Gender stereo type Essay

Gender stereo type is one of the problems facing gender issues in the world. Women performance in any science or mathematical subject has become wanting. This research paper undertakes to study gender stereotype in classrooms. The performance of mathematics will be looked at. This research paper undertakes to find out gender stereotypes as are in existence in regular classrooms and the conceptions of the same. This is a crucial research question for all students and teachers especially those involved in gender issues. Performance in classroom among women has been affect by the view of women themselves. Gender stereotype has been there for ages especially when the female and male find themselves in the same environment where their abilities are bound to be tested and a classroom is inevitably one of them. Gender stereotype Introduction Mostly ones performance in the classroom determines one’s area of specialization and this researcher set out to establish how gender issues are in relation to the classroom achievements. Women are said to have a preference for arts which are less challenging while men go for the mathematics which is tougher. The division does not end there because men are known to get involved in tough games too like wrestling for their leisure time while their female counterparts go for easy activities like picnics for their recreation time. Gender distinctions in the classroom come along way from the way the boys are brought up knowing that they are cut for the challenging careers – soldiers, pilots scientists while the girls are given the notion that they must always be neat and clean thus they opt for career prospects that can enable them to be’ ladish’ – secretarial jobs, nursing and utmost teaching arts. The war in the classroom is a conspicuous one as the boys openly live out the unnecessary arts and concentrates on the mathematics and science as a way of showing then macho as the tough gender. In a class the popular men are the one’s who have made great achievements like being the football captain or the best athlete while a lady wins by just being smart and showing the classic manners expected of a classic lady and the classroom feats come second or not at all. This research sets out to get an in look to this speculations which have always been there surrounding this subject to establish the truth behind it. The classroom stands out like a tornado that waits to explode and reveal its inner making when put in a stereotype context because the classes components are a people who are striving for a common goal but using different elements to get there – the choices made are done differently depending on the gender of the student in question. At least that is the mindset of most people regarding the classroom and this topic. Statement of the problem. I chose this topic for the research because it directly affects the performance of students and how they relate in regular classrooms. The student’s behavior, performance future ambitions and targets are determined by the perceptions of the gender they belong to. If a student creates a bad perception toward something because of her gender, then the future will be affected. However 3the removal of gender stereotype will set good goals that will create good future targets. There is a relationship between gender stereotypes in performance of some subjects on performance of subjects in class at large. When a student undertakes to create in her mind a mentality of gender stereotypes it becomes hard for him or her learn new things, new concepts, get new challenges, encounter obstacles, learn how to solve problems, learn to be independent and all these will enable to performance level a student to improve. Without gender stereotype a student will be confident and will learn more on his own. Objectives This research on gender stereotype in the classroom is a paper that is meant to clear the air on whether actually there gender related distinctions in the classroom. The extent at which the topic is popular in relation to the classroom will be delved in to and a solid finding brought forward by doing a research study in this institution. Determiners of the presence of the gender divisions shall be sought and the reasons behind these factors will be acknowledged at the end of this paper. The gender stereotype is a wide topic that brings with a list of implications; there is a need to establish whether it’s actually there in the classroom and its significances. This topic has affected the classroom and there is need to know whether positively or negatively. This topic is reference to women widely assumed stand about the arts and mathematics in the classroom, women are said to prefer arts while mathematics are left for men to it as an expression of their masculinity to show their strength. To establish the magnitude of its effect a thorough research would be necessary through interviewing women on their opinions regarding this topic and the end of the case study. This research does not have an objective to discuss feminism in the classroom but its out to establish the gender differences in picking subjects of study at school and go behind the issue to learn why the gender stereotype in the classroom is their and at what depth has it influenced the decisions made in the classroom by women. This research lays down the issues that are there about women and classrooms when it comes to making the choice of subjects they want to study – sciences and arts – with mathematics as the most conspicuous science in question. Research questions. Does gender stereo type really exist in the classroom or is it an assumption that has always been there? What are the causes of the gender distinctions in the classroom? What are the effects of the gender related divisions in the classroom? Is the gender stereotype here to stay in the classroom? Methodology There are two methods of research/ data collection in research papers: that is quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative method is applicable where the problem is known, the problem is based on theories and can be measured in numbers. The analysis can be done on tables, graphs, pie charts, gnat charts and other statistical theories and it relies on assumptions. There are a number of methods which are under quantitative methods. These include surveys, experiments and quasi experiment. Qualitative method is different from quantitative because it is used to measure human feelings, attitude and perception. The data for this research has been obtained from the ten articles forwarded. Key words. Social category, mathematics attitudes and women. A study was done on women, twenty in number with their ages ranging between 20 – 58 years with a mean age of 23 years. Literature review Introduction All the nine studies showed similar results that the personal, attitude of women in the classroom towards academic activities in the areas of arts and mathematics can be affected by gender categories with only one citing completion as the boost to a positive attitude towards mathematics. Gender stereotype Women who were associated with a clear conscious of being female express a greater liking for the arts while those who were associated with the male category did not connect with the arts and went for mathematics. The women’s attitude were based on their preferences and not influenced by other people’s choice. Murphy. M. C. , Steele C. M. and James J. Gross J. J. (2007) in their article they argue that the influence of the social category has not been established and is not is not easier to pin point the extent at which women attitude could change in a stereotype way using the stereotype category. They further argue that it clear that the changes in attitude among women are due to the stereotype reasoning about women’s ability in relation to men’s ability or a combination of both. Guimond S. and lydie Roussel L. (2001) have added that based on gender identity establishment it can equally affect women’s attitude towards mathematics: women who are made aware of their identity preferred arts while the other ones associated with male gender went for mathematics. Their choices were based on their own personal perceptions without an outward influence from other people who had similar perceptions to theirs. Another study was done by measuring the women’s hidden attitude towards arts and mathematics after reminding them of their gender identity or neutral identity. The results still showed that women’s attitude towards arts and mathematics was more stereotype- consistent when they were associated with the category female or the gender identity.