Expectations Of Boys Research Articles

Key competencies acquired from STEM education: gender-differentiated parental expectations

Parents’ expectations affect children’s key competencies acquired from STEM education, and influence their future career development. This study aimed to determine the influence of parents’ expectations on children’s key competencies gained through STEM education, with a particular focus on gender difference. A total of 736 parents (44% fathers and 56% mothers) of children aged 3–12 (50.4% boys and 49.6% girls) participated in a two-section survey and rated the degree of importance of each key competency. Subsequently, exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the potential structure of the STEM-related competencies, and ANOVA was used to gain further insights into the gender difference tendency. Results targeted 10 most emphasized competencies which were clustered into four categories, namely the Innovation factor (Inquiring competency, Creativity competency), the Social factor (Cooperative competency, Expressing competency), the Making factor (Hands-on competency, Problem-solving competency, Anti-frustration competency), and the Learning factor (Thinking competency, Knowledge acquisition competency, Concentration competency). Results also indicated that the parents had significantly different expectations for boys and girls regarding the expressing, thinking, knowledge acquisition, concentration, and hands-on competencies. Fathers’ and mothers’ expectations only differed for children’s anti-frustration competency. These findings provide deeper insights into STEM-related competencies from parents’ viewpoints, and contribute a greater understanding of gender difference in STEM education.

Quality education and gender equality as objectives of sustainable development in education: an experi-ence with teachers in Spain

This paper aims to assess the opinions of Physical Education teachers (PET) about their teaching intervention at a coeducational level. A further objective was to analyse PETs self-perceptions of their mixed and training interventions to describe possible training gaps. The qualitative study involved 191 high school PET from Andalusia (Spain). Some questions were conducted about three dimensions: gender stereotypes and attitudes in PE; teaching performance in coeducation, and coeducational teachers’ professional development in PE. The study's main results indicated that most teachers had neither different expectations of boys and girls nor a different way of treating them and, more than half of the participants considered themselves to be competent in coeducation. They preferred to receive training other than coeducational training. However, almost three-quarters of the sample had not received any coeducation training, or it was self-taught. The main conclusion is that PET consider that they have proper coeducational behaviour. The results showed that current teachers had improved their teaching intervention regarding gender equality compared to previous studies. The present study has had a contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG )goals 4 and 5, quality education and gender equality, respectively and can be a reference for future research related to coeducation for teachers. Keywords: gender; teacher intervention; physical education; sustainable development goals; professional development

2.1 Masculinity in America: Media Representations and Societal Observations

The aim of this presentation is to explore what masculinity implies in the United States and to examine how expectations of boys (conveyed through child-rearing, peer influence, and media depictions) may hamper the development of prosocial behaviors.

Effects of social economic status and parenting values on adolescents\u2019 expected field of study

Field of study decisions are important for children’s future life chances, as significant differences exist in terms of financial and status benefits across fields of study. We examine whether the economic or the cultural status of the parents is more influential in shaping their children’s expectations about their future field of study. We also test whether children’s expectations about field of study choices are mediated by the child-rearing values that parents hold. Results show that parental economic status increased the likelihood of adolescents expecting to opt for extrinsic rewarding fields of study. Adolescent girls, not boys, with high cultural status parents were more likely to expect to opt for intrinsically rewarding fields of study. An upbringing that is characterized by conformity increased the expectations of boys to choose an extrinsically rewarding study, while self-direction increased the expectations of girls to opt for an extrinsic field of study

Masculinities and femininities through teachers’ voices: Implications on gender-equitable schooling for vulnerable children from three primary schools in Swaziland

Informed by social constructionism and the intersectionality framework, this article focuses on the fight for sustainable gender-equitable and inclusive school environments for vulnerable children. It foregrounds the centrality of teachers’ constructions of gender within prevailing dominant gender discourses and the implications these constructions have on gender equality, the vulnerable children’s welfare and experiences of gender in three rural primary schools in Swaziland. The article draws on a qualitative narrative study and utilises semi-structured individual interviews and open-ended questionnaires with nine randomly selected teachers (three teachers from each of the targeted schools). The findings revealed that the absence of gender in the school curriculum left teachers with no option but to resort to dominant constructions of gender in their pedagogical practices. These gender constructions were inundated in paradoxes of equality of opportunities for all children, in ways that held different expectations for boys as compared to girls. The teachers’ constructions of masculinities and femininities as two diverse homogeneous groups made the gendered experiences of vulnerable boys and girls invisible, hence perpetuating the social injustices against them. Generally, the teachers were found not to concede the social inequalities and hierarchies within each social group of boys or girls. The study recommends the need to make teachers aware about the limiting and adverse effects of constructing gender and socialising vulnerable children in ways that affirm unequal gendered power relations, as a strategy for promoting gender-inclusive and gender-equitable school environments.

An Inquiry into Teachers’ Perception of At-Risk Students in Jamaica: A Phenomenological Approach

This was a qualitative study designed as a hermeneutical phenomenology to explore and understand the central essence underlying the meanings and anatomy of the lived experiences of teachers dealing successfully with at risk students. The purpose of this study was to discover how teachers perceive their purpose and how they view their readiness to teach at risk students in schools. It intended to explore the challenges faced by teachers and understand how these teachers view the current challenges they face, to identify and suggest programs, policies and strategies that should prove effective in diminishing the school-related factors putting students at risk that inhibit their achievement in Jamaica. The random purposive sample used consisted of three All Age School ASTEP teachers and one principal and all participated wholeheartedly in the one-on- one interview processes which lasted for one half hours each, which were used to collect data for this study. The strategies of coding and themes using an iterative and inductive cycle of analysis were used to analyze the data and adequate measures were taken to ensure validity and reliability of the study. The findings revealed that student’s readiness, academic identity, experience levels of numeracy and literacy achievement, a culturally responsiveness classroom, love and respect are foundational to the achievement of at risk students and are key pre-requites to their learning experiences. It was also found that low expectations of boys, stereotyping, learning and behavioral challenges affect students learning experience and technical and vocational based programmes are needed to improve curriculum relevance to at risk students. Also, it was found that mentorship, school safety and creation of an environment conducive for all students learning is foundational in catering for at risk students; teachers of at risk students must be servant teachers who advocate for students, and Music, arts, differentiated approach to in-seat and on-task behavior in the classroom add value to teacher’s effectiveness. Data driven administrative decisions, effective instructional supervision, fiscal prudence is fundamental to school success. Access to pre-service teacher education of all teachers to ensure; (a) Access to continuing professional development activities that provide modern knowledge and skills needed to teach students with diverse educational needs, and (b) The strategy concerning continuing opportunities to use emerging new methods, forms of assessment are needed. Therefore, it was recommended that meaningful, useful job-related and job-embedded professional development activities are provided for teachers of at risk students. Building a data-driven to track best practices, student achievements and teacher effectiveness with an aim at establishing a relevant, education model, which is responsive to the educational needs of all students. It was also recommended that an aggressive program be embarked upon to develop stakeholder partnerships aimed at encouraging parents to participate more in their children’s education.

Gender-Labeling of Children’s Books and Reading Preferences as Represented through the KidLitosphere

This article discusses a qualitative study conducted as part of a dissertation on gendered literacy. The findings are based on sampling and analysis of data drawn from 23 blogs that are part of the KidLitosphere, a website aggregating blogs dealing with children’s literature. It discusses the primary findings relating to the genderlabeling of children’s books, including 1) bloggers’ and commenters’ direct labeling of books as “girl”‐ and “boy”‐preferred; 2) educators’ expectations of boys’ reading preferences; 3) bloggers’ and commenters’ consistently mentioning certain books and/or series, coded “iconic boy books,” in reference to boys’ reading; and, 4) educators’ expectation that boys prefer male protagonists and girls prefer female protagonists. It also discusses resistance to these themes in the form of 1) bloggers’ and commenters’ speaking directly against the labeling of books as “girl”‐ and “boy”‐preferred; 2) bloggers’ and commenters’ expressing the belief that a child’s sex should not influence the child’s reading preferences; and, 3) educators’ not expecting girls to prefer what are perceived to be “girl”‐preferred texts, or boys to prefer “boy”‐preferred texts.

Adults’ Attitudes About Gender Nonconformity in Childhood

This study examined attitudes about outcomes associated with childhood gender nonconformity. Participants were 518 undergraduate students (337 female; 181 male) at a midwestern university in the U.S. Participants were presented with 1 of 10 vignettes describing a target child (male or female) who varied in gendered traits, interests, and behaviors (strongly masculine, moderately masculine, neutral, moderately feminine or strongly feminine). They completed a 50-item questionnaire including demographics, predicted outcomes for the target (e.g., masculinity and femininity in adulthood, pressure to change, psychological adjustment in childhood and adulthood, and sexual orientation), and the Attitudes toward Women Scale (Spence et al., 1973). Participants thought masculine and feminine targets would be masculine and feminine in adulthood, respectively: thus, stability was expected for both sexes. Feminine targets, boys or girls, were thought to be more likely to display internalizing (e.g., anxiety, depression) behaviors and masculine targets more likely to display externalizing (e.g., aggression, conduct disorders) behaviors in both childhood and adulthood. Gender-nonconforming children were expected to experience more pressure to change their behavior and less likely to be exclusively heterosexual adults, the latter particularly so for strongly feminine boys. There were few significant effects of participant sex and no effects of attitudes about gender on any of these measures. These findings add to the literature by demonstrating that degrees of masculinity and femininity as well as of gender nonconformity are expected to be associated with predictable outcomes in a linear fashion in both sexes, with only a few differences between expectations for boys and girls.

Gender Budgeting in the Education Sector: Implications for the Girl Child Education in Nigeria

More than any other time in the Nigerian history, women education is now considered a priority because it has become a major factor in the development equation, and in particular, a key to gender equity, justice and poverty reduction; improved skills and technological knowledge acquisition; improved nutrition; reproductive health; and general socio-economic development of a nation. Yet, the challenges of gender issues in education still remain mostly unabated. The cultural barriers which the girl child faces concerning her roles at home and in the society still inhibit her ability to go to school. Gender stereotypes still exist in learning materials and too often, teachers’ different expectations of boys and girls result in negative biases against girls’ education. Despite government policy interventions and programs, empirical evidences continue show gender disparity in enrolment, attrition, and retention at all levels – primary, secondary, and tertiary. Although the current National Gender Policy addresses gender imbalance in the education sector, the extent to which the country is able to achieve gender parity in the sector depends on how skillful are policy makers in the use gender mainstreaming (GM) tools and strategies, one of such is being able to adopt ‘a gender budgeting’ framework in the sector. This paper addresses the technical knowledge in gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting in the education sector, and the extent to which budgets in the sector now address identified gender gaps in the sector. This paper argues that beyond government rhetoric in policy documents, evidence of political will and government commitment to the girl child education are dependent on the extent to which the sector has become sensitive to gender issues, including adoption of a gender sensitive budgeting framework. Using ‘organizational capacity assessment tool (OCAT), the paper assesses the current technical capacity in gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting in the sector, while also using budgeting figures to establish the extent to which the sector allocates money to gender issues in the sector. Empirical findings show that the skills and capacities for gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting in the public sector (especially the education sector) are still very low, while government spending in the education sector is still skewed in favor of men. One clear way of supporting the ‘girl child’ education is to make the education sector responsive to ‘gender budgeting’ in line with democratic ethos.

Mathematics and Gender Stereotypes in One Jewish and One Druze Grade 5 Classroom in Israel

We report findings from qualitative case studies of two grade 5 classrooms in Israel, one Jewish and one Druze. The aim was to identify classroom factors contributing to the differences in the gendered patterns of mathematics outcomes for Jewish and Arab Israeli students. Marked differences were found in the teachers' gender-related interactions with students, and their beliefs and expectations of boys' and girls' mathematical capabilities. The Jewish teacher held conventional gender-stereotyped beliefs of male mathematical superiority. The Druze teacher believed that girls required affirmative action to overcome implied gender biases in favour of males in the Druze community. The findings support earlier research and theoretical perspectives on gender-related issues in the mathematics classroom. In particular, when teachers hold gender-biased beliefs and expectations, students' classroom experiences and mathematics learning outcomes are impacted along gender lines.

“Raising Him . . . to Pull His Own Weight”: Boys’ Household Work in Single-Mother Households

In this study, the authors examine boys' household work in low- and moderate-income single-mother families. Through describing the work that boys do, why they do this work, and the meaning that they and their mothers give to this work, they add to the understanding of housework as an arena for gender role reproduction or interruption. Their data reveal that adolescent boys did a significant amount of work and took pride in their competence. Mothers grounded their expectations of boys' household contributions in life experience. They both needed their sons' day-to-day contributions and wanted their sons to grow into men who were competent around the house and good partners. In demanding household work from their sons, these single mothers themselves work to undermine the traditional gendered division of such labor.

Are we fair to boys?

Do you still hear ‘boys will be boys’? Do you assume boys prefer running around to looking at books? After years of ensuring girls are treated equally, Jennie Lindon suggests it's time to question our expectations of boys' behaviour

Student Participation in Activities with Influential Outcomes: Issues of Gender, Individuality and Collective Thinking in Swedish Secondary Schools

Drawing on a study in three Swedish lower secondary schools, this article examines how students engaged in the democratic processes involved in the formation of an action group intended to influence their school by making it more environmentally friendly. The aim is to acquire greater understanding of influential processes in relation to gender and both individualistically and collectively oriented ideas, including understanding of which students participate in such groups, the role gender plays in the likelihood of a student participating, how they act, and their experiences of participation. From observations of, and interviews with, four participants, girls were found both to be more active participants and to have more positive experiences than boys. It is concluded that the group represents an arena for both individual and collective performance in which both individual and collective ideas are reflected. However, differences in the expectations of boys and girls, concerning where and how they feel they should act and perform in school, seems to make the arena more suitable and more effective for girls than boys. While the girls' participation provided them with political confidence, the two participating boys did not gain this from the experience.

Transitioning from elementary to secondary school: American pupils’ scary stories and physical education folklore

The purpose of this study was to examine scary stories that young American adults recalled being told about physical education as they transferred from elementary school to secondary school. Participants were 70 undergraduate students. They were required to write about any scary stories concerning (a) secondary schooling in general, and (b) physical education in particular, that they could recall being told when they were about to move from elementary to secondary school. Standard interpretive techniques were used to analyze the data. A number of different scary story themes were identified. These themes were similar to those unearthed by British researchers, in that they were often concerned with the body, indicated that the transition to secondary school paralleled the transition to adulthood, and illustrated differences and similarities in expectations for boys and girls.

Boys as only‐children and girls as only‐children—parental gendered expectations of the only‐child in the nuclear Chinese family in present‐day China

Studies on the effect of only‐child status on girls’ education indicate that the only‐child policy has had an unintended consequence of engendering a child‐centered culture with a strong belief and shared interest among the urban community in educating the only‐child regardless of the child’s sex. As the distribution of education by sex is frequently argued to be a key determinant for gender inequality, this finding seems to carry an unquestioned message that gender equality has been largely achieved for the only‐child generation. So far, however, few studies have examined parental gender‐specific expectations for their only children as an important factor in preparing boys and girls for their different school and social experiences. Based on data collected through semi‐structured interviews with 20 families in north China, this paper explores parental gender‐specific expectations of their only‐children. Parents’ SES is also considered in order to see how class may interact with gender in parents’ expectations for boys and girls as only‐children. The study reveals patterns of differences in parental expectations based on gender, and to a lesser degree, class. The author argues that it would be over‐optimistic to believe that only‐child status and the equally high academic aspirations parents hold for boys and girls have done away with all the deep‐rooted factors against gender equality in Chinese society. Drawing on Bourdieu’s social theory, the author discusses the implications of the findings and provides suggestions for policy efforts and further research.

‘She doesn't shout at no girls’: pupils' perceptions of gender equity in the classroom

Based on a larger, cross phase study investigating underachieving boys, this article explores pupil's responses to a single interview question inviting pupils to articulate their perceptions of whether teachers treat boys and girls the same. The article records that the predominant perception is that teachers treat boys more negatively than girls, and that this perception increases with age. Pupils speak of teachers' expectations of boys and girls as being different, more being expected of girls both in terms of achievement and behaviour. Unsolicited, the pupils make reference to the gender of the teacher as pertinent, female teachers being perceived as less influenced by gender expectations. The article raises concerns as to the role of education in amplifying society's stereotypes rather than challenging them and aiming for a climate of gender equity in the classroom.

Parental Beliefs about School Learning and Children's Educational Attainment: Evidence from Rural China

This study investigated Chinese parents' beliefs about school learning and how they were reflected in rural family settings. Participants were 13 families, with eight high‐ and five low‐achieving children enrolled in Primary 3. Home observations and interviews were conducted on three separate occasions. Findings indicated that all parents focused on the pragmatic value of school learning and equated schooling with language and literacy acquisition. They believed that effort was important for explaining children's academic performance but recognized the limits placed by innate ability and environmental conditions. There were no consistent differences in parental beliefs based on children's level of attainment, but parents of high‐achieving children tended to be better educated and more knowledgeable about their children's performance and provided more educationally supportive home environments than other parents. Parents had different expectations of boys and girls, reflecting traditional gender stereotypes. Contextual influences on parental beliefs about education are discussed.

Parents’ perceptions of their 1–6-year-old children’s pain

Background of the study. Parents’ perceptions of children’s pain may have influence on how children’s postoperative pain is alleviated at home after discharge from hospital. Purpose of the study. To describe parents’ perceptions of 1–6-year-old children’s pain. Methods. Mothers ( N=201) and fathers ( N=114) whose child had undergone a day surgery in 10 Finnish central hospitals between October 2000 and September 2001 filled in a questionnaire including statements of pain perceptions, a Visual Analogue Scale to assess children’s pain intensity and Parents’ Postoperative Pain Measure (PPPM) to measure children’s pain behaviours. Results. Most of the parents suggested that adults have the responsibility to alleviate child’s pain and that alleviation of child’s postoperative pain prevents the child’s fears during future visits in child welfare clinic. However, majority of parents described that postoperative pain decreases every day or that pain is always a part of surgery. Differences in parents’ perceptions were found by both parents’ and children’s background variables. Parents’ perceptions of children’s pain were related to children’s pain intensity and pain behaviours after surgery. Conclusions. Parents’ perceptions of children’s pain were related to children’s pain after surgery at home. Adequate information of children’s pain should be provided to the parents before discharge to promote children’s pain alleviation at home. Special attention should be paid on parents’ expectations of boys’ higher pain tolerance.

Inferences about teacher expectations from national assessment at key stage one

Background. Concern has been expressed about whether the relatively low achievements of, for example, boys and African Caribbean pupils, might be due, in part, to teachers having low expectations for pupils from these groups. Developments in national assessment provide a way of looking further at this question.Aims. To show how the two measures of attainment used in national assessment—teacher assessment and Standard Assessment Tasks (SATs)—relate, and thus to draw inferences about whether and how teacher expectations vary systematically across socio‐demographic groups. Also, to show that there are different statistical approaches to this question.Samples. Data from pilot studies of national assessment at Key Stage One (ages 6 to 7); between 6000 and 7000 pupils in England; background data on gender, ethnic group and social class.Methods. Differences between the ideas of individual mismatch between teacher assessments and SATs, group mismatch and a measure of bias are elaborated, and these different ideas are linked to different statistical models for categorical data.Results. No evidence of systematic individual mismatch but some evidence of group mismatch by gender and ethnic group. The results for bias suggest that teachers might have expectations for boys, ethnic minority pupils and pupils from less advantaged backgrounds which are too low.Conclusions. Care is needed in defining aspects of mismatch and bias when studying teacher expectations. Possible teacher biases against some groups of pupils merit further investigation.

Student Teachers' Expectations of Psychosocial and School Adjustment of Boys from Divorced, Widowed, and Intact Families

This study examined student teachers' expectations of adjustment of boys from father-absent and intact families. Subjects' expectations of boys from intact families were significantly more positive than of boys from widowed families. Expectations of the latter, in turn, were significantly more positive than of boys from divorced families. Psychological services and social support systems were perceived as being more important than remedial instruction for pupils from the father-absent homes. Psychological services and social support systems were more strongly recommended for pupils from divorced families than for those from widowed families. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.