Week Six Discussion Topic This week asks you to look at many different institutions in our society specifically as gendered institutions. Referring directly to the learning resources for this week, as

a response to this post, take a moment to synthesize what you have learned: 1. What are some of the major threads that connect these institutions in terms of gender, gender expectations, or effects on gender? 2. Are there any common problems that need to be solved? 3. Why is it important to consider intersectionality whenever we look at gender in institutions? Give at least two examples from the learning resources. 4. Is the role of gender in politics connected to finding those solutions? If so, how? 5. Finally, choose one or two of the gendered institutions we learn about this week (education, politics, criminal justice, military, healthcare, religion), and dive deeper into these questions: • How do expectations about gender affect that institution? • How does that institution affect gender? What are the major hurdles to achieving gender equality in that institution? • What would gender equality look like in that institution? And, what do you see as the major work that institution needs to do to achieve gender equality? 0 19 48 (48)/nWeek 6 Discussion for the sociology of gender Instructions are uploaded At least 200 words in length or more APA formatting LINK FOR RESOURCES https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/12/10/women-politics- congress-2020-075460/n Sage Reference 21st Century Education: A Reference Handbook For the most optimal reading experience we recommend using our website. A free-to-view version of this content is available by clicking on this link, which includes an easy-to-navigate-and-search-entry, and may also include videos, embedded datasets, downloadable datasets, interactive questions, audio content, and downloadable tables and resources. Author: Mary Lundeberg, Lindsey Mohan Pub. Date: 2008 Product: Sage Reference DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412964012 Keywords: girls, gender differences, female students, mathematics, gender equity, single-sex education, gender Disciplines: 21st Century Learning, Classroom Discipline & Organization, General Education, General Education, Education Access Date: November 27, 2023 Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Inc. City: Thousand Oaks Online ISBN: 9781412964012 © 2008 SAGE Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sage 2008 by SAGE Publications, Inc. Sage Reference Gender Issues and Schooling Are girls less confident than boys? Is there a gender gap in achievement, and if so, does it matter? Have gaps in achievement changed over time? Do boys misbehave more than girls? Questions related to gender differences in schooling are discussed in this chapter. One controversy is whether differences between girls and boys in motivation, achievement, or classroom behaviors are because of sex differences or gender differ- ences. Sex differences refer to biological, innate, and/or physiological characteristics associated with males or females; for example, women can become pregnant, whereas men cannot. Generally, men are taller and stronger than women (although individual variations exist). In contrast, gender differences refer to cultural dif- ferences that are constructed through social interactions, social expectations, language, power relationships, and perceptions. Language used to describe children influences gender, and researchers have found that parents and others treat infants and children differently based on sex. New parents are often asked the sex of their baby, and if the baby is male, people comment on his strength, whereas if the baby is female, people comment on her beauty. Gender roles are social expectations regarding masculinity and femininity that shape how we think, act, and feel. Parents who reward children for behaving in gender-appropriate ways influence gender roles. Toys, experiences, and expectations provided to the infant begin the shaping of a child's gender identity (their view of themselves as masculine or feminine). The media, peers, and social norms present in a particular cul- ture send messages about how boys and girls should behave, think, look, and feel. Adolescence is a critical time in the formation of gender identity, and gender stereotypes present in media and culture can potentially damage individuals. For example, increases in anorexia have been linked to images of very thin models. Gender roles and identity are also influenced by teachers and by institutions, in indirect ways through model- ing, and more directly through rewards and punishments. Most mathematics and physics teachers are men, which suggests that these positions are masculine roles, and most language arts, elementary teachers are women, which may imply feminine roles. Although some people believe that boys are innately better at math and science, while girls excel in language and literacy, research refutes this position. Some recent brain-imaging studies indicated potential different ways men and women process information. Initially, researchers thought women had greater neural density in the left side of the brain (the language cen- ter), whereas men had greater development in some areas of the right hemisphere, which is thought to control spatial abilities (such as mechanical design, map reading, etc.). Most widely publicized brain difference stud- 21st Century Education: A Reference Handbook Page 2 of 19 Sage 2008 by SAGE Publications, Inc. ies have not been replicated with larger data samples, and brain density and activation have not been linked directly to performance. Findings related to gender and brain processing are mixed. Sage Reference Some evidence indicates that sex hormones, like testosterone, affect brain development. Females with higher levels of testosterone develop better spatial abilities than females with lower levels, and conversely, males with lower testosterone levels tend to have better verbal ability than males with high levels. Testosterone has also been linked to aggression and violent behavior in males, as well as to muscular strength. This chapter discusses key issues, questions, and controversies involved in gender differences in schooling. You will learn how teachers and parents may unconsciously communicate gender differences to children. Although most of the research summarized here is based on Western cultures (the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia), a few global issues concerning gender inequalities are also highlighted, such as ac- cess to education. Limited access to education is an example of gender bias against girls in some developing countries. Other examples include curriculum materials, the culture of school, and test items that advantage one gender over another due to the background knowledge necessary to interpret the item (such as story problems in mathematics). Notions about gender and sex roles are changing, and educators can be influential in either perpetuating or counteracting gender bias in classrooms. We discuss practices to promote gender equity, and provide resources and references for additional reading. Gender and Motivation Boys and girls show different motives and interests for participating in school and academic activities. Gender differences in academic motivation appear not only in students' general attitudes toward school, but also to- ward specific academic domains. Gender influence on motivation can be considered in terms of students' per- ceptions of their academic competency and values and interests in academic tasks. There are many problems with making general statements about motivational differences because these are undoubtedly influenced by multiple contextual factors, including culture, home, and developmental age. General conclusions compar- ing male students to female students ignore important differences that occur within each group. Although the trends presented below are intended to show patterns of gender differences that occur in the United States, these trends are not intended to account for the multitude of factors that shape student motivation, nor are they representative of gender differences that occur in other cultural contexts. Page 3 of 19 21st Century Education: A Reference Handbook Sage 2008 by SAGE Publications, Inc. Competency Beliefs and Confidence Sage Reference Feeling competent in school and believing that one can perform well on academic tasks in critical to student motivation. In general, students' competency beliefs change throughout school and often decline as they age. However, changes in competency beliefs may be different for boys and girls and influenced by academic do- main and age. One way to measure competency beliefs is to ask students to judge their confidence in doing well in a subject area (e.g., I am good at math) or doing well on a specific task (I can perform X math problem correctly). When students are asked to judge global or task-specific confidence, boys tend to be more confident than girls, even in elementary school, yet both report more confidence that their performance actually warrants. In fact, when asked to judge confidence after performing a task, girls tend to be better at judging when they did and did not perform well, as compared to boys, who are generally overconfident even when their answers are incorrect. Thus, while males display higher confidence levels overall, females may be better at discriminating when they do and do not know something. Competency beliefs vary by academic domain. Boys tend to report feeling more competent in math, science, and technology while girls tend to feel more competent in language arts and music. Across the elementary school years, boys' feelings of competency in language arts decline, creating a gender gap between boys' and girls' competency beliefs for language arts throughout the middle and high school years. Likewise, fe- males' feelings of competency in mathematics decline, with gender differences in beliefs about mathematics competency persisting throughout postsecondary schooling. Gender differences in motivation and achievement are less pronounced when looking across cultural groups as compared to within cultural groups. For instance, Asian boys and girls, especially Chinese students, ap- pear to have more accurate confidence judgments compared to American and Middle Eastern students, de- spite the influence of gender on confidence. Even within a particular country, such as the United States, dif- ferent ethnic groups display diverse patterns of motivation of boys and girls. While ethnic minority students are sometimes cited as less engaged in academic tasks, this appears to occur more frequently for African American and Latino boys than for their female counterparts. African American and Latino girls may place higher value on academic tasks and put forth more effort to be successful compared to boys. Yet, gender so- cialization of these two groups of female students may also influence the how they participate in class. African Page 4 of 19 21st Century Education: A Reference Handbook Sage 2008 by SAGE Publications, Inc. American females are generally taught to be assertive and vocal, whereas Latino females are taught to be obedient and responsible. Teachers can create learning environments that reinforce or disrupt stereotypical cultural behaviors. Values and Interests Sage Reference Values and interests affect student motivation. While competency beliefs may affect how students perform on academic tasks, value beliefs instead affect whether or not students choose to participate in the first place. Students may be competent in academic domains, but not motivated to participate because they perceive the content as uninteresting or not useful. Generally, the value for academic tasks become more subject specific for students over time. Young children express a general value for learning, but as they age, students value some academic tasks more than others. During the elementary school years, children's value for reading declines, although this decline is stronger for boys. Similarly, students' value for mathematics declines most during high school, particularly among girls. Although girls value science in elementary school, their interest declines beginning in middle school. Girls in middle school prefer to learn science in hands-on ways (doing experiments, etc.), yet they rarely do this in class. As students get older, their values and interests influence the courses they take and the careers they pursue. Having interest in the subject matter not only encourages students to participate, but also benefits student achievement and persistence. One controversy in the 1980s was whether gender influences moral development. According to Carol Gilligan (1982), women value relationships and consider how ethical decisions will affect other people, in addition to weighting what is the principled or "right" action. Although her research challenged Lawrence Kohlberg's (1981) stages of moral development, subsequent studies on moral development showed few gender differ- ences across larger and international samples. Gender Differences in Identity Development How students see themselves, how they present themselves to others, and how others view them are all Page 5 of 19 21st Century Education: A Reference Handbook