan for nearly a decade after the Gender Equity Education Act was announced in 2004, including the research topics generated, the knowledge accumulated, and the results achieved. This paper focuses not only on how the power and impacts of the academic institutions evolves through the production process of knowledge from the research, but also on how the gender perspectives are placed or filled into the discourses. Tracking and reflecting on the discourses and the development of relationship education researches in Taiwan, this paper aims to examine the interwoven effects and influences that social cultures, structures, and institutional power play on the knowledge production and research development of relationship education. The trajectory of Taiwanese experience illustrates a good example for policy making and legislative initiatives in legislative procedures in regard to certain gender knowledge and subjects. It is essential to utilize and coordinate the national resources and academic institutions with further awareness for the direction and promotion of gender knowledge in order for the education and research to root, grow, and prosper.     

Primary and secondary students’ motivation in learning English: Grade and gender differences

Student motivation may have significant influences on essential academic outcomes. However, students’ motivation may decline as they grow older. This study examined six motivation constructs (self-efficacy, interest, mastery goal orientation, engagement, avoidance coping, and effort withdrawal) of students from 78 schools in Singapore (N = 4214) in learning English. Using a large and diverse sample of primary 5 (5th grade) and secondary 3 (9th grade) students, grade and gender differences in these constructs were examined. Applying a MIMIC approach to structural equation modeling, the paths from grade and gender as well as the grade × gender interaction variable were found to be significant. That is, (a) the scores for self-efficacy, interest, mastery goal orientation, and engagement tended to be lower whereas avoidance coping and effort withdrawal tended to be higher for the secondary students, (b) boys tended to have lower scores; and (c) the gap in motivation between primary and secondary tended to be greater for girls. Since motivation may have important influences on subsequent learning outcomes, we need to seriously consider the implications of these grade- and gender-related patterns and pay attention particularly to boys in primary schools and girls in secondary schools.     

School effects and ethnic,gender and socio-economic gaps in educational achievement at age 11

There are long-standing achievement gaps in England associated with socio-economic status (SES), ethnicity and gender, but relatively little research has evaluated interactions between these variables or explored school effects on such gaps. This paper analyses the national test results at age 7 and age 11 of 2,836 pupils attending 68 mainstream primary schools in an ethnically diverse inner London borough. The groups with the lowest educational achievement and poorest progress were both Black Caribbean and White British low SES pupils. White British middle and high SES pupils made substantially more progress than White British low SES pupils, significantly increasing the SES gap over time. However low and high SES Black pupils made equally poor progress age 7–11. School effects on pupil progress were large, but there was no evidence of differential school effectiveness in relation to SES, ethnicity or gender. Low SES pupils in the more effective schools performed significantly better than high SES pupils in the less effective schools, but all pupils (both low and high SES) benefit from attending the more effective schools and so these schools do not eliminate the SES gap. The limits to change that may be achieved by schools alone are discussed.     

Teacher and administrator perceptions of gender in the classroom

Gendered stereotypes persist in American classrooms despite efforts to create equitable learning environments. Within this qualitative study, we examined both teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of gender in the classroom and present the data of the continued gender bias among some educators in their own words. The data showed teachers and administrators attributed conflict styles based upon gender and consistently reference boys conflict resolution style as “over quickly” in contrast to girls conflict resolution style. Likewise, participants’ gendered perceptions extended to the kinds of feedback they expected girls and boys to prefer. Additionally, our findings show that participants misunderstood or lacked knowledge of scientifically sound research and participants described changing the curriculum in a single-sex class/school to use stereotypical topics and activities for student engagement. The authors suggest this data should open a discussion between education scholars and practitioners to help align current knowledge about gender and development and implications of stereotypes for classroom practice.     

Unequal access,unequal participation: some spatial and socio‐economic dimensions of the gender gap in education in Africa with special reference to Ghana,Zimbabwe and Kenya

The question of unequal access to education among males and females appears to be universal in the developing world. However, females in Africa seem to suffer more discrimination in terms of access to education. This study revisits the question of gender disparities in educational access in Africa by analyzing data from recent comparative national surveys including the Demographic and Health Surveys, Living Standards Surveys, and World Bank data, focusing on Ghana, Zimbabwe and Kenya. It concludes that while substantial progress has been made in the last 40 years, female illiteracy rates are still high compared to males, and entrenched attitudes continue to keep females out of the educational system, thereby perpetuating the gender gap. Furthermore, while females are generally disadvantaged vis a vis their male counterparts, females living in the urban areas and some core regions tend to be better off than those living in the rural areas and peripheral regions. The paper suggests a number of policy recommendations that would enable African countries, especially the three countries used as case studies, to reap the full benefits that accrue from female education. These include the need for African governments to rededicate their efforts towards giving female education the highest priority, creating girl‐friendly school environments, helping resolve parental poverty issues that compel them to force girls into early marriages, legislating and enforcing laws that compel all children to stay in school for at least 12 years, and wiping out the long existing spatial inequities that enable people in certain locations to have better access to education than others.     

The impact of student misconceptions on student persistence in a MOOC

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) provide opportunities to learn a vast range of subjects. Because MOOCs are open to anyone with computer access and rarely have prerequisite requirements, the range of student backgrounds can be far more varied than in conventional classroom-based courses. Prior studies have shown that misconceptions have a huge impact on students' learning performance; however, no study has empirically examined the relationship between misconceptions and learning persistence. This study of 12,913 MOOC-takers examines how students' misconceptions about the upcoming course material affect course completion. Using a survival analysis approach, we found that, controlling for the score in a pre-course test, students holding more misconceptions had a higher dropout rate at the start of the course, an effect that diminished over time. Other student variables were found to have a positive impact on survival that persisted throughout the entire course: U.S. location, higher age, an intention to complete, better English skills, prior familiarity with the subject, motivation to earn a certificate, and score and time spent on the previous problem set (homework). By contrast, student gender, education level, number of previous MOOCs completed, and motivation to participate in online discussion forums did not affect survival.     

Negotiating meanings of gender justice: Critical reflections on dialogs and debates in a non-governmental organization (NGO)

In this paper, we reflect upon how dialogs and debates in a non-governmental organization (NGO) – CARE India in the context of a girls’ education project shaped staff members’ understandings of gender justice. As CARE India staff shared their experiences in the field, in the organization, and in domestic spaces during gender training sessions and other forums, their different politics in these spaces shaped how they translated global discourses of gender justice to produce fluid, contested, and contextual understandings. While these dialogs included the voices of diverse social actors in identifying the capabilities needed for gender justice in education, they were often reframed by local NGO actors.     

Educational choice and persistence in male- and female-dominated fields

Even though female students now make up more than half of all higher education students in many countries, the distribution of women across fields of study is still very uneven. This study examines the gendered nature of recruitment and dropout in higher education. Our results show that students who made gender traditional choices more often had an early preference for the study programme they enrolled in. Moreover, female students reported more often than male students that they had been encouraged by their parents and friends. However, unlike what we expected, there are no differences between students in gender traditional and non-traditional programmes with regard to encouragement from parents and students’ confidence that they had made the right choice. While male students’ dropout is unrelated to the gender composition of educational programmes, women drop out of female-dominated programmes to a lesser extent.

School resources and the gender reading literacy gap in South African schools

The importance of reading literacy as a foundation for academic success is widely acknowledged. What is less well understood is why gender patterns in reading literacy emerge so early and continue throughout learners’ educational careers. This paper adds to this literature by investigating the gender patterns of reading literacy (why girls outperform boys) in South African primary schools and whether changes in the schooling system can result in favourable changes in this gender reading gap. Compatible with international trends, girls in primary schools were significantly better readers than boys during the period of investigation. We found strong links between material and human resources and achievement in reading. The link between increased resource availability and improved educational outcomes was stronger for girls than for boys and therefore increased the female academic advantage. This finding remained consistent across socioeconomic levels. The implication is that either the school resources available in South African primary schools are more suitable for teaching girls how to read or that girls appear to be able to make use of the available resources more effectively to improve reading. Policy interpretations are discussed in the context of improved resourcing of schools.     

The effects of gender and consequence upon perceptions of deceivers

This study examines the impact of gender combinations and consequences of deceptive acts upon perceptions held by uninvolved third party observers. Perceptions examined in this initial study were observer attitudes toward a specific act of deception and the deceiver's credibility and personal qualities. Results indicate the existence of both a gender effect and a consequence effect. Under certain conditions, females appear to be more sensitive to relational deception than males and report more negative attitudes and perceptions of the deceiver's character, competence, and sociability. The consequence for the target impacted both observer attitude toward the specific act of deception and perceptions of deceiver credibility. Paradigmatic research should be designed to yield additional information.     

Exploring gender roles’ effects of Turkish women teachers on their teaching practices

The purpose of this study is to investigate how gender roles of women teachers affect their practices in the classrooms. Participants in the study were 75 female teachers working in elementary schools in Adana, Turkey. Findings indicated that gender roles of women teachers have important effects on their educational practices. Women teachers explained how their gender roles affect their profession mostly in terms of “also being a mother” in both positive and negative directions. The main points in teachers’ explanations were “being a mother and a spouse”, “stress”, “close relationships with students and parents” and “lack of authority and issues of confidence”.     

School education and development of gender perspectives and sexuality in Japan

This study aimed to evaluate changes in the attitudes of Japan’s post-war youth towards gender equality and sexuality, and to examine whether these attitudes bore a relationship to school education. Different generations were delineated based on changes in courses of study and year of birth, and semi-structured interviews were conducted enquiring about experiences and opinions during secondary school days. We examined sexuality education in both junior high school (ages 12–15 years) and high school (15–18 years), views on premarital sex, views on marriage and divorce, and views on gender roles. Fifty-three survey participants were involved in the study: 30 women and 23 men. The characteristics of each generation were examined in relation to corresponding courses of study and the textbooks available in junior high and high schools, identifying both homologies and differences between the messages courses contained and the expressed beliefs of different generations of informants.     

Gender disparities in science and engineering in Chinese universities

Gender disparities in science and engineering majors in Chinese universities have received increasing attention from researchers and educators in China in recent years. Using data from a national survey of college students who graduated in 2005, this study documents gender disparities in enrollment and academic performance in science and engineering majors, and explores gender disparities in initial employment experiences of science and engineering graduates. It finds that females lag far behind males in enrollment in science and engineering majors overall. However, females actually are more represented than males in some majors such as mathematics and chemistry though the reverse is true for other science and engineering majors. Also, in science and engineering majors, females perform better than males in both general course grades and in English competency tests. Male science and engineering graduates have a clear advantage over their female counterparts in initial employment after graduation: they have a high employment rate, a higher starting salary, and are more likely to be employed in such jobs as business management and technical specialist. The male advantage in employment rate and starting salary persists even after controlling for other factors.     

省际人口迁移与云南省人口控制研究

人口迁移是重要的人口现象和社会现象 ,它影响着一定地区的人口总量、人口分布和人口结构。迁移人口的持续增长是现代经济发展的必然产物 ,社会经济发展水平越高 ,人口迁移量越大 ,反之 ,则越小。云南省人口省际迁移在数量、类型、原因、模式上有其特殊性 ,这些特殊性决定和影响着云南省人口的发展 ,针对这些特殊性提出的云南省人口控制对策 ,有利于把握云南省人口迁移的发展动向以及加快云南省人口城市化的进程 ,提高人口素质 ,控制人口数量。     

(S)exclusion in the sexuality education classroom: young people on gender and power relations

Comprehensive sexuality education which includes discussion about gender and power is increasingly seen as an effective way of promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights. Yet all too often the potential of good quality sexuality education is not realised. This study engages with young peoples’ evaluation of a sexuality education programme in Ethiopia. Using data from ethnographic field notes, focus group discussions and interviews with students, teachers and sexual and reproductive health workers in Oromia region, it reveals the existence of gendered practices in sexuality education. Three forms of exclusion were evident: first, exclusion through selection to participate in the programme; second, exclusion of the views of young people through gendered interpretations and practices; third, exclusion of the views of young people through the omission of discussion on topics that are relevant to them, such as love, relationships and sexual intercourse. As a result, the programme’s potential to contribute to questioning gender relations and improving the emotional and sexual health of young people is undermined. The programme reproduces a gender order in school and arguably broader society, which is a source of frustration and alienation for young people.     

The smiling philosopher: Emotional labor,gender, and harassment in conference spaces

Abstract

Conference environments enable diverse roles for academics. However, conferences are hardly entered into by participants as equals. Academics enter into and experience professional environments differently according to culture, gender, race, ethnicity, class, and more. This paper considers from a philosophical perspective entering and initiating culturally into academic conferences as a woman. It discusses theories of gender and emotional labor and emotional management, focusing on Arlie Hochschild’s foundational work, and affect in gendered social relations, considering Sara Ahmed’s theorization of the feminist killjoy and the affect alien. It applies these lenses to explore problematic experiences of women initiates at conferences. The paper proceeds with a theoretical discussion of gender, emotional labor, and affect. Then the paper discusses women academics’ experiences generally and at conferences, including educational research conferences, with reference to relevant higher education research as well as anecdotal evidence, relating these experiences to the theories. It thus aims to tie together theoretical insights, higher education scholarship, and ordinary real-life experiences of gendered social relations in conference activities.