Addressing Gender Bias in the Classroom

Addressing Gender Bias in the Classroom
By Natalie Hunt – Mental Health & Wellbeing Coordinator

Imagine two classrooms: a Year 8 Science class where mixed-gender groups present their findings on recent experiments. Here, male students are assuming the role of the primary speaker, receiving questions and praise for their confident deliveries from the teacher. In contrast, a female-led group receives feedback focused more on the neatness and organisation of their visual aids than on the substance of their presentation. Meanwhile, in a Year 9 English class, the teacher unconsciously assumes that girls are naturally better at creative writing and so calls on them more during discussions and expects higher-quality work and enthusiasm compared to their male counterparts.

Such biases, often unconscious, can result in expectations and feedback (written and oral) systematically varying along gender lines. This can have significant and lasting impacts on ambitions, self-esteem and educational outcomes, reinforcing inequalities that education should help mitigate. The example above highlights the risk that boys often receive feedback emphasising performance and critical thinking skills, and girls are regularly commended for neatness and effort. This discrepancy can be internalised, encouraging boys to be exploratory while constraining girls within the bounds of perfectionism.

In the classroom, behaviour management may also reflect and therefore reinforce unconscious biases. Teachers might tend to praise boys for assertiveness and girls for compliance. A quiet girl might be perceived as diligent; a quiet boy could be seen as disengaged. Similarly, boys might face harsher consequences for perceived aggression and girls for social discord. In his book 10-25: The Science of Motivating Young People, David Yeager refers to overly lenient “Protectors” lowering standards for girls displaying emotional vulnerability, and overly strict “Enforcers” interpreting a boy’s low marks as laziness.

Curriculum resources can also unintentionally reinforce gender stereotypes. For example, if teaching materials predominantly feature male scientists, authors, or historical figures, it sends a message to girls that such accomplishments might be beyond their reach. Likewise, if we reach out to boys by repeatedly using sporting metaphors and appeal to competition, we inadvertently suggest that cooperation and empathy are less appropriate for boys than for girls.

Solutions for Educators

Unconscious bias in classrooms is inevitable. With suitable awareness and resources, however, educators can adopt various strategies to create a more inclusive and equitable learning environment:

1. Adopt a mentor mindset: set high standards and provide robust support. According to a study by Geoffrey Cohen and David Yeager, feedback that communicates high standards and belief in students’ abilities benefits all students, regardless of gender, countering biased ‘Enforcer’ and ‘Protector’ mindsets.
2. Review curriculum content: integrate diverse perspectives and gender-inclusive materials to challenge stereotypes.
3. Encourage diverse participation: encourage all students to actively participate in classroom discussions and roles that challenge traditional gender norms.
4. Facilitate staff reflection and training: support teachers to reflect on their biases, participate in training, and develop strategies to support all students to feel capable and motivated.

By actively understanding and challenging their biases, educators can provide an environment where every student is equally valued and supported as an individual in their own right. When that happens, we help all students to truly flourish.