Gendered Communication Styles and Leadership

Gendered Communication Styles and Leadership

Gender taught in public schools

The educational system throughout history reflects cultural beliefs, including views on gender roles. People are taught gender at a young age. From the moment a baby starts talking through his education and career, people learn communication-based on language and gender. For this reason, it is natural to assume that the same person taught gender communication draws the same communication and teaches others in the classroom setting (Morrissette, Jesme, & Hunter, 2018). To better understand this, it is important to understand the many differences between men and women. Each gender role has its own actions, attitudes, and expectations. In the classroom, these differences do not apply to individual student learning (Wood, 2015). Everyone has the same tasks, lesson plans, and communication. Even the curriculum taught in school is gender-sensitive. Part of the first lessons of grade one education is to understand the differences between a boy and girl. A child is expected to understand that boys and girls have various differences from pronouns to roles to clothing. Most of the things taught about gender are based on the differences between gender roles and the concept of gender equality, mostly in politics and the corporate world. According to Khan et al. (2018) Throughout the history of education, students primarily learn about straight, white, financially wealthy men and their experiences, perspectives, and achievements. Most of what is covered in the classroom are not diversified and does not cover various contributions.

Sex can also be learned directly or indirectly from the teacher himself. Whether their teachers are male or female, their communication and language affect the way they teach and their students. For example, if you have a cute and sensitive teacher, students may find it more fleeing. On the other hand, if there is a male teacher who controls and empowers the class, the student considers him more leadership and strict (Khan et al., 2018).

Equal opportunities for male and female students

Every aspect of the education system is filled with gender bias from applying for college, to sports, or to graduation; every day, there are certain expectations of male and female stereotypes. The same is true for the campus; for instance, there is a stereotype that men are more athletic than women. Women are naturally disadvantaged when it comes to college sports and are considered a minority. It also affects admission (Khan et al., 2018). Universities with good performing sports teams may be more focused on athlete candidates. Some say that women initially have poor math and science skills and abilities. This will be an obstacle for women in colleges or related fields. One study found that out of 30 major US National News Universities, 10 had a gender difference in enrollment rates of more than 3 percent (Delaney & Devereux,2019). Many universities have correlation coefficients that must be followed to maintain gender in a particular range. This may seem to preserve the stadium, but the exact opposite is true. For example, if 200 qualified women and 100 qualified men apply for the same school, 100 men and women could be expelled. This puts 100 other women at a disadvantage. Another obstacle to the admission that may favor men or women is a loophole in the law outlined in section IX that allows private universities to discriminate based on gender (Delaney & Devereux,2019). Public schools and private graduate programs state that they do not consider gender as a factor in selecting the students; however, with the amendment of Title Act IX of 1972, private liberal arts colleges have the right to consider factors like gender during admission. Another fact confirmed in Section IX is that federally funded universities provide equally equal support for women and men’s sports. As mentioned earlier, these factors force universities to do the same but lead to the opposite (Wood, 2015).

Differences in how college students evaluate male and female instructors

Students rate teachers in the same way they see men and women in other everyday situations, such as at home or at work (Boring, Ottoboni & Stark, 2016). There are different gender stereotypes that students apply in the classroom. For example, women are stereotyped to be emotional and sensitive. Classroom students may consider this a weakness and try to take advantage of it by manipulating the teacher’s emotions to quit work or skip a lesson. In most cases, men are considered dominant and leaders. In the classroom, they are often considered strict teachers who keep students from escaping something (Boring, Ottoboni & Stark, 2016. Communication style plays an important role in how students see different instructors. A survey of students who took online courses at the University of California found that female teachers were evaluated more closely when evaluating teachers (Boring 2017). Even if the students thought they had a male teacher, the results remained the same. Female students valued what they consider male instructors higher than females, but instructors used the same teaching methods as females. These results were in good agreement with the findings of the 2016 research and found that students generally valued teachers more when they thought the instructors were male.

Eliminate gender bias in the classroom

By eliminating gender bias in the classroom, instructors can increase student expectations, increase confidence, and help diversify knowledge and communication skills. There are many important steps that trainers can take to reduce and eliminate gender bias. Open schools and classrooms with a wide range of books, toys, sports equipment and instruments for both men and women are very convenient. Allowing students to play with their favorite toys and read their favorite stories without gender identification has a huge impact. The terminology used in the classroom can also affect gender bias elimination. With a comprehensive language and terminology, everyone will be included. For example, do not treat students as “you” (Morrissette, Jesme, & Hunter, 2018). Since classrooms are considered a social construct, it is important not to focus on social norms. Gender bias can also be reduced by simply not focusing on gender. For example, do not group students by gender in group projects or discussions. Proper training of trainers to avoid prejudice against women is important to keep women out of class. Training instructors to teach students to be open-minded and open to all occupations reduces gender bias (Morrissette, Jesme, & Hunter, 2018). Teachers have a strong position to be able to change the way students respond to gender bias every day. Awareness of this prejudice allows children to address consciously and cope with this conflict and respond to real-world intolerance. Knowing current issues and understanding how they affect student development can have a significant impact on the classroom.

 

 

Reference

Boring, A. (2017). Gender biases in student evaluations of teaching. Journal of public economics, 145, 27-41.

Boring, A., Ottoboni, K., & Stark, P. (2016). Student evaluations of teaching (mostly) do not measure teaching effectiveness. ScienceOpen Research.

Delaney, J. M., & Devereux, P. J. (2019). Understanding gender differences in STEM: Evidence from college applications✰. Economics of Education Review, 72, 219-238.

Khan, M. J., Arooj, K., Arif, H., Nazir, N., & Nosheen, M. (2018). Attitude of Male and Female University Students Towards Gender Discrimination. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 33(2).

Morrissette, V., Jesme, S., & Hunter, C. (2018). Teacher and administrator perceptions of gender in the classroom. Educational Studies, 44(3), 295-312.