Handbook of psychology volume 7 educational psychology

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Gender Issues in the Classroom

for the girls themselves, who find they are rewarded when

they deny their intelligence and individuality (McCracken

et al., 1996). Referred to as gender-binding, these practices

require resistance on the part of teachers and middle school

girls. Creating cooperative settings in middle school science

in which mixed-gender groups have assigned tasks that rotate

with each lab activity is one structure that helps. Authentic

expectations for everyone’s active participation are shown to

promote participation. Bringing real-life conflicts and stories

into the middle school science curriculum is good science

education and encourages girls’ participation (Koch, 1998c).

Furthermore, posters of men and women and curriculum ma-

terial that make connections between science and daily life

encourage female participation and enhance the quality of

instruction (see Linn, 2000).

Research demonstrates a decline in middle school girls’

ability or willingness to express individual opinions that pose

even the slightest possibility of creating real conflict with their

peers. Research also demonstrates that some middle school

teachers scold girls for speaking in a disagreeable or strident

manner (Brown & Gilligan, 1992). An implication of this find-

ing is that middle school teachers need to encourage their fe-

male middle school students to risk making their peers angry;

these teachers also need to teach their female students how to

be assertive and articulate without being or feeling hostile.

This task is not simple; it requires research into successful

strategies on behalf of listening to all students. Barbieri (1995)

and Logan (1997) offer important suggestions for voice and

identity.

Furthermore, studies have shown that even when teachers

reflect knowledge of gender-equity issues in the classroom,

they are not always able to translate the knowledge of the

issue into changes in their behavior (Levine & Orenstein,

1994). Teachers themselves have been socialized to believe

certain stereotypes about genders and have also had some of

the same experiences that their students are having; gender

equity in the classroom should therefore be a shared goal for

teachers with their students.

Body Image and the Secondary School Student

In the United States, magazines, billboards, movies, televi-

sion shows, commercials, and MTV send a message that

being thin is the central attribute of beauty for women and

will eventually lead to success and happiness. Although this

obsession with weight loss and being very thin is associ-

ated with middle grades social behavior for girls, there is

evidence that discussions about weight begin in earlier

grades. A second- and third-grade teacher reports the follow-

ing excerpt.

‘I need to lose weight,’ Kayla was saying. Another second grade

girl chimed in ‘So do I. I’m way too fat.’ My students’ conversa-

tion shocked me . . . Linda, a third grade girl who is thin to the

point of looking unhealthy, grabbed a piece of paper from Kayla.

‘I’m the one who needs this.’ ‘No, I need it!’ insisted Rhonda.

The hotly contested paper turned out to contain the name of an

exercise video that my second- and third-grade class had seen in

gym. Although the video was for health and fitness, not weight

loss, the girls were convinced that the video would help them

lose weight and were frantic to get hold of it. (Lyman, 2000)

By middle grades the thinness crisis often reaches out-of-

control proportions, as mostly White middle-class girls strive

to be beautiful in the way that beauty is socially constructed

to mean acute thinness. Teenagers are under a lot of pres-

sure to succeed and fit in. Many spend a lot of time worrying

about what others think, and they desperately try to conform

to society’s unattainable so-called ideal body image. Young

teenage girls are led to believe that if they are thin, they will

be accepted. Because many teenagers buy teen or fashion

magazines regularly, the images of emaciated models appear-

ing in those magazines only reinforces their belief that in

order to be happy, successful, and accepted, they must be

thin. As recently as 5 years ago, African American girls were

immune to such pressures; however, as young Black models

increasingly adopt White images for beauty, more middle-

class teenage Black girls are aspiring to what was formerly a

White middle-class image of beauty.

Many teenagers believe that dieting is a normal way to eat.

Teenagers with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa

have distorted perceptions of their body weight and shape—

they persist in believing they need to lose weight even when

they are seriously underweight. More than one third of all

middle grades girls believe they are overweight (Giarratano,

1997).

The classroom teacher needs to be aware of the complex-

ity of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. The underlying causes

that promote excessive weight loss are complex issues found

in the personal, peer, family, and societal influences on a par-

ticular teen. Most teens with eating disorders try to avoid

conflicts at all costs, so they usually do not express negative

feelings and try to wear a happy face all the time to try to

please people. They end up using food as a way to stuff down

all those negative feelings, and purging usually gives them a

sense of relief—almost as though they are releasing all those

built-up emotions (Thompson, 2001).

There are at least 8 million individuals with eating

disorders in the Unites States; the most common disorders

are anorexia nervosa, characterized by starving oneself, and

bulimia, characterized by binging and purging. These dis-

orders affect 10–15% of adolescents, and 90% of those

Gender Equity in the Middle Grades and High School Years

273

affected are girls. Anorexia nervosa can and does cause

serious medical problems; it is estimated that 5–18% of those

who become anorexic will die because of medical problems

associated with malnutrition. Signs associated with anorexia

nervosa include a sickly and emaciated overall appearance,

lack of energy, loss of ability to concentrate, and loss of hair.

Binge-purging results in damage to the esophagus, internal

bleeding, and severe electrolyte imbalance; it also can lead to

heart failure. The young woman who is bulimic is often of

normal weight and uses gorging and vomiting or excess lax-

atives to maintain her weight. Hence, bulimic teens are less

visible at first glance unless they also have anorexia. Forty

percent of individuals with anorexia are also bulimic.

Eating disorders pose a significant gender issue for sec-

ondary school teachers and students. It is not often addressed

in school curriculum; hence, as a result of the evaded or null

curriculum, girls with eating disorders go unnoticed, or it is

perceived as normal for girls to be abnormally thin or con-

stantly dieting. Teachers need to take an active role in pre-

venting eating disorders by educating their students about the

dangers of excess dieting and binging and purging. Teachers

and school counselors should also be made aware of the

signs to look for. Researchers have established protocols for

addressing the problem in the context of the classroom.

If a teacher believes a student to have anorexia nervosa or

bulimia, the student should be approached. Teachers need to

talk to her or him, state their concern, and suggest a chat with

a counselor or parent. Educators should be prepared to offer

local resources for treatment and avoid making any com-

ments about the student’s eating behavior or subsequent

weight gain. Most important is that research indicates the

value of letting the student know that the teacher cares

(Michigan Model, 2000).

Sexual Harassment and the Middle and High

School Grades

Understanding the impact of body image on adolescent de-

velopment is related to learning about another increasingly

common phenomenon in schools—the occurrence of sexu-

ally harassing behavior in classrooms, hallways, on school

grounds, and in school buses. Ignoring this phenomenon or

worse—coding the occurrence as normal for girls and boys—

gives tacit approval to disturbing behaviors that limit the

educational possibilities for girls and many boys.

School is a harassing and unkind place for students . . . [they] tell

us they feel powerless and are looking to the adults in schools to

behave like adults and to enforce a climate that is healthy and

supportive. (Shakeshaft et al., 1995, p. 42.)

Sexual harassment was defined for a recent survey as “un-

wanted and unwelcome sexual behavior that interferes with

your life. Sexual harassment is not behaviors that you like or

want (for example, wanted kissing, touching or flirting)”

(AAUW, 2001, p. 2). School sexual harassment has a nega-

tive effect on the emotional and educational lives of students.

Sexually harassing behaviors happen in hallways, stairwells,

and classrooms. The importance to educators of knowing and

understanding the risks of coding sexist behavior as normal

cannot be understated. Although boys are increasingly be-

coming more victimized by sexually harassing classroom and

school incidents, they remain less likely than are girls to have

this experience.

According to a recent Harris Poll (AAUW, 2001), 8 in

10 students experience some form of sexual harassment dur-

ing their school lives. Slightly more than half the students

polled say they have sexually harassed someone during their

school lives; this is significant in view of the finding that 9 in

10 students report that students sexually harass other students

at their school. Moreover, a sizable number of students sur-

veyed (38%) report that teachers and other school employees

sexually harass students. In the last 8 years this percentage

has declined (from 44% in 1993).

According to the students surveyed, sexual harassment—

words and actions—in school happens often, occurs under

teachers’ noses, can begin in elementary school, and is very

upsetting to both girls and boys. This report (AAUW, 2001)

is a follow-up to the first nationwide survey on sexual harass-

ment in schools, also commissioned by the AAUW Educa-

tional Foundation and researched by Harris Interactive (then

known as Louis Harris & Associates, 1993). Eighty-three

percent of girls and 79% of boys report having experienced

harassment. The number of boys reporting experiences with

harassment often or occasionally has increased since 1993

(56% vs. 49%), although girls are still somewhat more likely

to experience it. Seventy-six percent of students have experi-

enced nonphysical harassment, whereas 58% have experi-

enced physical harassment. Nonphysical harassment includes

taunting, rumors, graffiti, jokes, or gestures. One third of all

students report experiencing physical harassment often or

occasionally. Although large groups of both boys and girls

report experiencing harassment, girls are more likely to re-

port being negatively affected by it. Girls are far more likely

than are boys to feel self-conscious, embarrassed, and less

confident because of an incident of harassment. Girls are

more likely than are boys to change behaviors in school and

at home because of the experience—including not talking as

much in class and avoiding the person who harassed them.

Nearly all students (96%) say they know what harassment is,

and boys’ and girls’ definitions do not differ substantially.

274

Gender Issues in the Classroom

Most harassment occurs under teachers’ noses in the class-

room and in the halls. Students are perpetrators, too. Slightly

more than half of students say that they have sexually ha-

rassed someone during their school lives; this represents a de-

crease from 1993, when 59% admitted as much. In particular,

boys are less likely than in 1993 to report being a perpetrator

(adapted from www.aauw.org and AAUW, 2001).

Findings from the Harris Poll survey studies have led to

more stringent legal guidelines for sexual harassment cases.

The Supreme Court ruling of May 1999 held school districts

liable for damages under federal law for failing to stop a

student from subjecting another to severe and pervasive sex-

ual harassment. As a result of this ruling, school districts

are developing policies to address sexual harassment events

promptly and to protect targets of harassment from abusers’

continuing torment. These policies are made known to all

school personnel, students, and parents. Classroom teachers

must seek curriculum materials to address harassment

issues—formerly a part of the hidden and evaded curricu-

lums. Noted researcher in the study of school sexual ha-

rassment, Nan Stein, working with classroom teachers, has

developed useful curriculum guides that provide teachers

and students with activities and role-playing scenarios that

can help students to address harassing behavior when it oc-

curs. They are also useful guides for helping students to dis-

tinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors.

Bullyproof: A Teacher’s Guide on Teasing and Bullying for

Use With Fourth and Fifth Grade Students by Sjostrum and

Stein (1996) and Flirting or Hurting: A Teacher’s Guide on

Student-to-Student Sexual Harassment in Schools (Grades 6

Through 12) by Stein and Sjostrum (1994) help students to

acquire strategies for coping with unwanted attention.

Gender Equity and the Formal Curriculum

Curriculum considerations inform all of precollege school-

ing, but influences become more pronounced in the segue

from middle school to high school as students prepare for

college, the workplace, or both. What are they studying?

Whose lives are worth knowing about? How do they learn?

How is knowledge viewed in the context of the classroom? In

what ways does the curriculum reflect the human condition

and provide windows and mirrors? “More than half of our

culture’s population (all girls, and boys from minority

groups) are trained and expected to look through windows at

others who are viewed as the valid participants [on life’s

stage as well as the playing field] . . .  at  the same time those

whose (white male) experience is repeatedly mirrored are

narrowly and provincially educated to see themselves (and

their own kind) as the only real players on life’s stage” (Style,

1998, p. 155). A balanced education should be for all of us—

“knowledge of both self and other, and clarification of the

known and illumination of the unknown” (p. 155).

If educators are to fully represent the scope of the human

condition through the topics addressed in the academic dis-

ciplines, then the very nature of and content of those disci-

plines needs to be explored though the lens of gender. In

her seminal work, Interactive Phases of Curricular and Per-

sonal Re-Vision: A Feminist Perspective, Peggy McIntosh

(1983) examines curriculum transformation as an interactive

and iterative process that weaves forward and backward at

the same time. McIntosh’s theory suggests new ways of see-

ing and coming to terms with what counts for history, lan-

guage arts, science, mathematics, and more—in terms of

whose voices are being validated and for whom are there

mirrors. To begin her work, McIntosh (1983) asked, “what is

the content, scope and methodology of the discipline?”

Furthermore, “how would that discipline need to change to

reflect the fact that women are half the world’s population

and have had, in one sense, half the world’s experience?”

(p. 2). In describing types of curriculum corresponding to

five phases of curriculum transformation, McIntosh asserts

their fluidity with the educator’s understanding that we

should teach and learn between the phases in an attempt to

address not only the absences in the formal curriculum, but

also its very structure.

The following description is an overview of this theory of

curriculum revision; it takes the reader through McIntosh’s

five phases of curriculum development, moving further to-

ward an inclusive body of knowledge with each phase. Using

history as an example, these phases are seen as Phase 1:

Womanless History; Phase 2: Women in History; Phase 3:

Women as a Problem, Anomaly, or Absence in History;

Phase 4: Women as History; and Phase 5: History Redefined

or Reconstructed to Include Us All.

Hence, looking though the lens of gender, much of formal

curriculum is seen as womanless. Students neither learn

about women nor notice their absence. Students learn about

laws, wars, and events in which power and politics appear to

have been the only experience the world has had. This phase,

referred to as Phase 1 curriculum, says that women and peo-

ple of color do not matter; it is not important to learn about

them. Phase 2 is reminiscent of the early textbook transfor-

mations that emerged after the women’s movement of the

1970s. There are images of women, but only those few who

could reach this pinnacle of importance on White male terms.

Are they valuable enough to include? Did they accomplish

visibly significant tasks as defined by White men? This phase

can be problematic for curriculum development because it

overwhelmingly tells girls and women that only if they are

Gender Equity in the Middle Grades and High School Years

275

good enough on criteria external to them and their experience

will they be important enough to be studied.

Phase 3 curriculum addresses women in the curriculum by

exploring the barriers they faced and historical discrimina-

tion against women. Phase 3 curriculum describes the ways

in which women were denied access and discriminated

against. The image of women as victims dominates Phase 3

curriculum; instead of being seen as the norm, women are

viewed as a problem or anomaly. An example would be a cur-

riculum that only addressed the women’s suffrage movement

as a way to include women in the formal curriculum.

When we examine Phase 4 curriculum, we can begin to

see women as history and explore the real work in the life of

civilization. This phase addresses questions like What was

life like in America during the War of 1812 and what were

people doing? Students’ stories and their interviews with oth-

ers are part of the curriculum. For example, immigration is

taught by reading about or having interviews with immi-

grants. The curriculum is viewed as the study of people—not

solely the study of power, relationships, or rewards. Stories

are integrated with personal knowledge so that reality is con-

structed from the ground up. “One key element of phase four

curriculum is that the ‘other’ stops being considered some-

thing lesser to be dissected, deplored, devalued or corrected”

(McIntosh, 1983, p. 19). When well done, McIntosh asserts,

“phase four work honors particularity. . . . it stresses diversity

and plurality” (McIntosh, 1983, p. 20). In Phase 4, curricu-

lum relies on women’s experience by “developing ourselves

through the development of others” (Miller, 1986).

Phase 5 curriculum revision is the hardest to conceive.

“Human collaborative potential is explored and competitive

potential subjected to a sustained critique” (McIntosh, 1983,

p. 21). Phase 5 curriculum has promise for meshing private-

sphere values with the public sphere. History can be explored

through stories of ancestors’ experiences; knowledge of the

world is constructed through personal experience, and cur-

riculum honors all peoples’ contributions to the human

condition. In this phase of curriculum transformation, the

hierarchical distinctions between who is valuable to know

about and who is not are deconstructed. McIntosh quotes

Ruth Schmidt as remarking, “If you claim to teach about the

human race and you don’t know anything about half the

human race, you really can’t claim to know or teach much

about the human race” (McIntosh, 1983, p. 23).

The formal curriculum is as much a classroom gender

issue as teacher-student interactions and peer socialization.

The topic of gender issues in the classroom cannot be over-

simplified by critiquing prevailing stereotypes. The depth of

the issues tells us more about the multilayered effects of

curriculum and pedagogy on perpetuating belief systems that

render females as lesser and male accomplishment and voice

as dominant. For men and women, curriculum and pedagogi-

cal transformations to honor contributions—formal and

informal—of females and males holds promise for excellent

education, nonexistent without opportunities for equity. The

following sections address curriculum and pedagogical revi-

sions in science and mathematics classrooms that provide

insight into making science and mathematics education more

equitable.

Mathematics, Science, and Technology: Equity and Access

Traditionally, science, mathematics, and technology class-

rooms have been male domains. Although there have been

great gains for females in mathematics and the life sciences

in the past 15 years, physical sciences, computer science,

and engineering fields still lag behind in encouraging the par-

ticipation of girls and women (AAUW, 1998). Girls’ partici-

pation in Algebra I, Algebra II, geometry, precalculus,

trigonometry, and calculus increased markedly from the early

to mid-1990s; enrollments increased from 10% to 20% in the

first half of the last decade (U.S. Dept of Education, 2000).

However, data suggest a disturbing gap in the participation of

female students in computer science and computer design

classes. The gender gap widens from 8th to 11th grade. In

1996, girls comprised only 17% of the AP test takers in com-

puter science. Girls of all ethnicities consistently rate them-

selves lower than do boys on computer ability (AAUW,

1998). Computer science has become the new boys’ club, so

to speak; this is a red flag for educators and must signal that

schools and teachers are ignoring a rich, necessary, and vital

resource—both for the computer science field and for the

high school girls themselves. In this century, the educational

question that persists is What is wrong with the school when

few girls participate in computer science? (Koch, 2001).

Some of the persistent interventions reviewed in the follow-

ing discussion to encourage more female participation in

mathematics and science need to be applied to the computer

science field. When teachers transform curriculum and peda-

gogy to encourage female participation, they improve the

quality of instruction and the diversity of the curriculum.

Many standards-based interventions in science have been

suggested previously by equity educators as encouraging

female participation (Campbell & Storo, 1994; Sanders et al.,

1997). Equitable educational environments are apt to meet

standards-based interventions on behalf of student learning.

A marked gender gap persists in physics, in which girls’

enrollments lag behind boys. In math and science, a more

boys than girls receive top scores on the National Assessment

of Education Progress (NAEP), a nationally representative