1. Education
Chapter 8
Communicating Gender Diversity

2. Education as a Social Institution:
Historical Facts
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During the 1800’s male children from the British ruling class were prepared to be
leaders in both the armed forces and business
This practice was the basis for all formal schools in several colonized countries,
including the United States
Public Education in the United States was intended solely for White, upper-class males
Starting in the early 1900’s education was expanded to included White, upper-class
females, but women were discouraged from studying masculine subjects like math and
science
Psychologists of this time period believed that coeducation would rob girls “of their
sense of feminine character and harm boys by ‘feminizing them when they need to be
working off their brute animal element” (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, pg. 176)

3. Education as a Social Institution:
Modern Facts
• Gender bias is less noticeable in today’s classroom, but remains.
• History books still omit female, as well as racial/ethnic minorities,
contributions to social movements, wartime efforts and politics
• Children’s storybooks still maintain gendered social roles
• Girls are encouraged to take home economics, rather than math or science
• These practices help maintain gendered stereotypes, inequalities and
privileges

4. Gender Bias in Educational Choices
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Statistics gathered in 2003 show there are huge gaps between male and female
participation of certain college majors
Overwhelmingly, the statistics showed that subjects like computer and information
science and engineering were male dominated subjects (see table 1)
This data supports the claim that female students either feel unprepared or
uninterested in pursuing these subjects. Possibly in part to their secondary school
curriculum
Citing the same data about college majors in 2010 men still dominate computer and
information science and engineering. In fact, the gap has widened (see table 2)

5. Higher Education in the United States
Table 1: Popular College Majors 2003
80%
77%
72%
71%
80%
60%
40%
28%
29%
23%
20%
20%
0%
Computer and Information
Sciences
Education
Engineering
Male
Foreign Language
Female
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics, 2003

6. Higher Education in the United States
Table 2: Popular College Majors 2010
81%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
83%
80%
70%
30%
18%
Computer/Information
Sciences
17%
20%
Education
Engineering
Male
Foreign Languages
Female
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics, 2010

7. Attempts to Challenge the Binary View of
Gender/Sex
• It is important to understand that, as an educated person, knowledge and the
process of gaining it is a process that relies on individual perception.
• A person must be aware of the source of information before constructing
absolute truth based on this knowledge.
• A majority of the information that is given the “status of knowledge in the
United States is the product of White, Western, capitalist, masculine
viewpoints (pg. 179)

8. The Creation of Women’s Studies
• During the 1960’s U.S. colleges and universities began integrating women’s
studies programs
• The purpose of this program was “to enable women to become authorities on
their own lives; to construct their own knowledge about women according to
their own criteria…to empower themselves through knowledge…: (pg. 179)

9. Women’s Studies Continued
• As stated in chapter 8, feminist epistemology involves the rejection of rigid
boundaries between research disciplines
• An effort is made to recognize that the “insider views may not be the same as
outside researcher views…insider does not mean biased…outsider does not
mean bias free” (pg. 179)

10. William Perry vs. Belenky et.al.
• In an effort to study the way women and men construct knowledge, research
was done by William Perry
• Perry interviewed male students as they progressed through academic
programs at Harvard University
• Perry’s conclusion of the development of male thinking skills can be
illustrated in the following flow chart
Simplistic view of knowledge  recognition of multiple perspectives  choosing between said
perspectives commitment to a perspective development of a strong sense of personal identity

11. William Perry vs. Belenky et.al.
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Mary Field Belenky, Blythe McVicker Clinchy, Nancy Rule Goldberger & Jill Mattuck Tarule
parallel Perry’s study with comparable interview methods of 135 female students over 5
years.
This study found that there are similarities between the process both men and women use
when seeking knowledge, but found that there is a difference in motivation
The Belenky et. al. study found that men are primarily motivated by doubt, while women are
motivated by confirmation of knowledge.
There is an obvious flaw in the study of this type of data because it automatically separates
men and women suggesting an inherent difference between the two, as well as makes a wide
sweeping generalization of all women and all men.
The difference between the Belenky et. al. study findings of the development of the women’s
thinking process and Perry’s study of male thinking can be seen below
Silence received/passive ways of knowing subjective ways of knowing procedural
knowing/knowledge seeking through objective/subject processes constructed knowledge & the
realization that knowledge requires personal commitment (pg. 180)

12. The Construction &
Constraint of
Gender in Education
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Without necessarily meaning to, teachers often divide
children by sex i.e. boys and girls in separate lines for
lunch or playground activities
Often activities are planned around the notion that
children prefer same-sex friends
Children begin to see the other gender as different and
opposing
Teacher and Administrator
Interactions
VS.

13. The Construction &
Constraint of
Gender in Education
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Sports
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The segregation of boys and girls participating in sports
begins at a very early age
Traditionally sports is a masculine domain where boys
are taught to exhibit masculinity
With the passage of Title IX in 1972, girls and women
were given equal opportunity to participate in any
educational program or activity receiving federal funds
This allowed girls to find confidence in their character,
their competence and their bodies
The social pressure to remain masculine or feminine
continues to persist

14. •
The Construction & •
Constraint of
Gender in Education •
Educational Materials and Curricula
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Title IX also helped to reduce the overwhelming gender
bias that was found in textbooks, reading materials and
other educational tools found in schools
The depiction of girls/women in storybooks often
shows them in a nurturing role, while boys/men remain
in rigid provider roles
Curriculum is also gendered with the obvious home
economics seen as a feminine course and auto shop as a
more masculine one
There has been movement and change making gender
bias less blatant

15. •
The Construction &
Constraints of
Gender in Education
Higher Education
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Previously it was shown that students often decide their
college majors based on gender identification, here it is
shown that professors are traditionally a male
Women find it difficult to not only get hired, but
promoted or evaluated positively at this higher level of
teaching
More often they have to prove their competence with
accomplishments, while men are often judged on their
promise
The contradiction continues with the expectation that
male professors will act masculine, but female professor
will not act feminine
This constructs a negative connotation with being
perceived feminine
Pg. 185

16. •
The Construction &
Constraint of
Gender in Education
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Gender/Sex Gaps
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There have been claims in recent history that education
is failing both girls and boys
For instance, the American Assoc. of University Women
(AAWU) claims that girls receive less attention from
teachers than boys do
While Christina Hoff Sommers, author of The War
Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming
Our Young Men, claims boys problems stem from the
mere fact that they are boys who require “far more
discipline, structure, and authority in their lives than do
girls” (pg. 186)
Regardless of sex it has been shown that the less
funding a school receives, the worse the education is
that is offered. Particularly so for African American
boys.

17. The Construction &
Constraint of
Gender in Education
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Single Sex Education
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As a way to address the issue of either gender being
“left behind” because of educational constraints, the idea
of gender separation in schools has been introduced
This is based on the assumption that males and females
learn differently because each gender uses their brains in
distinctive ways
The first problem with this thinking is the assumption
that sex and gender are equal
Where this practice has been implemented, the
improvement could be based, not only on gender
separation, but on the improvement of teaching methods
Same sex schools reinforce sexism missing the
opportunity to provide improved communication skills,
trust and respect of the other gender

18. The Construction &
Constraint of
Gender in Education
Peer Pressure
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Research has found that by the third grade many
students are found to move towards same-sex groups of
friends
There has also been data to suggest that they divide
further between race and class
Students found that any attempt to cross the invisible
borders between groups resulted in ridicule from the
other students
Peer pressure can be so intense that the demand to fit in
constructs the students gender identity more than their
parents or themselves
The chapter states “attitudes toward school and students’
identities tied to sexuality and gender/sex become
conflated” (pg. 190)

19. •
The Construction &
Constraints of
Gender in Education
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The prevalence of bullying in schools in this day and age
has required many schools to adopt a “zero-tolerance”
policy
The trouble that the schools are running into is finding a
solid definition of bullying
Chapter 8 defines it as “physical, psychological, and/or
verbal intimidation or attack that is meant to cause distress
and/or harm to an intended victim” (pg. 190)
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Bullying
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20%-30% of students in today’s classrooms have
experienced bullying in some form
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This type of behavior is most often done by children that
come from families with “high conflict, authoritarian
parenting styles and economic stress” (pg. 190)
If this type of behavior is ignored, it can lead to more
dangerous and destructive behavior in the future, like
domestic violence

20. The Construction &
Constraints of
Gender in Education
Sexual Harassment
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Uncorrected bullying “creates a cultural context in which
sexual harassment is common” (pg. 190)
The results of a survey completed by the AAWU found that
4 out of 5 students found themselves to be the target of
unwanted sexual behavior
Girls were found to experience it more than boys and
African American boys more than White boys
Girls were found to also participate in bullying and sexual
harassment, but perform it on a much less physical level.
The authors state that it should not be surprising that girls
participate in name-calling, “just as boys and men are
pressured to prove their masculinity and heterosexuality,
girls are pressured to view each other as competition for
male attention, leading to insider cliques and bullying” (pg.
192).
While there is little to no research on the sexual harassment
of gays, lesbians bisexuals, and transgender students, there
is little doubt they face a high risk of sexual harassment
from their peers

21. The Construction &
Constraints of
Gender in Education
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Sexual Violence on College
Campuses
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In the year 2000 the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
published a study titled Victimization of College Women.
This study found that of the 4,446 women involved
2.8% of them had experienced rape, either attempted of
completed. 13.1% were stalked, 1 in 5 received obscene
phone calls and 2.4% were observed naked without
consent
Fewer than 5% reported victimization to the authorities
High alcohol consumption on college campuses
contributes to the prevalence of sexual violence
The college culture of aggressive masculinity,
dominance and the idea that a sexual act is a “game” or
“conquest” adds to the risk of sexual violence

22. Emancipatory Education
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The important take-away from Chapter 8 is the need to eliminate any gender/sex bias
in our educational system
Also the understanding that gender/sex divisions are ultimately more harmful to
children and restrict them rather than liberate them
Solutions to this include understanding that the generally polarizing approaches to
education result in ignoring a middle ground for students, as well as, the introduction
of a “gender-sensitive model”
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The gender-sensitive model must “address the entire learning environment. Educators must pay
attention to what is on the shelves and the walls of the schools, making sure they send inclusive,
non-stereotypical messages.” (pg. 194)
There must also be a conscious decision to not divide children based on single-sex, race or class.
Better options would be dividing children by birthdates, favorite colors, favorite foods or interests.
Connected teaching-the process of finding relevant examples for students lives-also shows promise
in education because it allows the power of learning to be shared between the students and the
teacher
There needs to be a focused effort on the education of girls, not only in the United
States, but around the world. Investing in a girl allows investment in that child’s
family and community.

23. Conclusion
“Education is composed of communicative practices—lectures, books,
activities—that teach students to perform gender. Detailed analysis of
educational practice demonstrates that gendered/sexed elements of education,
including who is educating whom, about what, in what way, and for what
purpose. Educators and those being educated have an opportunity and
responsibility to think about how the classroom can be a microcosm for multiple
social inequalities and for social change.” (pg. 197)