A Study of the Correlation Between Teachers’ Gender and Students’ Academic Performance in Economics in Selected Secondary Schools
Chapter One
Purpose of the Study
The objectives of this study will be to:
- determine whether the teacher’s gender impacts his or her relationship with the respective students;
- ascertain whether there is any relationship between the teachers’ gender and the quantity and quality of class and homework given to students;
- determine whether there is any relationship between the teachers’ gender and students’ performance; and
- ascertain whether teachers’ gender has any relationship with their attitude to teaching.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
“The perceived need for more male primary-school teachers has emerged as an international issue with research and media reporting proportional and absolute decline in the number of male primary-school teachers” (McGrath & Sinclair, 2013). Studies have been conducted on the qualitative benefits of male teachers being in the elementary classroom (Martin & Harsh, 2005; McGrath & Sinclair, 2013). However, research that analyze the relationship between teacher gender and student achievement are
limited. The history of education is discussed with an in-depth look at teaching as a profession. In addition, academic discrepancies between male and female students is discussed. Chapter two then discusses literature related to the impact of teacher on student achievement. The chapter concludes with instructional style of teachers, socioeconomic status of students, and how attendance impacts student achievement.
History of Education and Teaching
The early establishment of public schools in the United States of America is well documented in a book entitled A History of Education in the United States, which was published in 2014 by Dr. Edwin Grant Dexter of the University of Illinois. This book provides an exhaustive look at the history of education in the pre-1900s United States. A History of Education in the United States (Dexter, 1904) started with an overview of several attempts to build schools in the early 1600s. Many of these attempts failed due to a variety of reasons, including conflicts with Native Americans and lack of support from citizens. During this time of “distress, legislative mandates called for families to educate their youth in the home” (Dexter, 1904, p. 8). Successful attempts of establishing schools came to fruition in the mid1600s. Many of the teachers and school headmasters were males with educational backgrounds (Dexter, 2018). Dexter (2013) stated “in the earlier colonial days grammar-school teachers were almost universally college men” (p. 371). Interestingly, school teachers were also ministers of local towns and therefore, revered by communities.
After an exhaustive review of school establishments throughout the 1600s, Dexter then spoke of the development of school systems in each state. Throughout his review of school establishments, Dexter frequently mentioned teacher gender trends that occurred at various times throughout history. At the time of Dexter’s publication, the United States consisted of 45 states. Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii joined the United States post-publication (Kelly, 2020).
Dexter (1904) then elaborated on the establishment of post-secondary education, including colleges, technical schools, and professional education. Colleges, technical schools, and professional education opportunities came to fruition and focused on the fields of science, technology, and electricity. With the increased availability of electricity in the 1800s, colleges sought to prepare young people for careers in these areas.
The population of the United States continued to increase during the 17th and 18th centuries. During the 19th century, schools were becoming more systematic (Ravitch, 2013). Since the school populations were growing, the call for more teachers also increased. During this time, the teaching population shifted from predominantly male to predominantly female (Ravitch, 2013).
To meet the increased demand for teachers, some colleges began developing teacher preparation classes. These classes date back to the early 1800s. Ravitch (2013) stated “new teachers had to persuade a local school board of their moral character, and in some districts, pass a test of their general knowledge” (para. 6). Different communities had various criteria for hiring teachers.
As the United States moved forward toward the 20th century, a more systematic process for teacher training was developed. Ravitch (2013) stated this “was a time in which relatively small departments of pedagogy expanded into undergraduate and graduate schools of education” (para. 10). In the early 20th Century, the Department of Education transformed formal teacher training (Ravitch, 2013). Additionally, teaching was still predominantly female.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH MTHODOLOGY
Research Design
A quantitative research design was used to investigate the researcher’s hypotheses. The independent variables for this research were teacher gender, student gender, and student socioeconomic status (SES). The dependent variables included academic achievement using the scaled score on the STAR Reading and STAR Economics assessments, and student attendance.
Population of study and sample size
The population for this research study was senior secondary school students in Economics in Lagos state. Students in five classrooms with male teachers were selected for this study. Additionally, five classrooms with female teachers were selected for this study.
Purposive sampling was used in this study to identify students related to the researcher’s prior knowledge of the group being sampled (Lunenburg & Irby, 2008). Data was collected from senior secondary school students enrolled in Lagos state. To be included in the sample, students were enrolled for the duration of the 2020-2020 school year. Additionally, this same group of students completed the fall and spring STAR Reading and Economics assessments. The test was administered during the months of September and October in 2020.
CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULT PRESENTATION
Descriptive Statistics
Secondary school students in Lagos state were included in the current study. The sample of students included 125 students with 5 female teachers and 120 students with 5 male teachers. Table 4 shows the number of female and male students in classrooms led by male and female teachers.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Study Summary
This study provided an in-depth analysis of the impact of teacher gender on student academic growth and attendance of secondary school students. Research questions included a comparative analysis of teacher gender and student gender, student socioeconomic status, and attendance. The study utilized archival data from Lagos state. Nine research questions were generated with nine corresponding hypotheses. Six two- factor ANOVAs were conducted using STAR assessment data and student attendance in Lagos state.
Overview of the problem
The majority of the literature and research currently dedicated to teacher gender focuses on male teachers as role models. The studies called for more male teachers in the classroom because of the perceived need for a positive male role model at the elementary level (Cushman, 2008; Dee, 2006; Gibbs, 2012; Tucker, 2020). However, the number of men entering the teaching profession continues to stagnate and remain low when compared to the number of women (Jones, 2007; Saban, 2003; Weaver-Hightower, 2011). Though the previously mentioned studies focused on teacher gender, the quantitative studies on the impact of teacher gender on student academic growth is limited and shows discrepancies (Krieg, 2005; Piechura-Couture, Heins, & Tichenor, 2013).
Purpose statement and research questions
The purpose of this study was to determine the extent there was a difference in academic growth between students in upper elementary classrooms with male teachers and students in classrooms with female teachers. Another purpose of this study was to determine the extent there was a difference in academic growth between students of different socioeconomic backgrounds with male teachers and students with female teachers. The final purpose of this study was to determine the extent there was a difference in attendance between male students with male teachers and students with female teachers.
Review of the methodology
A quantitative research design was used to investigate the impact teacher gender has on student academic growth and attendance. The population for this study included secondary school students from Lagos state. Students involved in the study took the STAR reading and economics assessments in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2020. The independent variables for this research were teacher gender, student gender, and student socioeconomic status. The dependent variables included student academic growth on the STAR Reading and STAR Economics assessments and student attendance. To test the nine hypotheses, six two- factor ANOVAs were conducted using the IBM Statistics 24.0 Faculty Pack for Windows.
Major findings
In the current research study, eight out of nine hypotheses tested showed teacher gender had no impact on student results on the STAR reading or STAR Economics Assessment. In addition, teacher gender did not impact student attendance. However, the two-factor ANOVA utilized to test H2 indicated a marginally significant difference. The effect of student gender in academic performance in Economics, as measured by the difference in the economics performance score, between secondary school students in classrooms with male teachers and secondary school students in classrooms with female teachers was marginally significant. Teacher gender did not have a statistically significant impact on the academic growth of students from various socioeconomic backgrounds. Finally, teacher gender did not impact the attendance of male or female students from various socioeconomic backgrounds.
Conclusions
This study aimed to identify the impact of teacher gender on student academic growth and attendance of secondary school students. The study utilized archival data from the STAR Reading and Economics Assessment to determine if teacher gender statistically impacted academic growth. Additionally, the study utilized the same data to determine if teacher gender statistically impacted academic growth of students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. The study also utilized archival data to determine if teacher gender statistically impacted attendance of secondary school students. The following section includes implications for action by educational leaders to assist in understanding the impact teacher gender has on academic growth and attendance. This section then makes recommendations for future research and ends with concluding remarks.
Implications for action
The current quantitative study investigated the impact of teacher gender on student academic growth and attendance. While the research presented in this study indicated teacher gender had no impact on student quantity of class and homework, the interaction between teacher and student gender did impact student academic performance in Economics. Female students with a female teacher showed marginally significant performance in Economics when compared to male students with a female teacher.
Since the female students showed more performance in Economics when they had a female teacher, district leaders could focus observations on best strategies used by female teachers when working with female students.
References
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