The effects of message theme,policy explicitness,and candidate gender

Female candidates are sometimes perceived as less competent than their male counterparts, especially in races for higher political offices, and research has indicated that female candidates can face tougher standards in establishing credibility. This study explores the effects of message theme and explicitness on the perceived competence ratings of female and male Congressional candidates. An experiment with 209 college students at the University of Florida was conducted in 1997 to investigate the relationship between candidate gender, message characteristics, and perceived competence of two hypothetical candidates, one female and one male. It was hypothesized that an explicit message on a stereotypically male policy area, crime, would be advantageous to female candidates. Message theme was found to be important for both the female and male candidates, but message explicitness was found to be important for the female candidate only.     

Teaching anxieties revealed: pre-service elementary teachers’ reflections on their mathematics teaching experiences

Over the last 50?years, there has been ample research dedicated to mathematics anxiety in contexts of teaching and learning. However, there has been less attention focused on pre-service teachers’ anxieties about teaching mathematics in classroom settings. This study analyzed pre-service teachers’ reflections at the conclusion of an elementary mathematics field experience in order to determine common themes surrounding anxiety-related events based on mathematics practice-teaching experiences. Through qualitative analysis of pre-service teachers’ reflections using open and axial coding, three categories and ten themes surrounding elementary pre-service teachers’ anxiety-related events based on mathematics practice-teaching experiences emerged. Some of the themes presented were ones that increased pre-service teachers’ anxieties for teaching mathematics, whereas other themes reflected aspects of the field experience that decreased anxiety for teaching mathematics. Based on the themes revealed in this study, suggestions for strategies and materials that could be developed for university mathematics methods courses are discussed. Novel perspectives for considering mathematics teaching anxiety, such as locus of control and future time perspective, are shared.