classroom practice

Next to the suggestions in the booklet, students and teachers together created an approach for tackling gender bias in the classroom, based upon their own research and experiences.

introduction

The statements and content below is based upon our own research by students in tight cooperation with teachers, through surveys, observations and interviews. However, more participants and standardized methods would be necessary to consider these results as scientifically based. We would like to present it as a starting point and inspiration for other schools to explore their own reality and increase awareness on gender differences in education and more specific on increasing the involvement of boys in school life and education.

you get what you expect

Teachers have different expectations for girls and boys, based upon prejudices and stereotypes. This raises the question to what extent the resulting behavior becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Students point out that both boys and girls often want to meet the expectations of teachers, parents, peers. While for girls this is often shown more explicitly, boys too are sensitive to positive feedback and want to live up to the expectations. If teachers expect them to be more negligent, to make less effort, etc. this could unwillingly contribute to the behavior we would like to avoid. This is reinforced if the prejudices or stereotypes are mentioned in the classroom.

different approach

Teachers do not always understand that they act differently towards boys. Research pointed out that this difference in approach is often related to unconscious prejudices but also to prior experiences. Individual behavior of students is often generalized by teachers to gender specific behavior.

A real difference

Every boy and every girl have their own personality and are different. When it comes to behavior at school, both in general and towards assignments, our research showed that on average there is a difference between the genders. Further investigation showed that the interests, skills they believe to have acquired, skills they consider important, and what they expect from the school team are not the same. Furthermore, we discovered that the skills that are on average stated as more important / more acquired by girls, are more often important and rewarded in everyday school practice. The research in this field in our school is at this point too limited to draw further conclusions. But it provides an opportunity for further investigation, identifying the skills and expectations and evaluate to what extent adjustments can be made to the everyday school practice in order to improve the involvement of boys in education.

self-examination for teachers

Methodology: surveys filled by teachers and students on gender stereotypes in the classroom. The following statements with prejudices and stereotypes are derived from the conclusion of our research at school. They can be used in a survey to compare the teachers’ opinion to the perception of the students by agreeing or not to the statements (4 sections: totally agree / agree / don’t agree / totally don’t agree).

In addition, in the second part teachers can check the opinion of the students on their personal class practice, which can be an eye opener and raise awareness.

Statements on prejudices and stereotypes

Boys are more easily happy with lower results
Boys study less at home
Boys more often lie than girls on the efforts they do for schoolwork
Girls are more trustworthy than boys
Girls get better results
Girls make more efforts for schoolwork
Girls are more sensitive to feedback
Boys more often show bad behavior in the classroom
Girls show more commitment in school life
Girls show more dedication to school tasks
Boys are more aggressive than girls
Boys are not as emotional as girls

Statements on class practice

Girls are more easily complimented on their efforts
Boys are given more severe sanctions
Girls more easily get assistance from the teachers
Girls can count on more empathy from the teachers
Boys are more often addressed with direct or even aggressive language by teachers
In case of bad results, girls are more often offered help and boys more often get a remark
In case of bad behavior, girls are more often offered a conversation and boys more often get a punishment
Boys are more often mentioned as a group in the classroom in the context of negative feedback e.g. ‘I am talking to the boys, esp. for the boys’
In case of bad behavior of a girl, teachers more often react with a general remark for the group, while for boys, the reaction is more often directed to the boy personally
Teachers more often let discussions with male students get out of control, while for girls they more often close the discussion by stating that everyone has a right to their own opinion

A teacher can make A difference

According to the students involved in the research, there are small adjustments to the class practice that could make a difference for boys in the classroom. Next to trying to avoid behavior that is based upon prejudices and stereotypes, the following measures could have an influence on the boys’ wellbeing, involvement, and behavior.

Suggestions for the class practice

Additional lessons in small, one gender groups, for subjects where boys or girls in general perform less than the other gender (e.g., physical education, cooking classes)
Add more practical assignments and make sure that students do not have to sit down for hours
Make sure to have male teachers too
Compliment boys on the aspects they are good at, make sure they know that you notice their efforts
Add humor to your lessons and remarks
Include skills boys tend to be better in than girls in your tests e.g. problem solving based upon given facts versus reproducing what they should have studied
Valuate the opinions of boys and girls evenly in the classroom
Make sure that all students understand what you expect
Create a class climate were boys feel equally respected e.g., by asking about their interests
Provide clear explanation on scores on assignments
Try to discuss problems with the student personally, outside of the classroom
Do not mention general prejudices or stereotypes in the class
Try to find out what helps to motivate the boys in your classroom
Try to listen to their way of reasoning and their look on school assignments and challenge them accordingly, instead of giving everyone the same assignment
Help them respect deadlines instead of giving remarks for not respecting them
Identify qualities and reward them
Clearly state what you expect and make them feel you count on them, you believe in them being successful. If it doesn’t work out, make them feel you believe it will be better next time and you are willing to help.