Women and Teaching, Learning and Education (2 of 2 self-selected entries)

 What is the context/argument being explored?

The article “The Contradiction and the Challenge of the Educated Woman” explores the sexism inherent in historical attitudes regarding women being educated and women being employed at all, or in specific fields. It subsequently explores traditional gendered stereotypes about men and women and discusses how different historical figures viewed women. There are then different points of view about how women should participate in education and jobs, including the concept of being “disruptive”, assimilating and creating something entirely new. The article also explores how at the point of the article’s publishing, gender inequalities had still not been abolished.

How do the ideas/arguments relate to your understanding of innovation in teaching and learning?

Research states that girls tend to outperform boys academically in school, as a general rule, however that boys may be more confident (American Psychological Association). While I value building confidence for all of my students, since for most of my career I have been teaching more boys than girls, and I am a woman myself, I have gone down the rabbit hole of trying to discern how boys and girls may learn differently. Unfortunately many sources that I look at have sexist, or just plain factually incorrect views. For example in the book, “Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men” the author states that rates of ADHD diagnoses in China are low due to the fact that children in China are not drinking out of single use plastics, and so are not being exposed to these “toxins”. As I have lived in China I can say that: 1. Children in China growing up in cities on average probably drink more often out of single use plastic bottles as compared to Canada, the USA and Western Europe, as you cannot drink tap water, 2. The number of people qualified to diagnose ADHD in China is incredibly low, 3. Chinese parents do not want their children to be “labelled.”

I do think as well, how much of the idea that girls and boys learn differently is nurture, and how much is nature, as there has never been a study looking at girls and boys nurtured in exactly the same way, interacting with the educational system.

Certainly my experiences around the world indicate that sexism is still a major problem in various countries. In my first international school, in Qatar, the first two years I taught there I was teaching far more boys than girls, as families were prioritizing the education of their boys. In Mainland China 4 out of the 5 years I taught there, I was teaching more boys than girls. While it is technically against the law to abort female fetuses, and now doctors are not supposed to tell prospective parents the gender of their child, before their child is born, the rate of males born to females still supersedes what would be found in nature. (UNFPA - United Nations Populations Fund)

Also it is interesting that I have had experiences of boys quitting non-gendered after school activities because of their being “too many girls”, but not the opposite. Research has also shown that boys are more likely to read books with male protagonists, but this also opens up a conversation about what parents and wider society may be telling their children about books and media, what is a “boys” book and what is a “girls” book. (Acharya)

I think in teaching and learning it is important to consider the population that you are teaching, but also to be critical of the information given, is this factual? Where is the proof? If I did this practice would it make teaching more equitable? This is a part of being reflective.

Additionally, it is my belief that innovation in teaching and learning gives students the tools to solve problems and challenge norms, when the norms are not fair or equitable.

As teachers I also think it is important to show a variety of different examples of different people doing different jobs or hobbies, not traditionally associated with a certain gender, for example female pilots, police officers, firefighters, soldiers, doctors; male nurses, elementary school teachers, ballet dancers, etc. Making it clear to students that they do not have to live within a stereotype will help to subtly shape what they believe is possible for themselves.

What questions do you have of the authors after having read the article?

To follow up with my above point, if there are gendered differences in how boys and girls learn - How much of that is nurture and how much of it is nature?

Are there any good peer reviewed articles or books that discuss (in general terms) best practices for girls and boys in education? / How they learn best?

What are the implications for your own practice?

Honestly in terms of considering gender equity in education, there is a long way to go.

I think this article reiterates the point that for a lot of history power was concentrated in the power of a few, so many of our examples of creativity reflect only very particular viewpoints. I think this is important conversation to have with students as they get older.

When it comes to gender equity in teaching and learning, I feel I’ve already discussed it above. However, when it comes to gender equity for teachers themselves, I think there is a conversation to be had in terms of teacher expectations including unpaid overtime (feeding into the pattern of unpaid labour for women) and pressure to do things “for the children”, respect by society and statistically how many male administrators there are relative to female, when you consider the high number of female teachers in the profession. (Bunnel and Gardner-McTaggert)

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Sources

Acharya, S. (2019, March 28). The problem with "girl" books, "boy" books, and gendered reading. The Curious Reader. https://www.thecuriousreader.in/features/girl-books-boy-books-gendered-reading/

American Psychological Association. (2014, April 14). Girls outperform boys in school, but boys may be more confident. APA. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2014/04/girls-grades

Bunnell, Tristan & Alexander Gardner-McTaggert. (2024). Exploring the ‘White men’ dominance of senior leaders in premium international schools. Journal of Education for Teaching, 50(1), Page range. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2024.2329902

Martin, J. R. (1991). The contradiction and the challenge of the educated woman. Women’s Studies Quarterly [Special Issue on Women, Girls, and the Culture of Education], 19(1/2), 6-27.

Sax, L. (2007). Boys adrift: The five factors driving the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys and underachieving young men. Basic Books.