Exploring the Challenges of Implementing Gender-Fair Teaching Guidelines in Schools

Question: Gender refers to the distinctive qualities of men and women . According to Kendall, these qualities are created by culture. Sex, on the other hand, 'refers to the biological and anatomical differences between females and males ' (Kendall, 2012: 307). As far as sociologists are concerned , gender is the more significant concept. Andersen and Taylor (2009: 263) believe that gender is 'the socially learned expectations and behaviours associated with members of each sex'. Sociologists believe that gender is a social fact. In other words, who we become as men and women is largely determined by cultural and social expectations. Do you think, given the circumstances in which Genie lived, that she was even aware of her gender? Since Genie was denied any conta ct with the world around her, she would find it difficult to behave as society has come to expect of females. According to the functionalists, gender differentiation contributes to over all stability in society. For example, in a family, the man fulfils an instrumental role (he goes out to work, earns money and supports the family) and the woman fulfils an expressive and emotionally supportive role. The functionalists believe that this works to the advantage of society. Talcott Parsons , a functional analyst , believes that the woman 's role as nurturer and caregiver is more pronounced in contemporary industrialised societies . This view is supported by Goduka 0999: 126) when she writes that 'in industrialised societies such as South Africa the status of women has remained low, despite the fact that it can no longer be justified (!Ulturally, religiously or scientifically.' The functionalists are of the view that this division of family labour ensures that important societal tasks are fulfilled and it provides stability for family members (Kendall, 2012: 359). Conflict theorists, on the other hand, regard gender differences as a reflection of the su'ppression of women by men. 'Conflict theorists in the Marxist tradition assert that gender stratification results from private ownership of the means of production; some men not only gain control over property and the distribution of goods but also gain power over women ' (Kendall, 2012: 333). Historically speaking , male dominance over women is limited in hunting and gathering and horticultur al societies , since all members of the society must work in order to survive (Kendall , 2012: 84). However, male sexual dominance reaches its peak in agrarian societies , where women become sexual property (Kendall, 2012: 199). Conflict theorists , for example , see the difference in salaries between men and women (with women earning less) as a result of man's historic power to devalue women's work and to benefit from women's labour (Andersen & Taylor, 2009: 85). From the perspective of symbolic interactionism , gender is seen as something that is accoJV.plished through the ongoing social interaction that people have with each other . So for the symbolic interactionist, gender is constantly constructed and reproduced through social interaction. According to Andersen and Taylor (2009: 281), 'gender is not something that is an attribute of different people, as functionalist s suggest; rather , it is constantly made up and reproduced through social interaction .' Peralta (2002: 145) says that when a person acts like a man or a woman , then that person is simply confirming gender and reproducing the existing social order . Having looked at the different socio logical perspectives on gender, we will now consider some of the educational implications. Whichever perspective is used to analyse gender roles in society, one fact remains: educa tion has become a site where sexua l domination operates (Goduka , 1999: 53). Accordi ng to Cock (1980: 265), 'in South Africa education has been an important agent of social control and a crucia l means of maintaining class relations '. The teacher's role is to ensure that all learners break free of gender stereotypes. To this end, Goduka suggests the following guide lines for gender-fair teaching 0999: 137): • Gender-fair teaching should be continuous and integral to daily instruction. • It must direct attention towards the stereotypes and problems that affect both boys and girls. • It must also be concerned with discrimination on the basis of race , ethnicity, religion, class, age and disability. • Gender-fair teaching should be a partnership amongst teachers, parents and community members. • It is a total process that should involve all aspects of the classroom environment. • It must include both the affective and the cognitive domains. • It must be active and affirmative. We began this section by making a distinction between sex and gender. We then moved on to consider an analysis of gender in terms of the functionalist , conflict theory and symbolic interactionist perspectives . The section concluded with a list of guide lines to make the teaching in schools more gender sensitive, ensuring that every learner has a fair chance of succeeding, irrespective of gender. However , the injustices and inequities around social formation in South Africa cannot be resolved by looking at gender by itself. The issue of race also needs to be considered. Question 1 Read the abstract above and answer the question 1.1. Discuss the guidelines for gender-fair teaching in schools and explain with examples why there might be problems in schools with the implementation of some of the guidelines. (use the abstract above to answer the question)