Investigating gender stereotypes in elementary education
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Authors
Calvanese, Matthew M.
Issue Date
2007-06-12T15:32:52Z
Item Type
Article
Language
en_US
Keyword
gender , stereotypes , elementary education , teaching , male teachers
Alternative Title
Abstract
Education is home to one of America's most pervasive gender stereotypes. A disproportionately low frequency of male elementary school teachers has reinforced such stereotypes. This study was designed to investigate gender stereotypes further. Forty-three undergraduate students answered questions assessing their attitudes and
views towards four different fictitious teachers. The teacher descriptions were varied by gender and competency (incompetent versus competent). Competent teachers were rated significantly higher across all
measures including emotional supportiveness and subject-area competency, while teacher gender produced no significant differences on any of the measures. However, participant gender interacted with teacher competency significantly for leadership ratings. The findings do not support the bulk of previous findings on stereotypes in education. Implications and future research ideas are discussed.