Reassessing Levels of Androcentric Bias in Educational Administration Quarterly

Abstract

Androcentric bias occurs when male experience is treated as the norm, whereas female realities are not considered or are relegated to the abnormal. In 1986, Shakeshaft and Hanson identified the level of androcentric bias evident in the issues of Educational Administration Quarterly (EAQ) published during the 1970s. The present article is a similar study of the articles published in EAQ during the 1980s. Androcentric bias had diminished in the areas in which it was most easily identified and addressed, that is, in the gender of contributing authors and in the use of inclusive language. Other less obvious indicators, such as gender-balanced samples and the use of unbiased research instruments, remained largely unchanged. Many indicators were difficult to assess, especially with the advent of inclusive language. Although the use of inclusive language was intended to affirm the inclusion of female experiences, it tended instead to mask androcentric bias. That is, studies based on unbalanced samples, which reiterated androcentric theory, or employed biased instruments, did not appear to be biased when reported using gender-inclusive terms. In summary, the modest improvement in the level of androcentric bias noted in this study suggested that, although bias was diminishing, it was still present and was sometimes masked by the corrections, such as inclusive language, which were intended to help eradicate it.