Students' gendered perceptions of mathematics in middle grades single‐sex and coeducational classrooms

Abstract

With the introduction of single‐sex classroom settings in coeducational public schools, there is an ongoing debate as to whether single‐sex education may reduce or reinforce traditional stereotypes and gender roles. In this article we present findings from a study that investigated the extent to which mathematics is perceived as a gendered domain among adolescent students enrolled in single‐sex classes and coeducational classes. Further we analyzed the relationships between student characteristics, class‐type, and teacher variables on students' perceptions of gender in mathematics. Findings from this study challenge the traditional view of mathematics as a male domain. Female participants more frequently considered mathematics to be a female domain than the male participants. Male participants, on the other hand, typically did not stereotype the mathematics as a gendered domain. Results from this study do not indicate, for girls at least, that participation in single‐sex classes results in a greater propensity to stereotype mathematics as a gendered domain than would be the case in coeducational classes. This study contributes to the evolving discourse and understanding of adolescents' gendered attitudes and beliefs towards mathematics—especially in light of stereotyped assertions that have a bearing on efforts to promote the learning of mathematics and science.

Does professors' gender impact how students evaluate their teaching and the recommendations for the best professor?

“…Therefore, it is difficult to compare the results of this study with others, as the nature of the assessments is different. We postulate the following two hypotheses to this result: One has to do with the behavior of the professors in classes, as generally, students expect their professors to behave according to their stereotypes ( Anderson and Smith, 2005 ; Kombe et al, 2019 ) and if these expectations are not met, the students may hold the professors accountable in the final evaluations ( Dalmia et al, 2005 ; Kayas et al, 2020 ; Sprague & Massoni, 2005 ). Also, the likability of the professors can have a strong effect on the SET outcomes ( Feistauer and Richter, 2018 ) The second possible explanation is that students may have an ingrained cultural mindset that, despite the equal competencies of men and women, they tend to see a male professor as slightly more recommendable than the female counterpart.…”

STEMing together: a comparison of co-ed and all-female informal learning environments

“…The related phenomenon, known as the leaky STEM pipeline, has been associated with the manifestation of educational debt in the form of the identity gap, as female students, on average, develop lower STEM self-efficacy, not viewing themselves as members of the STEM community (Kang et al, 2019;Nissen et al, 2021). The identity gap is heavily influenced by the masculine stereotype of STEM, which frames males as inherently more capable of understanding and succeeding in STEM fields as females (Kombe et al, 2019). Dismantling the masculine stereotype associated with STEM is critical to encouraging female students' STEM excitement and sustained engagement (Shairpo and Sax, 2011;Valenti et al, 2016).…”