Abstract
Being and becoming is the ultimate objective of any educational enterprise, including language teaching. However, research results indicate seemingly unjustified differences between how females and males are treated by EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. The overall aim of this study is to illustrate, analyze, and discuss aspects of gender bias and gender awareness in teacher–student interaction in the Iranian college context. To this end, teacher–student interactions of 20 English teachers and 500 students were investigated from the perspective of gender theory. The data were obtained via classroom observations, a seating chart and the audio-recording of all classroom interactions during the study. The findings, obtained from the quantitative descriptive statistics and chi-square methods, as well as the qualitative analysis by way of open and selective coding, uncovered that there were significant differences in the quantity and quality of the interaction for females and males in almost all categories of interaction. The study also revealed teachers’ perception of “gender,” the problems they associate with gender, and the attitudes they have to gender issues. Apparently, while positive incentives are able to facilitate learner growth, the presence of any negative barrier such as gender bias is likely to hinder development. This has implications for teachers, and faculty members who favor healthy and gender-neutral educational climate.
Highlights
Gendered behavior is recognized by many social, critical and feminist researchers to be the consequences of the cultural norms and influences
Classroom observation procedures are grouped into three major categories: (a) those that focus on the teacher, (b) those that focus on the teacher–student dyad, and (c) those that focus on the student (Lockheed & Harris, 1989)
In line with the objectives of this study, that of the second type was used which took the form of quantitative systematic observations and qualitative note taking, and mainly focused on the teacher-initiated interactions
Summary
Gendered behavior is recognized by many social, critical and feminist researchers to be the consequences of the cultural norms and influences. To quote De Beauvoir (2012), one is not born, but becomes a woman. This view is in direct contrast with traditional psychological researchers that tend to attribute male/female differences to biological sex (e.g., Stewart & McDermott, 2004). Examples of gender bias are one gender is substantially over- or underrepresented in a curriculum, such as the stereotypical images of men and women present in the textbooks; teacher expectations are related to or affected by student gender; or classroom practices, teaching methods or discipline disproportionately affect one gender (Dabiri, 2006; Fabes, Pahlke, Martin, & Hanish, 2013; Mehran, 2003; Streitmatter, 1994)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
