Gender Bias in Education
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If government is to national socialization as education is to individual socialization, then one only has to look at the message sent on the national level where gender bias is concerned and one can begin to glimpse the situation in education from K-12. Considering they represent basically half of the population, women occupy a relatively small percentage of the most powerful leadership positions in our government, in our school administration, and, typically, in our homes. Thus, it is no surprise that this bias is engendered in many educators, even if on the subconscious level. For all the remarkable progress women have made during this century where economic, political and social empowerment are concerned, we are a long way baby (as the women might say) from being where women and men are truly considered equals in American society. While there is ample opinion for and against the claim that gender bias experienced from K-12 greatly impacts the cultivation of intellectual development in girls as they grow into women, girls are treated differently, perceived differently and educated differently based on gender. The effects this has on their later development are far-reaching.The lead initiative in addressing the gender-gap bias between boys and girls in K-12 has been adopted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW). The AAUW published two reports that have angered those who believe there is no gender-gap bias in educatio
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400 girls and 600 boys found that 60 percent of elementary school girls and 67 percent of boys agreed with the statement, ‘I’m happy the way I am.’ But when high school students were asked the same question, the percentage of girls who were happy with themselves dropped to 29 percent, compared with 46 percent for boys.
(Clark 1)
There can be little doubt that part of this drop in self-esteem among girls comes from puberty, adolescence and the fact that sexism in America objectifies women as sex objects much more than it does men. As such, much of this low self-esteem may be attributable to these girls feeling they do not measure up in the eyes of boys as opposed to feelings of low worth of their own. However, because of the differences found in K-12 education where boys and girls are concerned, a good bit of the low self-esteem may be generated and reinforced by their learning environment. Experts contend that there is “pervasive gender-bias from kindergarten through high school. Girls often were ignored by teachers in classroom discussions and were not encouraged as much as boys to succeed in math or science” (Shepard 1). Around age 12 or 13 girls begin to doubt themselves, to question what they formerly knew as being
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Approximate Word count = 1378
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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