Examining Male Teachers and Their Potential to Increase the Academic and Behavioral Performances of Boys in School Teacher Inquiry Project: A Pilot Study Joe R. De Rieux Pacific University Spring/Fall 2015
Abstract Elementary education is a field that is abundant with female teachers. The disparity between the number of male teachers and the number of female teachers is actually increasing and is arguably as disparate as nearly any field of employment in the American workforce. While this does not automatically, nor necessarily, mean that having more men in the field will increase academic and behavioral performance of boys, it is most certainly worth a look. This research study is of the view that having more males in the teaching workforce does increase some students’ performance. This is not because males are better teachers than females. It is seemingly, in part, because there are more and more boys who are raised by single mothers than ever before and many are missing strong and caring male role models. It was also found that boys who struggle in school sometimes connect better with teachers that share the same gender, interests, customs, and more. The purpose of
Society’s understanding of gender roles debate about gender equity and have always been connected to the social roles that men and women we assigned to shape Americans views of education for girls and boys. What has also been affected is race and social class between females and males who attend schools. Ideas of what women and men are suppose to be and do have cut across different classifications. Ending unfairness in schools has rested on change to gender roles mainly women.
It is no secret that, in general, boys and girls differ in their learning styles. Capitalizing on these differences could advance classroom performance. With on-going concerns about student success in school, any changes in the classroom that could increase student achievement should be considered. Recognizing the learning differences between boys and girls, one of the changes that could be instituted is single-gender classrooms.
When you send your children off in the morning to go to school, no matter what grade they are in whither it be elementary, junior high, or senior high, you expect that they will receive the best education that they can get. They should be asked challenging questions, encouraged and called upon to participate in class, they should also be given as much help as they need to secede by the teacher. However, this is most commonly not the case. Parents and the children themselves are unaware of what is going on because gender bias is not a noisy problem. Most people are unaware of the secret sexist lessons that occur every day in classrooms across the country. In this essay I will use two essay's from the reader:
Lately this “boy code” increases a problem of the gender gap between boys and girls in terms of academic, social, and work performance.
There is a lot of compelling evidence to support the view that changes in the education system has resulted in differences in educational achievement between males and females. There is no denying that the statistics show girls are outperforming boys at every level in education, but the question is whether this is largely related to changes in the assessment process and the way each of the genders is educated or whether there are other factors causing the differences.
“It is early indeed that children show an awareness of the message that… females are generally less interesting and important than males are… The (often inadvertent) bearers of this message include parents, peers, and teachers.” (Lips, 1979, p. 128.) The absence of gender equity can be damaging to both males and females. Surprisingly most of the teachers and administrators are unaware of this problem. Organizations such as the American Association of University Women (“Gender equity,” 2003.) strive to create programs that will improve equality within schools. The purpose of this research paper is to identify gender equity issues in the classroom and explore strategies for teachers to incorporate equitable
There are a number of professions that traditionally have been oriented towards women: teaching, especially younger children; certain carative professions; and, of course, nursing. Of the 2.1 million Registered Nurses in the United States, for instance, less than six per cent are male, and men make up only 13 percent of the new crop of nursing students (Chung).This trend is not just centered in the United States. In much of the developed world, males account for only 1% or less of teachers of early childhood grade levels, down from about 4% in the 1980s. At least one educator noted that this is a clear tragedy for millions of children who can benefit from simply having a male perspective in the classroom. "As a result many children who have no man at home, find no man at preschool and no man at primary school, and never meet a stable, reliable male figure in all their preteen years. Girls never experience nurturing from a trusted older male. Boys, cared for only by women, learn that nurturing is no part of the male job description. And in the absence of reliable men, too many of these boys learn their male role from violent television and music videos, and on the street" (Ballantyne).
Did you know that single-sex classrooms are the worst classes ever? Over the past decade, single-gender classrooms have been opened in at least 230 schools in the rural, suburban, and the urban areas. Single-gender classrooms are classrooms where either young girls’ are in one class together, or young boys are in another class together. Single-sex classrooms were created because studies showed that boys and girls learn differently and they could benefit from being in a classroom with peers to whom they can relate. Since 2008, single-gender education has been the key to improved educational performance among boys and girls throughout the years. Today, gender differences among girls and boys are steadily rising in the classrooms they are in,
On September 22, 2015 an article was published on Global News, which was entitled “‘Girl talk’ or ‘career exploration’? Texas school’s gender segregation peeves parents.” In this article, Patricia Kozicka discusses the controversial issue regarding Borchardt Elementary School in Texas, in which students in grade four and five were divided into separate classes based on their gender (Kozicka, 2015). According to the article, it is reported that, at the beginning of this school year, females and males would be placed in separate classes in which they would focus on different curriculums (Kozicka, 2015). Specifically, that females would focus on confidence and relationship building skills, whereas, males would focus on career and future aspirations (Kozicka, 2015). The principle cleared up the issue with an email stating that the class would be split based on gender, however, both would still receive the same curriculum only with different schedules of the lessons and more emphasis on particular topics (Kozicka, 2015).
An experiment at the University of California, Los Angeles proved interesting when a machine taught both boys and girls. The boys ended up scoring higher than when a woman taught them. I am wondering if girls scored higher than the boys did when male teachers teach them? I also wonder how the girls scored when taught by a machine; maybe they scored higher, too. At the secondary school level boys do perform better on technical or scientific subjects. Now this goes back to the first assumption that our brains work differently, or is it because more male teachers may teach these subjects? According to Mooney, teacher of the similar sex may have the "instinctive understanding that an adult will enjoy with a child who is going through a process which he or she went through too" (122). In other words, they can relate better with a child of the same sex. I am a female kindergarten teacher and also have a daughter who is six years old. I have no problem relating to the boys in my class. I think I can relate to any child who is five or six years old.
A teacher is an important key element in the educational system as well as a role model. Some teachers hold traditional gender stereotypes about their students’ views of what is expected of them. Many children develop social
Whether a person looks at achievement scores, curriculum design, or even the most basic of all, teacher and student interactions, it is clear that gender makes a tremendous difference in the nations public elementary and secondary schools. Our schools have a responsibility to prepare both boys and girls for full and active roles in the family, the community and the work force. Whether we look at these issues from a political, economical or social perspective, it is essential to remembers that girls are one half of our future. As educators, it is critical to move our daughters and sisters from the back of the classroom, to the center and front. We must give them the knowledge and courage to fly. To fly meaning, the self-esteem and encouragement and also the curriculum that does not reinforce the message: A womans place is in the kitchen. We must give our daughters the power to break racial and gender barriers and capability in educating ones self in a
Gender differences occur in many aspects of a person’s life whether it is culture, politics, occupation, family and relationships, or the economy (just to name a few). One major difference in gender occurs in learning and education in the elementary and secondary levels. Research has found that males and females learn differently in many aspects of education. First of all, female and male brains are constructed differently affecting the way they learn; this leads to basic differences in learning and also gives an introduction into why the way one learns differs according to gender and how males and females learn subjects and tasks differently. Second, males and females are treated differently, sometimes unconsciously, in educational
Thomas provides various arguments as to how boys and girls are different; therefore they are treated differently in a classroom. It cannot be argued that boys and girls are different, especially at such a young age, but to say that teachers specifically do treat boys in a rougher manner would be going too far. Thomas introduces the idea that society instills ideas of prejudice towards women in young boys, so that when they do go into a classroom governed by a female teacher, they are predisposed to be defiant and unruly. In my opinion, it is unfair to judge teachers based on the performance of their students on various tests. Thomas's article introduces the idea that as the number of female teachers is increasing, the performance of boys in school is declining. One much question whether it is in fact the teachers who cause this
Gender equity in terms of education is about the socialization of men and women and the results of this process on the life outcomes of the two genders (Husen & Postlethwaite, 1994). In the United States, the education system is required to treat males and females equally. There has been much research done to compare the genders in all areas. In the past, research has found that women fall far behind men in many areas such as math, and science, but men lag behind women in certain areas as well. Over the years, many provisions have been made with the goal of equalizing the treatment of girls and boys in public education. These improvements are proven successful as women, as well as men, are advancing in areas where they tend to lag