3. “And since the Americans have bravely
established their liberties, (not withstanding the vain
efforts of tyranny) we hope that their modesty will
keep them from exercising that despotism over
us, which they so openly despised in their master. . . .
and now, may they wish to see the fair sex on an
equal footing with themselves, enjoying all the
blessings of freedom.”
- New York female academy student, 1794
4. History
1700s – Finishing Schools
1800s – Girls‟ Schools, Young Women‟s
academies, and Coeducation
1972 – Title IX
1974 – Women‟s Educational Equality Act
1991 – How Schools Shortchange Girls
2006 – Title IX amended
5. From the 1700s
Finishing Schools
Arts, such as
music, embroidery, drawing, and painting
furniture
Refinement and social graces
Dancing
Hosting a ball
Etiquette and manners
How to be a wife: cook, clean, and keep a
household
6. 1700-1800s
Dame Schools
Instruction for a small group of children led
by a woman in her home (in place of parents
educating their own children)
Equivalent to an elementary level education
Begun in colonial times based on English
methods
Prepared boys for town schools or
academies
Girls might be allowed to attend town
schools during summers or holidays
7. 1800s
Women‟s Seminaries and Academies
Colonial women were involved in family
businesses and commerce
Literacy was needed for all
Movement for single-gender seminary or
academy modeled after English finishing
schools, to provide a “moral, literary, and
domestic education”
Prepared female teachers for Catholic girls‟
schools
Women were the foundation of „good
manners‟ and a positive influence on men
8. 1800s
Coeducation
Taught boys and girls in the same schools
Included secondary schools
Common in the west due to small classes
Tracked programs:
College preparatory (boys)
Vocational (girls, minorities)
For girls through the 1960s:
Nursing
Secretarial
Teaching
Motherhood
10. 1972
Title IX
Mink Equal Opportunity in Education
Act, Congresswoman Patsy Mink
“No person in the United States shall, on the
basis of sex, be excluded from participation
in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected
to discrimination under any education
program or activity receiving Federal
financial assistance…”
BIG changes to school athletics
Several states passed laws to include
schools not receiving Federal funding
11. 1974
Women‟s Educational Equality Act
“promotes education equity for women and
girls through competitive grants.”
Training for teachers to encourage gender-
equity in classrooms
Guidance and counseling to increase
opportunities for women in technologically
demanding workplaces
Evaluating and replicating exemplary gender
equity programs
From $6 million in 1976 to just under $2
million in 2009
12. 1991
How Schools Shortchange
Girls, American Association of University
Women
Classrooms have progressed in terms of
gender equity
Girls‟ academic performance has increased
Girls continue to face unique challenges
Compared to male peers, girls have less
self-confidence and lower self-esteem
General inequity in society continues to
impact education
13. 2006: But, girls ARE different
Amendments to Title IX: separate gender
education
provide school districts with flexibility in the
implementation of single-sex programs
Coeducational facilities reinforce gender
stereotypes through “gender intensification”
– „poetry is for girls,‟ „computer science is for
boys‟
Gender separate format can boost grades
and test scores
Teacher training is KEY in separate gender
instruction
14. “We can conclude from the research that there are
significant differences in how boys and girls learn. The
cognitive differences are brain based; behavioral differences
can be brain based or a result of responses from brain-
based differences. The very architecture of the brain and the
resultant differences in sensory perception and physical
skills differ markedly between the sexes in the classroom
and in society.”
-Virginia Bonomo, 2010
15. Sensory Differences
Girls
Boys Retain
have 35% Sensory
less Memory
hearing Details
Well
Boys use
Targets
And
Spatial
Memory
16. HOWEVER!
When developing computer
software, educational tools, or
curriculum, there is no lowest common
denominator:
Girls AND Boys
Research BOTH genders and adjust the
material to perform well with both
Assessing these materials requires unbiased
methods (no interviews)
17. “It is understandable why, when the statistics
emerged showing boys‟ underachievement, it was
concluded that schools had gone “too far” in redressing
girls‟ inequalities. It is also understandable why these same
measures were adopted to tackle the problems boys were
experiencing with school. However, this meant that the
construction of traditional gendered subjectivities of boys
and girls were left unchallenged and, hence, the ongoing
production of lower levels of self-confidence amongst girls.”
-Christine Skelton, 2010
18. Implications
Photo Credit National Geographic, copyright Joshua Kast
19. What Girls Want
“When you compete with girls, you
compete on skills.” -„Debbie,‟ 2008
Throughout the research, girls have wanted:
Opportunities
Respect
Challenges
Community
Recognition
Socially, girls now have the ability
and, increasingly, the economic motivations to
pursue higher education
20. Identity Economics
Standard Economic Theories +
Individuals‟ Identities
„Insiders‟ versus „Outsiders‟
In work: nurses and male nurses
In school: jocks and drop-outs
Identity utility: gaining or losing face through
actions that agree with or disagree with
identity
Schools AND Companies must promote
„insider‟ identity that is attainable regardless
of gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status
21. In Coeducational Schools
“Boys will be boys, right? If I lagged
behind, people would think I‟m not okay. It‟s
the same with boys and teachers. Teachers
seem willing to push the boys more than
they push the girls. Girls are just expected
to be good.”
Gender equity means adjusting instruction
for Each Student, regardless of gender
There‟s no such thing as, or need
for, „gender-blind‟
Boys need more Motivation, Activity, Efficacy
Girls need more
Support, Recognition, Community
22. What About All-Girl Schools?
Research indicates positive outcomes:
Self-confidence
Encouragement
Leadership
Community
Opportunities for public-
speaking, technology, science, math, and
writing
Less disruption/distraction
Ability to experiment with multiple roles
(class clown, bully, sports champ)
Skills transfer to coed high schools
What about all-girl classes?
• Research suggests school climate has a
big impact despite individual class makeup
23. What About the Boys?
Improvements for girls are always good
for boys: their sisters, mothers, wives, and
daughters benefit, and:
Valuing girls and traditionally „female‟ studies
such as art and music provides boys greater
access to some of life‟s finest things
Improving teacher awareness of individual
needs ultimately impacts every
student, providing tailored instruction
Feedback that validates students‟ efforts
over abilities increases motivation
Challenging students increases motivation
24. What About the Boys?
Our biggest stumbling blocks:
Research suggests that girls‟ educational
attainment is strongly influenced by their
mothers; boys, by their fathers. Boys who
have no fathers need strong male role
models and mentors.
In peer groups, boys may be less likely to
find encouragement to pursue higher
education. Boys need „insider‟ identities.
Parents are less likely to ask sons about
school, and may have lower expectations for
sons‟ academic achievement. Parents need
to understand their impact.
25. Educating Girls
Educating Everyone
Younger and Warrington state that single-sex
classrooms experience success due to culture
– an environment of
collaboration, encouragement, and common
purpose and values.
Effective teachers view community as essential
to the inclusion and engagement of every
student.
Focusing on girls neglected social realities and
has gone as far as possible. Future efforts
need to acknowledge, and honor, individuals of
both genders.
Notes de l'éditeur
To understand the role that gender plays in education today, it is necessary to examine gender throughout the history of education. It is useful to focus on America’s educational journey, because it has enjoyed a relatively short and fruitful series of changes in terms of awareness and policy.
Girls look different, sound different, act different, and provide a different set of skills and abilities to partnerships. As early man discovered, specialization, some as hunters, some as gatherers, was efficient.
America has consciously included girls in education throughout our history.
Finishing Schools were primarily used by the well-to-do and continued to be the education of choice for some families after other options became available. The Free Online Dictionary defines ‘finishing school’ as “a private school for girls that prepares them for society by teaching social graces and accomplishments.” They are also called charm schools. Historically, this education was very appropriate for young women, preparing them for their future as wives.
Dame schools generally taught reading, writing, English, French, arithmetic, music, and dancing. Girls might also learn sewing, embroidery, and the like.
Although it must be acknowledged that women have had to push for greater educational opportunities, economic forces have proven to be powerful factors in social change.
Here again, we see education provided for girls alongside boys due to economic constraints. The difference in end result was in large part affected by greater social needs: women were valuable in the home.
Controversy surrounding Title IX seems primarily associated with athletics. Some schools blame the law for eliminating sports that girls were not interested in participating in, while others point out that women are increasingly involved in athletics and show an interest in areas that traditionally were ‘off-limits’ to them.
Government funding demonstrates a desire for equal education – the dramatic reduction in funding over time, however, tells another story. Challenges in the career field continue to limit women’s participation in these areas, suggesting gender equity is a larger social issue.
The initial push to combine schooling for boys and girls seems to echo the civil rights assertion that separate cannot be equal. For girls to receive a comparable education, they had to receive it alongside the boys. However, gender differences and stereotypes are so strongly ingrained in our culture that perhaps only by separating the sexes do we adequately set aside our preconceptions and teach the individuals.
It should be surprising that boys did so well before gender awareness was raised, given the brain-based research indicating that much of how public schools teach is structured best for girls. Brain-based research tells us that many stereotypes can be traced to actual brain structures and characteristics. Girls have strong language centers, while boys have a greater mind/body connection.
Although girls wanted bigger, prettier graphics in their computer software, their achievement was actually impaired by these changes.
Historically, families needed to prepare daughters for marriage. However, marriage has lost stability over time, so preparing a daughter for a stable future has shifted to include an adequate education. Perhaps in part because girls’ achievements may be undervalued, parents may push for more education for girls than for boys.
Given that economics has been more successful than funding, awareness, andtraining at reshaping education for boys and girls, it might be helpful to consider the economics of gender.
What girls typically express about their education is the impact of relationships they have with each other, with their teachers, and with the material. The good news is that relatively few changes in interactions and lesson activities will greatly improve education for boys and girls.
It is important to note that much has been made of boys’ falling test scores and college enrollments. Some would say that this is once again putting the boys ‘ahead.’ I think it is important to realize that no boy is 100% ‘boy,’ just as no girl is 100% ‘girl.’ Any changes we can make to improve education for one student will roll over to every student.
As teachers, there may be little we can do to change the home life of our students. These facts, then, are important to keep in mind for when the media comes shouting that boys are underserved in our schools. The hard truth is that our patriarchal society exacts a cost from both genders, and school can only influence society by bits and pieces.