Exploring Gender and Classroom Learning

An article on the ASCD website, called "How Gender Disparities Affect Classroom Learning," states that "schools are influential agents of socialization. They play vital roles in how we make meaning of the world around us, significantly affecting how we perceive ourselves and others, as well as differences across race, languages, disabilities, and gender. Because of this, schools have the responsibility to model, teach, and create conditions in which each child's gender diversity is accepted and nourished."

The article’s author, Kieran Chidi Nduagbo, quotes research as saying: "Teachers tend to discipline boys more severely and provide them with more praise and feedback than girls. They praise girls' works mostly for physical appearance, such as neatness, cleanliness, or artistic quality."

A blog on the Community Playthings website discusses Oh Boy!, a popular book by Francis Wardle that "offers positive solutions – from expectations, the environment, instructional approaches, and discipline methods – to polices regarding school readiness and special education." In his book, Wardle invites early educators to think deeply about gender and learning. Here’s an excerpt from his thinking about what boys especially need, while acknowledging that these ideas are good for all children: "All five senses should be used throughout the day in different combinations. Traditional environments tend to focus on learning through the use of sound – speaking and listening; boys thrive with input from of all their senses when learning."

Sources:
ASCD article: "How Gender Disparities Affect Classroom Learning," by Kieran Chidi Nduagbo, July 23, 2020, ascd.org

Community Playthings blog: http://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/2019/creating-a-boy-friendly-learning-environment

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