This is for my Gender Communication course, all images were taken from Google images

1. Gender in Education
Gender Communication in Social Institutions Project
CMS 498
By: Krista Jamison

2. Education has an extended influence on individual’s
identity construction
Education is a major part of our world, right from the
start. We are in school by age 5 for 6 hours a day 5
straight days a week. (For most that continues for at
least 12 straight years, and for a lot of people it
continues to goes on and on).
Education has a major
influence on us as human
beings during own most
formative psychological,
physical, moral, and
intellectual development
http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2011/dec/13/purpose-of-university

3. Education as a Gendered Institution
Gender identity is taught in
educational institutions.
Only white woman from
wealthy families could obtain
higher education before the
1900’s
The idea of education for the all
was not considered normal
until the mid 1900’s.

4. Subjects/Majors
Throughout the chapter, school subjects play a
big role in categorizing gender identity.
Still today, majors tend to be dominated by one sex.
Women: education, language
Men: sciences, math, arts, foreign languages,
engineering, business literature, courses focused
on domestic skills

5. Today, women now account for
more than 50% of college
students nationwide

6. Education institutions have a huge impact on the
world, including work, government, family and
media and education is influenced by these as well.
Learning and teaching is influenced by the
predominant values set out by larger society.
It is culture that influences the way knowledge is
constructed
Hegemonic power is present in the construction of knowledge, truth and
reality

7. Looking at gender communication in education is more about
exploring the way society formulates and pursues knowledge
Knowledge is perceptual.
It is important to look
at information
through a critical eye
and the receiver
should become award
of the sources that
they are gaining there
knowledge through
and how it is
constructed.

8. No other social institution promotes the notion
that girls and boys are different as constantly as
education. (DeFrancisco, p.181)
From a young age we are being put in these two different
categories, including what lines were are asked to stand in,
bathrooms to go to, what sports teams to play on, our textbooks
and content, our administrators and teachers, the curriculum .

9. Barbie marketed a doll in 1992 that would say
“Math is hard!”
800 million consumers objected and the
comment was no longer said by Barbie. But it
shows how large companies are trying to keep
gender roles in place in society.
The message was the common belief that
women could not do math, and boys can.

10. Our childhood textbooks are full of pictures of
distinguishing gender roles; woman doing
household chores and caring for the young
while men are in business suits and
exemplifying many different careers

11. Epistemology: the investigation of what distinguishes
justified belief from opinion.
Do humans really know what they claim they know?
There is more then just one way of knowing

12. Gender Wars in Education
Different time periods seemed to focus on different sexes
The 60s and 70’s focused on boys while the 80’s and 90’s focused
on girls, creating a war or a gender gap in education.
But ultimately, current research shows us
that regardless of a child’s sex, the more
impoverished the school, the less likely
the child is to receive a quality education.

13. Single Sex Schools
This seemed like a conclusion to the boys and girls being left behind
academically problem. It was hoping to counter the problems, like teen
pregnancy, drug use, low self-esteem, underachievement, and violence.
But the idea, to me mostly, just seems unfair, and not really efficient
for building communication relationships.
If the goal is to improve gender relations, students need
opportunities to build communication skills, trust, and respect by
working together. (p188)

14. “I don’t think that a boy or a girl is
going to achieve more because they
are studying with someone of the
opposite gender who is smarter than
them. I don’t believe one supports the
other,” (Patterson, 2012)
The separation tactic almost seems to do the opposite of what it is trying
to do. It’s doesn’t help them build relationships with the each other.

15. Peer Pressure
Kids tend to shift towards same sex groups at a
young age. Peer pressure is usually applied to
those who do not conform to their gender role.
Not conforming to societies general norms can
allow an individual to not feel apart of a group
and feel peer pressured and bullied.

16. Masculinity has traditionally been defined as brawn,
not brain, and education is seen as a passive, feminine
activity (Connell, 2000; Francis & Skelton, 2005).

17. Bullying
Bullying is “physical, psychological, and/or verbal intimidation or
attack that is meant to cause distress and/or harm to an intended
victim”
Also defined as: to use superior strength or influence to intimidate
(someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants
Bullying is a gateway for sexual harassment
(unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior which interferes with
your life)

18. Having a girlfriend or boyfriend of the opposite
sex in middle and high school is a means to gain
status. It’s about pronouncing and declaring
heterosexuality to conform.

19. Harassment
Students would say that harassment is simply part of the
school culture. It just makes sense.
Most kids acknowledge it but never bring it to attention to
report it, either because it seems normal or they are to afraid.
Harassment is not just boys. Girls participating in bullying,
mostly in verbal abuse rather then physical, using mean
spirited words and often excluded other girls

20. 62% of all college students report being
harassed in some way
Sexual harassment goes both ways, both men and women are equally
harassed on campuses, females tended to be targets (sexual jokes and
gestures) while men were called gay or fags more commonly.
Sexual Violence on Campus
2.8% of women experienced attempted
or completed rape during a period of
almost 7 months
Verbal abuse was very common
3.1% were stalked during a year’s time,
with each incident lasting an average
of 60 days.

21. Emancipate Education!
It’s time to ask questions about the assumptions in the education.
BE CRITICAL
Look at the hegemonic relations of formal education
We are in a time where we need to find new, different, and
exciting ways to learn, more availability, inclusiveness and
support for everyone.

22. CONCLUSION
In schools today, we need to be gender relevant not gender
specific. We should get go beyond single-sex education, and
focus on a more wholesome way of learning, teaching, and
discovering true interactions.
We need to find ways to address the
entire learning environment
We need to be more critical and creative with the way we
teach and the way we learn.

23. Sources
DeFrancisco, Victoria L., and Catherine Helen. Palczewski.
Communicating Gender Diversity: A Critical Approach. Los
Angeles: Sage Publications, 2007.
Patterson, Gregory A. "Separating The Boys From The Girls."
Phi Delta Kappan 93.5 (2012): 37-41. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 24 July 2012.