Gender

• Gender is a biological fact.

  First wave feminism challenged biological sex has less influence on gender than society. Research shows that girls and boys differ in academic skills.
• Schools are passive spectators to existing gender differences and inequalities.

  Feminism pointed to the role of schools in the reproducing unequal power relations.

  Schools constitute a gender regime in:

  • Single sex schools - males need masculine environments and females need feminine environments. Gendered mottos
  • Subject enrolment trends dominated by hard sciences and physical education for boys and soft sciences and humanities for girls.
  • girls are more likely to be punished for behaviours accepted in Boys.
  • Boys get more teacher time, positive and negative.
  • There are more female teachers
• Boys are the latest ‘victims’ of schools.

  Third-wave feminism no longer has a victim, and disputes a male/female privileged/victimised binary. More interest in how we become one of the many types of men and women and how schools influence this.
• Conservative approach: sex segregation discourse on sex and gender in the school and traditional gender roles.

  • Directly limiting what males and females can do with their lives using biological determinism
  • Repeated male = questions, females = tidy the room, enforcing gender stereotypes
  • Valuing only masculine skills, shaming females, femininity and feminine traits
• Liberal approach: Equal opportunity discourse in which school/ staff are striving to allow equal chances for success through the method of treating everyone the same regardless of gender.

  • Honouring female achievement in traditional areas
  • equal opportunity in access; personality and achievement over gender
  • Some limited quite in uniform options and gender expression
• Critical approach: Second wave feminism and gender diversity discourses on sex and gender in the school actively seeks equal outcomes regardless of sex or gender. Pro-actively encourage people to overcome gender stereotype.

  • Ensuring content appeals to all students regardless of gender
  • Discussion/ analysis of gender or sexism in texts
  • Allowing student weakness, teacher = care and empathy
  • Gender neutral toilets, support for people who affirm their gender/transition
• Post modern approach: Deconstructing gender discourses on sex and gender and do not organise schooling around policing gender regimes. Sex and gender = knowledge objects to be examined in class.

  • Explore gender constructs and discuss multiple gender theories
  • All genders access