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Question: Gender in Education “There is an extensive body of evidence that suggests that boys and girls behave differently and that teachers expect different behaviours (Good and Brophy, 2000). In what specific ways can teachers use this research to inform and improve their teaching of boys and girls in inclusive classrooms?” Gender equity is an enormous problem within all aspects of today’s society. Beliefs and trends towards gender bias are rapidly worsening and this is highly noticeable in primary school classrooms. Every student is affected by what teacher’s say, do and how they treat them, within a classroom. Teachers treat both boys and girls differently in a number of ways, ranging from behaviour, school work, and in some cases, grades. The way a teacher interacts with students, in regards to gender, can be highly damaging to the amount a student achieves or is willing to achieve, especially when this interaction is inequitable. Although this bias may be unintentional, it still exists. Through research, teachers can be informed of the differences in interaction and can look at changing the way they treat their students. In examining the resources acquired in regards to the question, it seems they focus on five main points. The first is the way teachers treat boys and girls differently in a number of learning contexts, secondly is the kind of research that is being done to treat problems of equity, and the third point involves exploring what teachers’ views are on gender. I will also discuss the relative differences in male and female teacher exposure for children and the steps that are being addressed to improve gender equity within schools. Within this essay I will endeavour to discuss what researches have found and how these five points discussed above are being reflected in the classroom. Within the school classroom, both boys and girls are treated differently in a number of learning environments. Boys tend to interact more with the teacher on a day-to-day basis, not because the teacher is looking to, but more because the teacher is either: not aware of the greater interaction with male students, or they are given no other choice. This occurs because some boys tend to “throw their weight around” (McInerney & McInerney 2002:299), which can often intimidate girls within the classroom, and even other boys. Gender, it seems, affects the “quantity and quality” of classroom interaction patterns between students and teachers (Good & Brophy 1984). Boys are often noticed more through “interactions with teachers” and can be “reprimanded more” (McInerney & McInerney 2002:299) thereby they may receive more attention than girls. It has also been found that communication between male students and teachers is greater for “disciplinary experiences” and less so for “instructional messages” (Good & Brophy 1984:28). Male students tend to frequently be in contact with teachers for behavioural issues and thus, girls and even other male students, are being unfairly disadvantaged in relation to how much interaction time they have with the teacher. Society has also instilled in students the belief that males have to behave in a particular way, and that females have to behave in another. For this reason, many researchers believe that students have been cultured to “value different activities and form different competence beliefs (self-concept) for particular activities” (McInerney & McInerney 2002:299).
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