Seitova Dilyara
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
2nd Year Master's Candidate on "Pedagogy and Psychology

Supervisor: Akhmetova G.K.,

Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor

TEACHER GENDER, THE 'GENDER GAP' AND THE FEMINIZATION OF TEACHING

In countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, Iran and Malaysia, women are succeeding in reaching most of the higher academic achievements at a greater rate than men. This ‘gender gap’ has only widened over time[1].In response, there arefears that state-run education systems, which are universally based on various Western models, are failing their male students. Is this the result, as some have suggested [2], of a “feminization” of the teaching profession that has left male students without male role models in schools?

It should first be noted that, despite the fact that this is a worldwide phenomenon, the causes of the gender gap are not necessarily similar in every country. Therefore, while it seems to hold true across countries that teacher’s gender would matter in the relative success of students, it may not always produce the same effects.Women, in an OECD study of 64 countries, make up 80% of primary school teachers and almost 70% of secondary school teachers. If the criticism reported by the Economist newsmagazine – that women may be more likely to favor girl students than boys – had truth to it, than one would expect test scores for boys to be suffering. However, the problem is not that boys are not improving, but rather that girls are improving faster than they are [3]. For example, a Malaysian study found that Malaysian female teachers’ primary students do better on exams than Malaysian male teachers’ primary students, regardless of student gender [4]. On the other hand, a2012study of American students found that girls exhibit more negative math attitudes than boys and these start in primary school [5]. Furthermore, while some regions such as Latin America have shown smaller gender gaps than in Europe or the United States, these are often accompanied by wider gender gaps in favor of boys in math. [6]Paired with Bellock et al’s 2010 study of female teachers’ math attitudes, we see that a factor in girls’ negative math attitudes is that young girls are modeling the math anxieties of their female teachers, while boys do not [7].This negative impact affects girls’ test scores as well as their self-concept – Dutch 8^th grade girls attribute failure in math to a lack of ability more often than their male peers do [7].

Another American study backs up the Malaysian data that both boys and girls benefit from having a female teacher relative to a male teacher, and find that girls benefit slightly more from this compared to boys in secondary school [8] . While the Malaysian study joins them further in noting that students exhibit a gender gap of achievement in math and science versus humanities subjects, their recommendations for reform focus on recruiting more capable teachers without regard to gender.This is because, until this point, the authors note that American-style studies on gender modeling by teachers do not exist in Malaysia [9].There does not yet exist evidence for many countries to connect inequality of outcome to particular causes.

Something that is relatively strongly connected to outcome, on the other hand, is the level of attention that students pay to the class and to the teacher. While this can harm learning if the teacher displays negative attitudes, a teacher who commands high levels of attention is generally able to teach more effectively. What seems to take place, according to Winters et al, in schools is that teacher gender is not evenly distributed between subjects, but rather, and especially for older secondary students, has patterns and concentrations [8]. Male teachers, despite being a clear minority overall, are concentrated in math and the sciences. This means that when students have a female math teacher, for example, it is a more uncommon sight. They pay more attention and subsequently, the flaws and strengths of the person are magnified. Because most such teachers, particularly in the secondary level where they are specialized, have gone against the grain to enter the profession, students and female students in particular demonstrate improved performance in Math courses taught by female teachers. On the other hand students, and especially boys, benefit from courses in reading being taught by female teachers, not male teachers [9]. This may be because of the quality of male teachers or teachers’ own gender biases.

According to Hoque et al, most studies show both that women tend to be more effective teachers than men, and also that male teachers are seen as more biased by gender and influenced by gender expectations than female teachers. This is shown in student attitudes: female teachers are seen to be more approachable compared to male teachers, who are seen as sources of strict disciplining. Hoque et al report their own observations that female teachers create a more positive environment overall [9].

Teacher gender can also be influential in determining a class curriculum, and depending on local conditions may be received by students very differently. For example, a study of university professors found that women professors assigned 36% more readings by female authors than male professors [10]. The authors speculated that this may be because women professors tended to be younger than male professors, and bring different ideas and more openness to contemporary sources as a result of their generational age [10]. If true, this would indicate another example of an example against type – a younger female professor – would teach a course in a recognizably different way than an older male peer. The university gender gap, then, could be partially explained by growing dissatisfaction from a young age with relevance of school on the part of many male students [11]. This dissatisfaction is fueled in part by a lack of appropriate goals presented in a familiar way to boys. Girls also suffer by being boxed into the same gender models, implying that the traditions behind long-standing social roles are being perpetuated by even well meaning teachers.

Thus, while the contention that a disproportionate amount of female teachers is negatively affecting male students is not supported by evidence, teachers cannot escape functioning as gender models. The so-called feminization of teachers is a problem, but not because women cannot teach as well as men. It is a problem because in patriarchal societies, feminization of a profession drives away many people, but especially men, who do not want to do ‘women’s work.’ Men who become teachers are more often either extremely committed to teaching or are simply teaching because they have few other options. Focusing on recruiting male teachers can, in the absence of other needed feminist reforms, at least make teaching a gender-neutral profession and encourage greater participation in the future by qualified candidates regardless of gender.

References

1. Marcus A. Winters, Rovert C. Haight, Thomas T. Swaim, Katarzyna A Pickering (2013), “The effect of same-gender teacher assignment on student achievement in the elementary and secondary grades: Evidence from panel data,” Economics of Education Review, 34, pp. 69-75.

2. KaziEnamulHoque, Ahmad Zabidi Abdul Razak, Mosa. FatemaZohora and Reazul Islam (2013), “Impact of Teacher-Gender on Primary Students’ achievement: A study at Malaysian standpoint,” Journal of Sociological Research, 4(1), pp. 124-144.

3. The Economist (7 March, 2015), “The Weaker Sex”, The Economist, Print Edition, London.

4. Hoque et al (2013), “Impact of Teacher-Gender.”

5. Elizabeth A. Gunderson, Gerardo Ramirez, Susan C. Levine, Sian L. Beilock (2012), “The role of parents and teachers in the development of gender-related math attitudes,” Sex Roles, 66, pp. 153-166.

6. The Economist (7 March, 2015), “The Weaker Sex”.

7. Gunderson et al (2012), “The role of parents and teachers in the development of gender-related math attitudes.”

8. Winters et al (2013), “The effect of same-gender teacher assignment on student achievement.”

9. Hoque et al (2013), “Impact of Teacher-Gender.”

10. Scott Jaschik (2015), “Syllabus Gender Gap”, Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved on Dec. 17 from

11. The Economist (7 March, 2015), “The Weaker Sex”.