Differential teacher's attention to boys and girls in whole class interaction sequences

The relationship of gender to the quality and type of interaction in the mathematics classroom is a question that has concerned researchers for some time. Past studies have indicated that patterns of interaction can be gender-specific, despite individual teachers regarding themselves as teaching in a gender-neutral manner. Drawing on interaction theory and socialisation theory, this quantitative observational study tracked the number and type of interactions in 38 secondary school mathematics lessons across three schools, involving 899 students and 26 teachers (12 male, 14 female). It investigated whether there were significant gender differences in the treatment of students when engaged in different types of questioning behaviour. The study found that there were significant gender differences on students’ level favouring boys, but that questioning behaviours amongst individual teachers were highly variable. Teachers’ gender did not explain the differences. It is recommended that gender awareness should be incorporated into teacher training.

Publikation

Mägdefrau, J. (in prep.). Differential Teachers’ Attention To Boys And Girls In Mathematics Whole Class Interaction Sequences’. Journal of Education, Teaching and Social Studies, (to publish Sept. 2023).