Gender Bias Until Relatively Recently,

Gender Bias

Until relatively recently, females were systematically excluded from the formal education system just as they were prohibited from voting or holding public office. Females are now guaranteed equal access to education under the law, but gender bias still permeates the learning environment. The gender biases evident in the modern classroom affect both boys and girls. As Chapman (2010) points out, boys are more likely than girls to be labeled with disabilities, be singled out for behavioral problems, perpetrate acts of truancy, and earn failing grades. Similarly, Frawley (2005) points out that "Boys who do not fit the pattern of being outspoken, competitive, and autonomous often endure ridicule and subsequent feelings of failure and shame. Boys often are reluctant to express their feelings for fear of being labeled as "feminine," (p. 2).

However, research shows that the gender bias that persists in education has a more adverse affect on girls than on boys. Female students tend to "ghettoize" themselves, even at the level of higher education (Banks 1990, p. 527). Educators perpetuate gender bias and female ghettoization in the classroom in a variety of ways both subtle and overt.

For instance, when boys are singled out because of behavioral problems or imagined disabilities, teachers unwittingly pay more attention to them than to girls in the same class (Chapman 2010). Boys are far more likely to get diagnosed as being "gifted" or outstanding, mainly because girls are socialized to conform rather than to stand out (Chapman 2010). Such differential attention in the classroom has the dual affect of widening the gender gap in achievement and further reinforcing gender stereotypes. Many teachers actually believe that boys and girls are cognitively different, warranting differential treatment. In fact, research shows that "gender variations in cognition result from males' and females' different experiences, not from biological causes, (Frawley 2005, p. 1).

Moreover, the differential treatment of students with behavioral problems can signal positive reinforcement for boys, who are encouraged to act aggressively. Boys who demonstrate behavioral problems are sometimes viewed as being genuinely assertive. On the other hand, girls who act out are treated perceptibly differently than boys. "Assertive behavior from girls is often seen as disruptive and may be viewed more negatively by adults," (Chapman 2010). Likewise, girls are not rewarded for being precocious to the same degree that boys are in the classroom. "Girls are praised for being neat, quiet, and calm, whereas boys are encouraged to think independently, be active and speak up," (Chapman 2010).

Furthermore, a "hidden curriculum" reinforces outmoded gender norms, gearing boys towards typically male-dominated academic areas like science and girls towards more "feminine" areas like literature or the arts. If boys outperform girls in the maths and sciences, they most likely do so because of socialization and not innate ability. Research shows that females and males start school on a level playing field or with girls outperforming boys on most measures (Chapman 2010). Yet by the time of middle and high school, females have already begun to ghettoize themselves. The ghettoization of females is tacitly supported by educators. Attempts to reach out to female students has been criticized harshly as an attempt to "feminize" education and take something away from boys rather than give something to all students (Frawley 2005, p. 1). The very notion that helping girls would be detrimental to boys is a sexist belief. Gender biases also represent a fundamental failure to recognize the "middle ground" for children who "are not strongly gender-typed" at any age (Frawley 2005, p. 2).

Female students may be discouraged from reaching peak athletic performance because of gender bias too. Stereotypes are often reinforced in classrooms, as female students are "negatively sanctioned...for unfeminine behavior," (Banks 1990, p. 527). The socialization of gender process is supported by teachers, peers, the media and parents and occurs inside and outside of the classroom. For this reason, gender bias in the classroom is best conceived of as a societal issue and not one that is confined within the boundaries of education.

Even though an equal number of boys and girls demonstrate specific learning disabilities, "Boys represent more than two-thirds of all students in special education programs and there is a higher the proportion of male students receiving diagnoses that are considered to be subjective," (Chapman 2010). Thus, gender bias is evident at the administrative and planning level, as school resources reveal biases in favor of male over female students.