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The importance of early and primary education in addressing gender stereotyping

This presentation discusses the importance of early and primary education in addressing gender stereotyping and provides practical strategies for teachers. It also highlights the impact of gender biases on students' aspirations and offers ways to manage unconscious biases in the classroom.

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The importance of early and primary education in addressing gender stereotyping

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  1. The importance of early and primary education in addressing gender stereotyping Jessica RowsonGirls in Physics project manager, Institute of Physics PSTT Hub Leaders Conference7th October 2016 Jessica.rowson@iop.org, www.iop.org

  2. Graph of Gender and subject choice at A-level

  3. Whole school gendering

  4. A riddle • A father and his son are in a car accident. The father dies instantly, and the son is taken to the nearest hospital. The doctor comes in and exclaims "I can't operate on this boy." • "Why not?" the nurse asks. • "Because he's my son," the doctor responds. • How is this possible?

  5. Comprehension exercise • A builder, leaning out of the van . . . . . .

  6. Unconscious biases • Everyone has them. • They do not make you a ‘bad’ person. • Form pigeon holes and processing shortcuts • Based on the sum of our experiences and knowledge • Incredibly quick acting and more prominent in times of stress • Very difficult to change but can be managed. Test yourself Harvard IAT Test http://www.tolerance.org/activity/test-yourself-hidden-bias

  7. What words would you associate with girls? • What words would you associate with boys? • Maximum of 5 words each www.menti.com use the code 41 58 95

  8. What words would you associate with girls? • What words would you associate with boys? • Think of 3 words – tell them to the person next to you

  9. Activities for pupils P1 P7 P4

  10. Primary pupils’ ideas of careers for women and men 21 jobs 33 jobs

  11. Draw a picture of a: -scientist -police officer -doctor -teacher -engineer Redraw the balance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv8VZVP5csA

  12. What can you do? • I’m a scientist • Science ambassadors Career aspirations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg84rVYiU-c Aspires report, Kings College London

  13. How does it affect my students • Limits their expectations and aspirations Girls mature emotionally faster than boys and tend to think more broadly about the implications of their actions from a younger age Murphy and Whitelegg, 2006

  14. When studying science and maths,boys engage better with male teachers FALSE Francis et al. 2008, Carrington et al. 2008

  15. Regular careers advice is an effective engagement strategy TRUE Murphy and Whitelegg, 2006

  16. Girls are more emotional than boys FALSE Kring and Gordon, 1998

  17. Girls are more self-critical than boys TRUE Murphy and Whitelegg, 2006

  18. Single gendered classes are effective at raising attainment FALSE Warrington & Younger (2001), Younger & Warrington et al (2002), Jackson (2002), Sullivan, A. (2006), Ivinson and Murphy (2007)

  19. Assigning roles in practical work improves attainment TRUE Murphy and Whitelegg, 2006

  20. The male brain is better adapted to scientific subjects (False?) Baron-Cohen, 2004

  21. "Overall, the differences between males and females should not be of major concern to educators. There is more variance within groups of boys and within groups of girls."

  22. How the classroom can be affected • Different types of praise • Girl’s praise is often based on appearance and less critical, while the boy’s is based on their work • Inherent expectations by gender • Teachers work with boys to reach the answer • Dominating students (white males) • Both in discussions and groupwork

  23. Managing unconscious bias • Be aware of unconscious bias • give yourself time to think • surround your thoughts with role models • Be conscious of your language and what unconscious clues it may be giving (eg. defaulting to he, asking for ‘strong boys’) • Be welcoming of dialogue with colleagues and challenge any behaviour you see.

  24. How to address the balance • Do boys dominate the classroom? In many practical and interactive exercises boys tend to take the lead with the hands-on elements, leaving the girls to do the note taking or analysis. Murphy and Whitelegg 2006 Teachers are more likely to direct their questions to boys, even when girls have their hands up or when no one has their hand up Sadker and Sandler, 1985

  25. Classroom interactions

  26. How could this dominance by boys, in both classroom interactions and practicals, be addressed? • Think pair share – 5 minutes

  27. Use varied questioning techniques / no hands up • Monitor interactions Lollysticks/whiteboards/plickers • Removing stereotypes/gendered examples in resources and review display materials • Assign roles for group work In the classroom • Make links to careers in your lessons and highlight the relevance of skills to future work More info: Resources and guidance for teachers, Institute of Physics and Project Implicit, Harvard University

  28. All of this is very well but . . . . . . .

  29. Adults asked “What job would you like your child to do? Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) “Improving Diversity in STEM”, May 2014

  30. Parent and child science outreach

  31. Discussion classes

  32. Discussion classes

  33. School-wide recognition

  34. Which child: • Plays with insects • Has a boy as their best friend • Likes to play dressing up • Plays with dolls • Loves football • Likes to climb trees • Likes little babies • Has pink as their favourite colour • Is scared of spiders

  35. Ideas for taking it further through your school • Named lead in the school (Gender Champion) • Embedded in school improvement plans • Conversations engage all staff, pupils and parents • Staff training in unconscious bias and equality policy • Sexist, racist and homophobic language and behaviour are tackled in the same way with same severity • Uniform does not reinforce gender stereotypes • Achievement and progression is monitored by gender • Confidence and like/dislike of subjects is monitored by gender

  36. Help at hand • Sign up to our gender equality newsletter www.iop.org/genderresources • Talk to other teachers and access resources www.talkphysics.org/equality • Reports and stickers and Marvin and Milo! Resources from: • Lettoysbetoys.org.uk • Finding Ada • Equality and Human Rights Commission

  37. Further reading • Opening Doors: Guide to good practice in counter gender stereotyping in schools http://www.iop.org/education/teacher/support/girls_physics/reports-and-research/opening-doors/page_66438.html • NUT Breaking the Mould – starting the conversation about stereotyping and gender in schools http://www.teachers.org.uk/educationandequalities/breakingthemould • Zero Tolerance – Just like a child: Respecting Gender in the early years http://www.zerotolerance.org.uk/sites/zt2.mccwel.com/files/ZT%20Early%20Years%20Guide%20FOR%20WEB_1.pdf • I could – Case studies of careers http://icould.com/ • Careers from Physics – collection of potentially surprising career routes from studying physics. http://www.physics.org/careers.asp?contentid=381 Jessica.rowson@iop.org

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