Presented By:
Jamie Carpenter
Greg Hutchings
Bronwyn MacFarlane
Holly Richard
Power Point
Presentation On Gender in Education
Travis Burns
Antoine Hickman
Patricia Kern
Shelly Nowacek
Power Point
Presentation On Special Education
Webmaster:
Jamie Carpenter
Gender Issues in Education
Much research has been conducted on gender issues in relation to equitable educational opportunity. Until recently, most policy, practice and research on gender and education focused on girls and girls’ issues. This is as it should be, for in every society women as a group, relative to men, are disadvantaged socially, culturally, politically, and economically and all of these realms are integral to the study of schooling (Weaver-Hightower, 2003). In early educational interventions, schools were viewed to be significant to causes of inequality for women and thereby, key institutions through which such inequalities could be dismantled (Arnot, David, & Weiner, 1999, Winer, 1994). Recently a trend toward analyzing boys educational issues has raised to surface for debate and the gender literature regarding both populations will be discussed.
Research on the extent of gender discrimination in the typical classroom was examined in the
book, Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (Pipher, 1994, p.62),
"In classes, boys are twice as likely to be seen as role models, five times as likely to receive teachers' attention and twelve times as likely to speak up in class. In textbooks, one-seventh of all illustrations of children are of girls. Teachers choose many more classroom activities that appeal to boys than to girls. Girls are exposed to almost three times as many boy-centered stories as girl-centered stories. Boys tend to be portrayed as clever, brave, creative and resourceful, while girls are depicted as kind, dependent and docile. Girls read six times as many biographies of males as of females. Boys are more likely to be praised for academics and intellectual work, while girls are more likely to be praised for their clothing, behaving properly and obeying rules. Boys are more likely to be criticized for their behavior, while girls are criticized for intellectual inadequacy."
In examining literature regarding “the boys turn,” four major categories can be considered; 1) popular-rhetorical literature, 2) theoretically oriented literature, 3) practice-oriented literature, and 4) feminist and pro-feminist responses. Popular literature (Biddulph, 1998, Pollack, 1998, and Sommers, 2000) generally argues that boys are disadvantaged or harmed by schools and society and that schools are “feminized.” The theoretically-oriented literature (Connell, 1995, Crotty, 2001, Mac & Ghaill, 1994, and Willis, 1977) is concerned with cataloging types of masculinity and their origins and effects. It examines how schools and society produce and modify masculinities and is based upon a large use of qualitative research tools. Practice-oriented literature (Bleach, 1998b, Browne & Fletcher, 1995, Head, 1999) is concerned with developing and evaluating school- and classroom-based interventions in boys' academic and social problems. It is responsive to practitioners and public concerns with more accessible language but is prone to “quick fixes” and often under-theorized. The feminist and pro-feminist responsive literature to the topic of “the boys turn” is characterized by critiques of the boy turn, moral panics over boys, notions of underachievement, and maintains a focus on social justice.
In analyzing specific research findings on boys' educational needs and best practice implications, only a small number of studies have examined the literacy practices of boys (Brown, 1999, 2001; Brozo, 2002, Newkirk, 2002, Smith & Wilhelm, 2002). Thus a greater grasp of the uses of, beliefs about, and social context of literacy for boys – beyond research just on preferences and habits – is required so that pedagogical and curricular interventions can be constructed in ways that suit more boys without harming most girls (Weaver-Hightower, 2003). More systematic, impartial analyses is needed regarding approaches to “how” boys are educated with best practices and best programs. The small number of publications that describe boys' programs (e.g., Bleach, 1998b and Browne & Fletcher, 1995) have been written mostly by insiders from those programs; and other proposed programs (Gurian, 2001) have yet to be implemented on a scale large enough for testing. More research is needed to draw valid conclusions and justify educational implementation.
Thus far, much of the debate on boys has been limited to abstract supposition and rhetoric and little has been done in a systematic way to change the schooling of boys (Bleach, 1998b, Browne & Fletcher, 1995, Maynard, 2002). As the research on boys move forward, many questions remain open; 1) Would boys' reforms really hurt girls? 2) What are the effects on learning for the uptake of certain masculinities? 3) Does changing, say, the literacy curriculum to include the stereotypical interest and preferences of boys affect achievement in significant ways? 4) How might we ensure that feminisms has a central role to play in checking and balancing the boys turn? (Weaver-Hightower, 2003). While the turn away from concern about girls to concern about boys is distressing to many people, particularly feminist researchers, the trend has a positive impact on developing overall understanding of gender and schooling. Research on boys produces the necessary complement to the research on girls and increases recognition that gender inequity is not a deficiency in girls but rather caused by problematic masculinities and femininities. While the boys turn can have progressive ends, it requires vigilant steering to prevent a strong cultural backlash (Weaver-Hightower, 2003).
While the inequity of educational has been long identified for girls and measures have been taken at length to accommodate for the short-comings, boys are seeing a higher percentage of troublesome behavior than before. What measures can be taken to balance educational opportunities for boys and girls while maintaining an equitable learning environment?
