Gender concepts and contemporary perspectives

Multiculturalism

Multicultural

Multiculturalism is an issue that has received a great deal of attention over the past decade. In many places around the country and around the world populations are becoming more and more diverse and as a result the interactions that people have with one another have changed. The purpose of this discussion is to examine multiculturalism as it pertains to gender. In addition, recommendation will be presented from the perspective of an ESOL Guidance Counselor Middle school at Palm Beach County District at Florida.

Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is defined as a doctrine that reflects or is related to embracing diverse cultures ("multiculturalism"). According to Banks & Banks (2009) Multicultural education has three characteristics: it is a reform movement, an idea and a process whose primary purpose is to change the structure of educational institutions so that all students regardless of gender, race, disability, or exceptionality can excel in an academic setting (Banks & Banks, 2009). Institutions of learning throughout the country strive to embrace a multicultural approach because such an approach prepares students for the world beyond the classroom. If students are taught and understand the importance of living in harmony with people that are different from an early age, they will be more likely to take what they have learned into adulthood.

Gender and Multicultural education

One of the most controversial issues in that area of multiculturalism is gender. One of the major issues in education is Gender Bias. There are many elements associated with gender bias. In the classroom such bias can be associated with the manner in which gender roles are presented in text books. According to Banks (2009) this type of gender bias often perpetuates stereo types, particularly about women as subservient and inferior to men. Such information can result in female students believing that their role in society is to be subservient and that leadership roles are not designed for women.

Gender bias is also associated with the interaction between teachers and students. A great deal of research has been conducted on this particular topic in recent years. This research asserts that "the average school is biased against girls in a number of ways. The study claimed that girls do not receive as much attention from teachers as boys, boys are called on to answer more abstract and complex questions than girls, teachers encourage boys to think for themselves more than girls, and many school books continue to present stereotypical images of women or ignore women's achievements (Woodward, 2001)." Additionally other studies have shown that in subjects such as science and math teachers are less likely to call on girls during class discussion. Many experts believe that such gender bias has led to a decrease in the number of females that choose to go into fields related to science and math such as engineering. This suggest that the manner in which teachers interact with students has a lasting impact on the lives of students and their future endeavors.

Additionally, the treatment of girls in the classroom can have an extremely detrimental effect on their self-esteem. According to Woodward (2001), girls in elementary school have reported having a high self-esteem but once many girls enter middle school they begin to have serious issues with self-esteem. Experts believe that the differences in self-esteem between elementary school and middle school are due, in part, to the gender bias that is often present in many class rooms. Females students are often left feeling inadequate in certain subjects and as such they fail to excel in those subjects.

More specifically the issue of gender often arises as it pertains to the absence of male teachers. According to Johnson (2008) "the proportion of male teachers in public schools is at its lowest in decades, hovering at just one quarter of the nation's approximately three million teachers" (p.1). The author point out that this decrease in the number of male teachers can be attributed to the feminization of the teaching profession. Johnson 2008 explains that the increase in female teachers occurred as a result of industrialization and urbanization. These two factors led to an increase in the number of higher paying jobs available to men. Many men who would have entered the teaching profession opted for higher paying jobs and as such there is a tremendous disparity between the number of male and female teachers in public schools. The article also points out that the shortage of teachers is not confined to the United States. In fact, industrialized countries throughout the world are concerned about the lack of male teachers.

The absence of African-American male teachers is an even more grappling issue, particularly in predominantly Black neighborhoods. Many educators are concerned that the absence of male teachers has a negative effect on male students, particularly when those male students do not have a father or other male presence in their lives. Indeed Black males are much more likely to drop out of high school than are their White male peers. With this understood, there must be a concerted effort to attract more male teachers.

Recommendations

As it pertains to gender bias, it is important that teachers understand that this bias exist and that may be showing such bias and not even be aware of their actions. As such the school should establish a workshop that instructs them on how to be sensitive about gender related issues and gender roles that may be present in school textbooks. Teachers must be instructed on how to not perpetuate the stereotypes that may be present in some of the text that are read in class.

Additionally in subjects such as science and math teachers must ensure that they are not showing bias toward male students and in so doing discouraging the female students from engaging in the learning experience. Teachers must be made aware of the lifelong damage that displaying such bias can cause. This is an important lesson for teachers of all subjects but science and math teachers must become the most aware of the manner in which they interact with students. In some schools administrators have even implemented separate math and science classes for male and female students. The reason for separating the genders is that children in this age group often feel the most comfortable around same gender students. This level of comfort makes it easier for them to participate in class discussion. This is a particularly important for girls because they can often feel intimidated during class discussion in a normal classroom. Over time this type of strategy is likely to improve the manner in which students interact with students and ultimately gender bias will be eliminated.

Although he school at which I am employed is diverse as it pertains to race and ethnicity of both student and teachers, there does seem to be an imbalance as it pertains to the number of male staff members, especially teachers. I do believe that this lack of presence of male role models has a detrimental impact upon the most minority students that I serve. As such a more concerted effort must be made to recruit male teachers. Perhaps one of the most proactive ways of doing this is to form partnerships with local universities. These partnerships would serve the purpose of demonstrating to young men who are in college the need for their leadership within the field of education. Male students that decide that they want to become teachers will be given scholarships, the amounts of which will be determined by academic standing and need. In addition, students must be given a clear career path and a guarantee that they will be employed once they finish their academic requirements. Such guarantees are needed and useful because many males choose not to become teachers because of the significantly lower income that teachers make when compared to other people with the same amount of education in other fields.