Unit 1 Teachers and Gender

Teachers play a crucial role not only in their students’ school routine but also in their lives.

They…

• are points of reference
• can set an example
• can become significant others for some of their students, making in this way a great impact on their school experience and way of thinking.

However,…

They are common people with personal and subjective perceptions about important matters in life such as gender and gender roles, which may influence the assumptions of their students.

When teachers’ assumptions interfere with their ability to be impartial and lead to discriminations, then we talk about gender bias and sexism in the classroom and surely not about gender equity.

There is also a strong possibility that teachers’ assumptions affect their expectations of their students and bring about gendered teaching practices and in particular the differential treatment of girls and boys in the classroom.

Eventually, all of these may have an impact on boys’ and girls’ participation and future academic and professional choices.