CMS 498 – Final

Presentation Chapter 8

-Education-

Chad Ward

The Composition of

Education O Education consists of

“communicative practices that teach students to perform gender”

O Education is, for the most part, an institution that reinforces cultural expectations of gender

O Education varies (though not far from cultural norms) based on who is teaching who, what is being taught, how the lessons are being delivered, and the underlying reasons for those lessons being imparted.

O “Communication in and about education plays a central role in creating and maintaining gender/sex identities, relationships, and inequalities.”

Education

- A Historically Gendered Institution - O The British model for schooling,

which essentially focused on ensuring wealthy White males were prepared for roles in leadership positions, was the starting point for many industrialized (colonized) nations public school systems.

O For a very long time, women and non-whites were discouraged or excluded from pursuing a ‘higher’ education.

O In the 1900s, the wealthiest White women were ‘unbarred’ from obtaining an advanced education – but even this was closely regulated as they were “discouraged from taking courses in masculine domains”

Biases in Education O Even today, there are strong

biases permeating the world of education as an institution.

O Biases found inherently(?) in American culture cannot always be effectively “checked at the door,” and so biases are always present – even if only subconsciously. The ‘hidden curriculum” remains present even in the most self-consciously gender-neutral organizations.

O The “hidden curriculum” is: Educational practices that implicitly assume a White, male, middle-class standard for both the knower and that which needs to be known.

Biases continued…

• While it is difficult for our teachers to separate themselves from the gender biases our culture is permeated with, other aspects are equally affective at imprinting gender roles

• Everything from the educational materials utilized in our education system, to the curriculum set by our government (essentially) has inherent gender biases attached to them (probably circling back around to the “hidden curriculum” discussed earlier.

• Even textbooks written in the last decade still have gender stereotypes not unlike those textbooks produced a century ago – with male characters consistently acting traditionally ‘masculine,’ and female characters portraying stereotypical female traits (as cited in Defrancisco, 2007).

• Male characters are portrayed in a wider variety of roles and careers [than female characters] (Gooden & Gooden, 2001).

“Classic” Literature is “Modern”

Sexism? O We see biases and gender roles in “classic” literature, and most

prominently in traditional fairy tales like Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast

O Many other fairy tales offer excellent examples of the gender stereotypes prevalent during the times in which the tales were first penned – and even modern fairy tales still do not stray far from the social norms that have been crafted around gender stereotypes.

Improvements are being

made…albeit slowly • New, non-white less ‘negatively-gendered’ fairy tales have

entered the mainstream to some degree, which shows a significant improvement in our culture in terms of ‘our’ tolerance towards other ethnicities (and non-males) taking the lead or breaking stereotypical boundaries.

• Textbooks, especially at the collegiate level, are recognizing the issues of gender/ethnic biases, and are making adjustments.

• Entire domains of study have opened up, including courses like this, which address the issue of gender biases, especially in terms of the communication that exists between genders, and the roots of that communication.

• Literature has also seen improvements outside of the ‘fairy tale’ and textbook realms – as both fiction and non-fiction books alike are now rapidly adapting to an open world where characters are not limited to a specific gender or ethnicity (and in fact any combination of the two is considered perfectly acceptable for any procrastinator)

• Even our educators, and the curriculum utilized in the school systems (from kindergarten to college), have recognized the biases inherent in “the system,” and have taken steps to alleviate these gender constraints.

Gender Wars O “Gender Wars” have always been instigated by special interest groups in

order to (in my opinion) further alienate the genders from one another.

O Every study that suggests one gender is being treated differently than the other, is either immediately countered by another study showing the opposite to be true

O None of this gender-war rhetoric actually addresses the issue of an inherently gender-biased culture, nor does it offer solutions in ‘leveling the playing field,’ and in fact only serves to ‘beat the gender-bias drum.’

O The entire issue, much like the issues found in religious conflicts, ethnic conflicts, sexual-orientation conflicts, is spelled out in labeling theory, which suggests that “deviance is not inherent to an act, but instead focuses on the tendency of majorities to negatively label minorities or those seen as deviant from standard cultural norms” (Crum, 2007). O To summarize this last point – the reason why, in my opinion and according to

many strong theories, that there even exists a ‘thing’ as nonsensical as “gender wars” is because people are so intent on labeling. Labeling breeds intolerance, because it suggests that, once labeled, you are outside the cultural norm, and are no longer non-labeled (AKA normal), and instead are something different. Difference breeds resentment, fear, aversion, etc. Labeling creates difference.

Gender Wars (Continued) O Some are advocating for a segregated education system, though

separated by gender, rather then race. “The belief is that it will help counter a multitude of social problems, including underachievement, low self-esteem, teen pregnancy, and gang violence” (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 2007).

O Groups like the National Association for Single Sex Public Education suggest that because men and women are “wired” different – they learn differently, and are more apt in some subjects while less-so in others. Therefore, because ‘our’ brains work differently, we should be taught to suit our genders’ learning style rather then be forced to take the ‘middle-road’ and have one or both genders suffer.

O Clearly – there are issues with the above sentiment, as transgendered students would clearly not fit into such a black & white scenario. Also, there is no evidence (and in fact, there may be evidence to the contrary) that single-sexed schools fair better or are absolved from the social problems that the first paragraph above notes. There currently are single-sex schools our there, charter schools and the like, and I have yet to see a study that highlights the benefits of such segregation.

Peer Pressure & Bullying O If ever there was an area where our

school systems, and entire education system for that matter, truly fails – it is in the realm of addressing the serious issues of peer pressure, bullying, and sexual harassment.

O Gender identities, which have already been formed to a degree in the home and in the early years of school, become “conflated” in later school years – and create animosity between those who do not conform to the cultural ‘norms’

O “The estimated number of students who experience bullying in a given school year ranges from 20 to 30%”

O In one survey, fewer than 5% of the victims of sexual harassment actually reported it to police, reinforcing the notion that peer-pressure causes many of us to look the other way and not to ‘kick up a fuss’ when we see bullying or sexual harassment – even when it we are the victims

Key Points - Summary O Gender identities are inherent in our

culture, and affect almost every aspect of our lives – even in terms of our education, how we are taught, what we are taught, etc.

O Our culture is gender-focused (and ethnically focused). Labeling theory suggests that this is because we enjoy descriptors as a culture, and reinforce our own belief systems by labeling anything that lay outside of what we consider normal.

O Education material, and in fact the entire education system, is heavily biased – favoring white males over females and all other ethnicities.

O Bullying, sexual harassment, peer pressure, and inequalities based on gender, ethnicity, and economic status are a part of the trials and tribulations of growing up, not only in American culture from the macro-perspective, but also microscopically as a ‘player’ in the education system.

O Improvements are being made on almost every front that our education system is being assaulted on. From the materials utilized being more gender and ethnically sensitive, to the teachers and teaching methods being employed acting more cautious towards favoritism or biases.

O While certain issues, such as harassment and bullying still being quite difficult to address (especially with communications technology making it easier for harassment to go unchecked), there is certainly more ‘awareness’ surrounding these issues – and progress is being made, albeit slowly.

O Formal education is becoming more widespread and is certainly more welcoming to all genders and ethnicities. Women have taken the reigns in many fields, and while there are still biases in the system, women and ‘minorities’ are quickly closing the gap.