Teacher perceptions of gender-based differences among elementary school teachers
Keywords:
Teacher Gender, Differences, Elementary Education, Perceptions, Male TeacherAbstract
The purpose of this study was to examine teacher perceptions of gender-based differences among
elementary school teachers. In this mixed-methods study, the researcher utilized an online survey to
collect data. Quantitative analysis revealed no statistically significant differences; however, qualitative
analysis showed that there were more negative responses to survey statements pertaining to males.
More than half of the participants perceived differences between female and male elementary
teachers, including beliefs that female teachers are more nurturing, that male teachers are more laid
back, and that male teachers are more dominant and commanding with students. Four conclusions
were drawn: elementary teachers perceive differences between female and male teachers, male
elementary teachers are perceived more negatively than female colleagues, a vast majority of
participants feel that more male elementary teachers are needed in the elementary schools, and
differences between female and male elementary teachers remain unclear.
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References
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Tatar, M., & Emmanuel, G. (2001). Teachers’ perceptions of their students’ gender roles. The Journal of
Educational Research, 94(4), 215-224.
Wiest, L. R. (2003). The current status of male teachers of young children. The Educational Forum, 68(1),
62-70.
Williams-Johnson, M., Cross, D., Hong, J., Aultman, L., Osbon, J., & Shutz, P. (2008). “There are no
emotion in math”: How teachers approach emotions in the classroom. Teachers College Record,
110(8), 1574-1610.
Yazuz, M. (2009). An investigation of burn-out levels of teachers working in elementary and secondary
educational institutions and their attitudes to classroom management. Educational Research and
Reviews, 4(12), 642-649.
in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Teacher Education and Special Education, 28(3-4), 221-229.
Carrington, B., Tymms, P., & Merrell, C. (2008). Role models, school improvement and the ‘gender
gap’—do menbring out the best in boys and women the best in girls? British Educational Research
Journal, 34(3), 315-327.
Chudgar, A., & Sankar, V. (2008). The relationship between teacher gender and student achievement:
Evidence from five Indian states. A Journal of Comparative Education, 38(5), 627-642.
Colorado State. (2007). Writing Guides. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/glossary/
Cooney, M. H., & Bittner, M. T. (2001). Men in early childhood education: Their emergent issues. Early
Childhood Education Journal, 29(2), 77-82.
Cresswell, J.W. (2003). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluation quantitative and
qualitative research (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Cushman, P. (2005). It’s just not a real bloke’s job: Male teachers in the primary school. Asia-Pacific
Journal of Teacher Education, 33(3), 321-338.
Czaja, R., & Blair, J. (2005). Designing surveys: A guide to decisions and procedures (2nd ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
Data about men teachers (2007). MenTeach Organization. Retrived, October 23, 2011 from
http://www.menteach.org/resources/data_about_men_teachers.
Dee, T. S. (2006). How a teacher’s gender affects boys and girls. Education Next, 6(4), 68-75.
Dillman, D. A. (2007). Mail and internet surveys: The tailored design method. Hoboken,NJ: John Wiley &
Sons.
Driessen, G. (2007). The feminization of primary education: Effects of teachers’ sex on pupil
achievement, attitudes, and behavior. Review of Education, 53(2), 183-203.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Glesne, C. (2006). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (3rd ed.). New York: Longman.
Green, S.P., Shriberg, D., & Farber, S. (2008). What’s gender got to do with it? Teacahers’ perceptions of
situation severity and requests for assistance. Journal for Educational and Psychological
Consultation, 18(4), 346-373.
Huang, S. L., & Fraser, B. J. (2009). Science teachers perceptions of the schoolenvironment: Gender
differences. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(4), 404-420.
Internet access in U.S. public schools and classrooms (2007). National Center for Education Statistics.
Retrieved, September 14, 2009 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007020.
Johnson, B., & Christenson, L. (2008). Educational research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Jones, D. (2003). The right kind of man: The ambiguities of regendering the early years school
environment—the case of England and Wales. Early Child Development, 173(6), 565-575.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Martin, A., & Marsh, H. (2005). Motivating boys and motivating girls: Does teacher gender really make a
difference? Australian Journal of Education, 49(3), 320-334.
Martin, A.J., Marsh, H.W., & Cheng, J.H.S. (2008). A multilevel perspective on gender in classroom
motivation and climate: Potential benefits of male teachers for boys? Journal of Educational
Psychology, 100(1), 78-95.
Martino, W., & Kehler, M. (2006). Male teachers and the boy problem: An issue of recuperative
masculinity politics. McGill Journal of Education, 41(2), 113-131.
Mullola, S., Ravaja, N., Lipsanen, J., Alatupa, S., Hintsanen, M., Jokela, M., & Keltikangas-Jarvinen, L.
(2011). Associations of student temperament and educational competence with academic
achievement: The role of teacher age and teacher and student gender. Teaching & Teaching
Education, 27(5), 942-951.
National Education Association. (2001, August). Status of the American Public School Teacher. Retrieved
February 8, 2009, from http://www.nea.org/home/2233.htm.
Patton, M. Q. (2003). Qualitative evaluation checklist. Western Michigan University. Retrieved March 2,
2009, from http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/checklists/qec/.
Piper, P. S., & Collamer, B. E. (2001). Male librarians: Men in a feminized profession. The Journal of
Academic Librarianship, 27(5), 406-411.
Rice, C. J. & Goessling, D. P. (2005). Recruiting and retaining male special education teachers. Remedial
and Special Education, 26(6), 347-356.
Sheehan, K. B. (2001, January). Email response rates: A review. Journal of Computer-Mediated
Communication. Retrieved May 8, 2009, from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol6/issue2/sheehan/html
Smith, J. (2004). Male primary teachers: Disadvantaged or advantaged? Paper presented to the
Australian Association for Research in Education Conference. Melbourne, Australia.
Sue, V. M., & Ritter, L. A. (2007). Conducting online surveys. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Tatar, M., & Emmanuel, G. (2001). Teachers’ perceptions of their students’ gender roles. The Journal of
Educational Research, 94(4), 215-224.
Wiest, L. R. (2003). The current status of male teachers of young children. The Educational Forum, 68(1),
62-70.
Williams-Johnson, M., Cross, D., Hong, J., Aultman, L., Osbon, J., & Shutz, P. (2008). “There are no
emotion in math”: How teachers approach emotions in the classroom. Teachers College Record,
110(8), 1574-1610.
Yazuz, M. (2009). An investigation of burn-out levels of teachers working in elementary and secondary
educational institutions and their attitudes to classroom management. Educational Research and
Reviews, 4(12), 642-649.
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Published
2017-08-23
How to Cite
Wood, T. D. (2017). Teacher perceptions of gender-based differences among elementary school teachers. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4(2), 317–345. Retrieved from https://www.iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/202
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