SOC 463/663 (Social Psych of Education) - Gender & Education
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This document discusses gender socialization and its impact on education. It addresses several key points: 1) Gender socialization begins early, with parents, schools, media and peers influencing children's views of masculinity and femininity. 2) Schools play a role in socializing gender through unequal treatment of boys and girls by teachers, textbooks, and valuing of male vs. female extracurricular activities. 3) While girls now outperform boys in education, gender inequality persists in careers and society. Factors like differential choices in college majors and prioritizing family over career contribute to this outcome. 4) Challenging gender stereotypes and making STEM fields seem more communal and inclusive
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SOC 463/663 (Social Psych of Education) - Gender & Education
- 1. Gender & Education Melanie Tannenbaum, Ph.D. SOC 463/663 Spring 2015
- 2. Discussion Questions: In The Beginning… What is the largest socialization factor for gender? Parents? Schools/Teachers? Media? Peers? How early does gender socialization start? Gender inequality? Do you remember early examples of things being different in your home/classroom based on gender?
- 3. “Gendering” Sex vs. Gender Shaping Factors Schools Teachers Peers
- 4. Is there a smarter sex? Halpern & LaMay (2000) Male Advantage Visual-spatial tasks Math achievement tasks Female Advantage Verbal tasks Memory tasks Diane Halpern Gender difference largest at highest & lowest ends Biology may have something to do with it…but minimal
- 6. Schools & Gender Socialization Male athletic teams have value/prestige; female teams less so Different values, goals, behaviors, etc. are reinforced Textbooks rarely focus on important women Valued behaviors are largely female-stereotypic
- 7. Is there a male crisis?
- 8. Is there a male crisis? Women more likely to… Enroll in college/university Graduate from college/university Get higher grades 56% of students enrolled in master’s degree programs are women
- 9. Why would there be a male crisis? “Feminization of Education” Most teachers are women Activities/school policies made by women, oriented toward girls Changing image of masculinity Narrowing of images of masculinity Socially sanctioned male goals incompatible with intellectual goals
- 10. But… Men still more likely to enroll in the most prestigious/selective universities Women earn 30% of STEM degrees Majors remain highly segregated Men: Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Technology Women: Education, Nursing, Social/Life Sciences
- 11. More favorable depiction of men than women in textbooks Boys given more time to respond to teacher’s questions Boys receive more help, more praise, more correction Girls called on less often in class Differential Treatment of Females
- 12. Differential Treatment of Females: A Second Look? More favorable depiction of men than women in textbooks Used to be true — but changing! Boys given more time to respond to teacher’s questions Lower expectations? Boys receive more help, more praise, more correction Boys also receive more disciplinary attention & punishment Praise & unsolicited help may reflect lower expectations Girls called on less often in class Boys volunteer more No gender difference after controlling for amount of volunteering
- 13. Is the educational system to blame for gender inequality in society? YES NO More encouragement & challenging tasks from teachers for boys Girls get higher grades Gender role socialization & peer culture Girls score higher on some standardized achievement tests Differential status of female & male extracurriculars (despite Title IX) Boys more likely to be diagnosed with (some) learning disorders
- 14. Discussion Questions: Reforming Education Can a change in the education system and the curriculum redefine the roles of boys and girls? Do teachers understand that they are giving boys that extra attention in school? And if they do understand then are they doing anything personally about it? If boys are being treated so much better and are being constantly encouraged to build up their own self-esteem and skills at school, why are girls still continuously outperforming boys when it comes to grades?
- 15. Gender Differences in Lifetime Achievement Males more likely than females to… Get advanced educational degrees Become academic faculty Enter careers that allow quick advancement Occupy positions of power and prestige Earn more money for the same job (“earnings gap”) Note: Most differences involve careers, labor market; not so much educational system Within educational system: Often parity or advantage for girls How does female advantage within educational system translate into disadvantage on the labor market, power in society?
- 16. Why do women achieve more in education than in society? Reality constraints High power jobs are often not family friendly Individual Choices Preferences Activities and interactions Goals Career aspirations Lifestyle values Expectations Self-efficacy Anticipated responses to the self
- 17. Career-Relevant Choices & Decisions Females are less likely to end up in high-power careers Gender-typing of Tasks Majors Careers Educational choices Less interest in tech, quantitative careers Less likely to choose advanced math in high school Less likely to choose college major that requires math
- 18. Discussion Questions: Is it really a free choice? Perhaps there is some component of a woman's choice not to pursue science because it has such a large population of males already? With such a large number of men, there's bound to be a number who are discriminatory, sexist, or misogynist. Do you think this knowledge makes choosing to go into math-based or scientific fields less attractive? After all, if there were a pool totally full of harmless fish, but amongst these fish there were a few bull sharks here and there, I certainly wouldn't choose to enter the pool. Ceci & Williams discuss the “choices” made by women, like opting out of tenure-track careers in order to raise families. Do you think that these are really “choices,” especially since men in those careers are never expected to make them? Or do you think that women are given the illusion of a choice and are expected to “choose” appropriately by opting for the family route?
- 19. Peers
- 20. BOYS GIRLS Socialized to be aggressive, dominant, strong, athletic Socialized to be nurturing, communal, kind, bubbly Pick your fights wisely; display dominance strategically Smile all the time; hide your true feelings at all costs
- 21. Gender & Self-Esteem AAUW Report, Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America 1991 Self-esteemindex 0 1.3 2.5 3.8 5 Elementary Middle High School Girls Boys
- 22. This is the sad reality in workplaces around the world: Women help more but benefit less from it. In keeping with deeply held gender stereotypes, we expect men to be ambitious and results- oriented, and women to be nurturing and communal. When a man offers to help, we shower him with praise and rewards. But when a woman helps, we feel less indebted. She’s communal, right? She wants to be a team player. The reverse is also true. When a woman declines to help a colleague, people like her less and her career suffers. But when a man says no, he faces no backlash. A man who doesn’t help is “busy”; a woman is “selfish.”
- 23. http://stuffhappens.us/boy-at-school-snapped-her-14307/ Girls are often socialized to smile & accept behavior that probably should not be seen as acceptable.
- 24. One possible solution… Emphasize the “communal” nature of STEM careers?
- 28. Shaping Interest 185 families visiting a science museum Crowley, Callanan, Tenenbaum & Allen, (2001), Psy Sci, 12, 258-261 Parents explain more often to boys than to girls during shared scientific thinking Parents are more likely to take boys to the science museum than they are to take girls!
- 29. Shelley Correll (2001) Cultural beliefs condition ability self-assessments Males = good at math Females = bad at math Whether or not cultural beliefs are personally endorsed, individuals are aware of them & they influence self- assessments Males think more highly of themselves compared to females, even when there is no difference in math achievement Influences choice of course Influences choice of major
- 30. Discussion Questions: Increasing Interest What are ways we could make STEM fields more communal? How else could we get more women into STEM fields?
- 31. Discussion Questions: The Other Side Should society continue to uphold the [lower] status of women [if] it proves advantageous to us in the long-run? Is the gender difference really only one sided or should the harm being done to boys be addressed as well? (Like being dissuaded from pursuing careers in teaching/social work…)