Stereotypes in schools: Gender Stereotyping

As we've discussed before, stereotypes can take all sorts of forms and occur in all sorts of places. One place where their presence can be particularly detrimental is in the classroom. The next three entries will focus on schools and the ways in which stereotypes and stereotyping shape the minds attitudes and very identities of the young people impelled to be there.

Today our topic is gender stereotypes. Many of the same stereotypes we have observed on a societal scale are observable in schools. indeed the dated cultural norms that pervade mass media and pop culture inform the minds of toddlers, children, and adolescents, and why should that be a surprise? After all, kids spend more time watching tv than they do IN school, anyway. http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/635134.html

A few stereotypes pop up often and can have serious effects on the way children are taught, as well as what and how effectively. The notions that boys are better at math than girls is not new, and at one point, boys did categorically outperform girls on standardized math assessments. Today however that is simply not the case. Indeed The fact remains, however that many boys and girls believe that math is "for boys" and not so for girls. http://ilabs.washington.edu/meltzoff/pdf/11Cvencek_Meltzoff_Greenwald_Gender_Math_Gender_Stereotypes_2011.pdf

At hte elementary school level, there is hardly if any difference in mathematics aptitude, in the cognitive ability of children's brains' ability to do math, yet the widespread beliefs of many children, before they even get to their multiplication tables remain skewed.

How and why can that be? It must be that images and ideas that boys and girls are surrounded with impress upon them these ideas. The people making decisions about a child's life may have those same ideas about what is "right for" each gender. the same way we paint babie girls' rooms pink and boys' rooms blue (and rarely the opposite), the same way boys get balls and girls get dolls, boys are pushed gently, but consistently, from an early age to math, athletics, and the sciences, and girls to humanities, social service and homemaking.

So What?

The issue becomes critical when parents, students and educators are unaware of the presence of this conditioning, let alone its impact on their classrooms and schools. A theoretical anecdote could help shed some light:

When Susie comes to her high school and registers for classes, a teacher or administrator mightn't ever wonder whether or not Susie has always pretended to be mediocre at math, even though it came naturally to her, so as to not stand out. They will however gladly put her in a less rigorous math track, at her request. Say Susie graduates on time, and high in her class ranks? Well the pre-calc and/or calculus she never took impacts her impression on colleges and universities and limits the kinds of professions she chooses. She was never going to do anything math-related, and was never encouraged to do so, so that will not come as a shock to anyone, not even her parents who used to buy her all those erector sets; after all toys are just toys.

Good educators are aware of the plausibility of this anecdote and they are making adjustments to account for the gap between the sexes. The issue is not dead however, and complications have made themselves manifest, including a slippage in the performance of boys in math classes, girls surpassing boys in college application, attendance, and graduate. There has recently been a large push to bring more male educators into the classroom, well trained, to not perpetuate stereotypes of any kind, and promote good learning.

Now that I've made you listen to me, this video does a great job addressing some of these issues and outlines some of the science behind it (better, more thoroughly than I do here):

Ponderings:

• What other gender specific stereotypes appear in schools and classrooms?
• Why are there more female teachers than male?
• How might this impact boys and girls differently, in different subjects?
• What stereotypes about boys impact the ways they are taught and learn?

Thanks, and happy thinking,

P