Gender Issues

Question 1

1. Title IX of Education Amendment

Answer 1

• Discrimination on the basis of sex is illegal in any educational program receiving federal funding.

Question 2

2. Gender definitions

Answer 2

• Biological sex - refers to anatomical and reproductive structures, comprising the chromosomal karyotype; binary model (male/female).
• Gender - refers to social construct composed of behaviors and characteristics expected of people based on their biological sex; binary system (boy/girl)
• Gender identity - innate psychological gender identification as a man, woman, or another gender.
• Gender expression - manner through which people communicate their gender identity (dress, interests, etc).
• Transgender - Umbrella term denoting gender identity that falls outside of traditional gender norms (Dragowski, 2014).

Question 3

3. Gender differences in behavioral and emotional difficulties

Answer 3

• Boys: more physically aggressive, more competitive, higher activity levels, greater risk takers, better spatial skills, higher scores in math reasoning
• Over-represented in externalizing disorders and disciplinary actions
• More boys labeled as ADHD; 13.2% diagnosed compared to 5.6% of girls (CDC, 2010).
• More likely to be diagnosed with Conduct Disorder
• Boys with CD engaging in violent behaviors
• Boys engage more often in antisocial behavior or violent crimes
• Boys represent nearly three out of four students suspended multiple times out of school and expelled.
• Boys represent 61% of students retained across all grades.
• More disruptive and likely to get services from School Psychologist
• More boys in special education and identified as LD, SL, or ED
• Girls: more empathetic, more compliant, more anxious about failure, more likely to seek help, quicker development of language skills, higher reading achievement
• Girls are more likely diagnosed with internalizing disorders (e.g. Depression)
• Girls experience low self-esteem in early adolescence; see a decline around age 11-12
• Eating disorders
• Suicide Attempts
• Less likely to receive services from School Psychologist
• Tend to have more severe disabilities within Special Ed population

Question 4

4. Gender race interaction issues reviewed in PowerPoint

Answer 4

• Carol Gilligan research
- Girls silence themselves
- Become unsure of themselves
- Fear to speak their mind
• As girls reach adolescence fewer White and Hispanic girls reported being happy with themselves
• Compared to White and Hispanic girls, Black girls reported being happy in more frequency during adolescence (but those girls did not have high self-esteem in issues related to school)

Question 5

5. Gender and teacher/student interaction issues (how teachers relate to different genders in classroom)

Answer 5

• Boys receive more teacher attention; more instructional time, more affection (in preschool)
• White boys receive more of all 4 types of teacher comments and attention: praise, acceptance, remediation and criticism
• Boys receive more precise teacher comments
• In elementary school African American boys have less interactions with teachers, but yet receive much more qualified praise (“That is good , but…”)
• Black boys seen less favorable by teachers and as less capable
• Black girls have less interactions with teachers but they attempt to start more interactions than white girls or of boys of either race
• Black girls receive less reinforcement from teachers; more often reinforced for their social behavior whereas white girls more often reinforced for academic behavior/achievement
• Boys more likely to be criticized by teachers for expressing feelings of fear or affection
• Male peers more likely to chastise boys for “feminine” behavior
• Increasing freedom for girls to adopt traditional male interests, whereas boy need to follow “boy code” (tough, independent, confident)
• Girls often tend to“blend in”; often receive little attention from teachers

Question 6

6. Gender bias in curriculum (FIIISL)

Answer 6

• Linguistic: use of masculine terms
• Stereotyping: boys are brave/athletic vs. girls as fearful
• Invisibility: women’s contributions not acknowledged
• Imbalance: one-sided view of issues
• Issues presented in a simplistic or unrealistic way (e.g., how families are defined despite divorce rate) - two moms/two dads
• Fragmentation: women’s contributions presented as unique occurrences instead of being integrated into main body of text

Question 7

7. Best practices recommended in gender chapter to address gender related issues in schools

Answer 7

• Assume a consultative role to raise awareness of these issues in the school system
• Change one’s own practices to ensure decisions reflect an understanding and appreciation of needs for each gender
• Much can be done through consultation, in- service training, and participation in planning teams to address issues with
- Curriculum - balance and diversity
- Behavioral management - social skill instruction and promote positive behavior
- School climate - protection, promotion, programs and policies
- Classroom dynamic/instruction - training, provide feedback, modeling, reframing