Gender, Cognitive Categorization, and Classroom Interaction Patterns of Guatemalan Teachers

Abstract

In countries such as Guatemala, where a large percentage of the female population does not attend school or drops out after first grade, female teachers are seen as providing greater opportunities for girls' success in school. Such teachers are felt to have a better understanding of the students and be more sensitive to their needs. In the developing world, however, there exists little evidence on the way teachers of different genders view female or male students or of the relationship between such views and teachers' interaction patterns with students. This study uses proximity techniques, classroom observations, and multi-dimensional scaling to examine differences in teachers' cognitive conceptualization of male and female students. Results show distinct patterns in the attributes associated with male and female students by teachers of different genders. The findings are related to the observed behaviors of sample teachers in their interactions with students in the classroom.