Gender, ‘bias’, assessment and feedback: analyzing the written assessment of undergraduate history essays

This paper reports on findings relating to a project on gender and essay assessment in HE. It focuses on one aspect of the study: the assessment of and feedback given to two sample essays by 50 historians based at universities in England and Wales. We found considerable variation both as to the classification awarded to the essays and to positive and negative comments made about their quality, supporting the argument that the ‘quality’ of a piece of writing for assessment is ultimately constructed by the reader of the essay and cannot be objectively ascertained. Gender issues emerging from the data are explored in the paper, relating to lecturers’ perceptions of the essays’ qualities; views concerning the way feedback should be presented; and the content and style of feedback given by lecturers on the sample essays. We found that gender constructions were manifested more in presentation than practice. These findings on the situated practice of assessment have implications for the conception of the ‘reliability’ of essay assessment in HE.     

Femininity,science, and the denigration of the girly girl

Hyper-femininity and the construction of the ‘girly girl’ label have been documented widely, but there has been less attention to their content (or any distinctions between these constructs). Indeed, it can be argued that the content of femininity remains a controversial and somewhat under-researched topic in feminist scholarship. This is also the case in relation to science, which has been widely characterised as a masculine terrain, but there has been less attention to why femininity is excluded from/by science. This article attempts to unpick some of these issues, with a particular focus on the construct of the ‘girly girl’, in relation to access to science. Drawing on qualitative data from the Economic and Social Research Council-funded ASPIRES 2 project, we analyse the discourses used by young people and parents in discussion of ‘girly girls’ and physics. We show the misogynist and excluding discourses projected onto the ‘girly girl’, and indeed that are used to interpolate femininity more broadly. We found that in discussions of science and (hyper-)femininity, even potentially positive feminine attributes were denigrated. Hyper-femininity was produced as ‘more than lack’: vacuous, but also a risible presence. In reflecting on our findings we consider whether femininity may be more derided in some discursive contexts (e.g. science discourse) than others, and whether femininity can or should be conceived as more than lack.     

Problem solving in the rat: Stay vs. shift solutions on the three-table task

Two experiments were conducted to determine the conditions under which a shift problem vs. a stay problem would be easier for animals tested on Maier’s three-table task. When animals were given a prior exploratory experience and a partial feeding during the feeding experience, the stay problem was easier. With a prior exploratory experience and a complete feeding experience, the shift solution was easier. In the absence of prior exploration, rats cannot solve either the stay or shift problem, regardless of the amount of feeding during the feeding experience.     

From “Producing” to “Consuming” Research: Incorporating Evidence-Based Practice Into Advanced Research Courses in a Master of Social Work Program

Schools of social work have begun to explore teaching evidence-based practice (EBP) across their curriculum. Although the current literature offers ideas on how to incorporate EBP in foundation research and practice courses, the literature seems nonexistent on how to teach EBP in an advanced research sequence, which could clearly address the widespread criticism that research courses are unsuccessful in making the practice–research link more apparent. This article describes the transition of one school from a “producing research” curriculum focus to an EBP focus, which embraces consuming research. In the present article, the authors discuss the benefits and struggles associated with these two different approaches.     

How adolescent mothers feel about becoming a parent

First-time adolescent mothers deal with challenges that place extra demands not only on their stage of adolescent development but also on their ability to adapt to their new role as a parent. The purpose of this study was to explore and better understand first-time adolescent mothers' meaning and experience of parenting during the 4-to-6-week postpartum period. A secondary content analysis was performed, using narrative data collected from a previously conducted study on factors that influence adolescent mothers' self-perceptions of parenting. Three themes emerged from the content analysis: "Being Caught Between Two Worlds," "Feeling Alone and Desperate," and "If I Knew Then What I Know Now." Findings revealed many adolescent mothers are unprepared for the demands of parenthood and, so, need extra guidance, instruction, and support from health-care providers and educators.     

Rethinking Reflection: Teachers' Critiques

This article presents findings from a study conducted with a teacher focus group asked to read and discuss their responses to selected published teacher narratives of reflective practice. The teachers challenged features of practitioner reflection presented in several of the reading selections as not representative of how they experienced reflection in practice. In this study, the teachers' critiques were not viewed as anti-intellectual, lazy, or provincial. Rather, the researcher used reader response theory to frame the teachers' critiques as informed feedback that needs the inquiry and input of teacher educators. The findings invite consideration of the unintended consequences of these representations for practitioners and scholars, especially in an age of emphasis on standards and accountability.     

Relations Among Chronic Peer Group Rejection,Maladaptive Behavioral Dispositions,and Early Adolescents' Peer Perceptions

Adolescents' perceptions of peers' relational characteristics (e.g., support, trustworthiness) were examined for subtypes of youth who evidenced chronic maladaptive behavior, chronic peer group rejection, or combinations of these risk factors. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify subgroups of participants within a normative sample of youth (N = 477; 50% female) for whom data had been gathered from fifth grade (M_age = 10.61) through eighth grade (M_age = 13.93). Results revealed that both enduring individual vulnerability (i.e., chronic withdrawn or chronic aggressive behavioral dispositions) and interpersonal adversity (i.e., chronic peer group rejection) were linked with either differences or changes in adolescents' perceptions of their peers' supportiveness and trustworthiness across the early adolescent age period.     

The Gendered Subject: Students' subject preferences and discussions of gender and subject ability

Girls have recently caught up with boys in the sciences in terms of achievements at GCSE, and continue to out-perform boys at languages at this level. However, there remains a sharp divergence in subject choice according to gender at A level and beyond. This paper seeks to discover whether or not there has been a shift in secondary school students' constructions of gender, school subjects, and subject ability. It examines the responses of secondary school students concerning their favourite, and least favourite, subjects according to gender. It also explores their statements concerning gender and ability at school subjects, analysing the various gender narratives reflected in these. It is argued that there has sometimes been a blurring of the gender dichotomy in terms of students' favourite subjects, although their least favourite subjects were more traditionally gendered. Moreover, the majority of students claimed that the sexes have the same ability at all subjects; and of those who argued there are gender differences in ability, the majority argued that girls have greater ability at various subjects.     

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.