TEACHERS GENDER AND ITS EFFECT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE
ABSTRACT
The study looked at the gender of teachers and how it affected student performance in English in selected secondary schools in Ogun State’s Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area. Under relevant subheadings, relevant and related literatures were reviewed.
The descriptive research survey design was used to assess respondents’ opinions using a questionnaire and a sampling technique.
This study included a total of 200 respondents (100 males and 100 females). In this study, four null hypotheses were developed and tested using the Pearson Product Moment Correlational Coefficient tool at the 0.05 level of significance.
Following the completion of the analyses, the following conclusions were reached:
1. There is a significant relationship between teachers’ gender and students’ English language performance.
2. Hypothesis two demonstrates that there is no significant relationship between female teachers’ preference for male students and their English language performance.
3. In hypothesis three, it was also discovered that there is no significant relationship between male teachers’ preference for male students and their performance in English.
4. Hypothesis four reveals a significant relationship between teachers’ preference for the opposite sex and students’ academic performance in school.
THE FIRST CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION
1.1The Study’s Background
For some psychologists, the concept of gender has become an important phenomenon in how students learn. Gender distinctions, gender bias, and gender issues continue to be important in understanding achievement-related behaviors in order to make them predictable and thus susceptible to manipulation (Dee, 1988).
The origins of gender differences have long been a source of contention. Though general intelligence tests indicate overall differences between men and women, there are large gender differences between men and women, as well as larger gender differences in cognitive task scores (Linda, 2006).
Men outperform women in certain visual tasks, while men outperform women in verbalization, according to the same source, and these differences may one day be traced back to known differences in hormonal exposure and male and female brain structures. It is also possible that differences in academic development result from male and female teachers treating boys and girls differently in the classroom.
Teachers and gender gaps in student achievement (NBER Working Paper No. 1160 Dec. 1988) discovered that gender interactions between teachers and students have a significant effect on whether a student is afraid to ask questions in a specific class.
According to Dee (1988), assigning students to a teacher of the opposite sex lowers their achievement by about 0.04 standard deviations. Another finding suggests that “one year with a male English teacher would eliminate nearly one-third of the gender gap in reading performance among thirteen-year-olds.” And it would do so by improving the performance of boys while harming the performance of girls.
Similarly, a year with a female would cut the gender gap in science achievement among thirteen-year-olds in half while completely eliminating the smaller achievement gap in mathematics. According to the data, “a large fraction of boys” dramatic underperformance in reading reflects classroom dynamics associated with the fact that their reading teachers are overwhelmingly female.
Gender bias in teachers has been identified as an insidious problem. Boys and girls receive very different educations while sitting in the same classroom, reading the same textbook, and listening to the same teacher (Sadker, 1999). In fact, when girls first enter school, they outperform boys on nearly every measure of achievement, but by the time they graduate from high school or college, they have fallen behind.
However, disparities in the performance of girls and boys in elementary school have led some critics to argue that boys are being neglected within the educational system. On the contrary, the American Association of University Women published a report in 1992 indicating that females receive less attention from teachers and that the attention received by female students is frequently more negative than that received by male students (Baily, 1992).
In fact, an examination of gender socialization within schools, as well as evidence of gender biased hidden curriculum, whether in English or mathematics, show that girls are underserved in the classroom.
However, in addition to changing their own teaching behaviors, teachers must be aware of the gender bias embedded in many educational materials and texts and take steps to combat it. This must be taken into account when attempting to establish a gender equitable curriculum.
Gender equality materials must acknowledge and affirm diversity. They must be inclusive, accurate, affirmative, representative, and integrated in weaving together male and female experiences, needs, and interests (Bailey, 1992). Too many of our classroom examples, story books, and text depict a world in which boys and men are bright, curious, brave, inventive, and powerful, while girls and women are silent, passive, and invisible (Conmick, 1995).
Needless to say, female students are being short-changed in their quest to learn the official language that the Colonial Lord (Britain) brought to Nigeria in order to create an elite class that would help propagate the basic tenets of Colonialism (Slavery, exploitation, etc.),
foster the administration of the “Indirect Rule” system in the country, and eventually serve as the country’s multi-ethnic groups (Omoyajowo, 1992). Nothing seems to naturally compel an average Nigerian to learn the language more than the instrumental functions it performs in Nigerian life, that is, it is a means by which certain special needs of national interest can be met.
Currently, English is used in politics, administration, business, education, and international communication on a national level. As a result, it has become the country’s second language. The average Nigerian requires it for higher education, social status, and, at times, better employment opportunities.
The National Policy on Education (NPE, 1981) states unequivocally that it is the medium of expression at the secondary and tertiary levels. The English language, among other things, performs the above-mentioned rules in our national life, which is why it is appropriate for an average Nigerian, regardless of gender, to have some knowledge of it in order to relate with the society.
1.2Statement of the Issue
English Language is one of the compulsory subjects in secondary school, and a credit in it is a major prerequisite for admission into all courses at the majority of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions (Olusakin, 2000). This is because English, which is most Nigerians’ second language, is the nation’s lingua franca.
Many students seeking admission to higher education institutions were denied admission because they did not obtain at least a credit grade in English Language at the senior secondary school certificate examination (SSCE). According to Adeyoju (1995), this type of academic failure continues to cause a great deal of concern among those who are involved in academic pursuits.
Several impediments to students’ learning of English have been identified; some are human in nature, while others are not. One of the most prominent human inhibitions is teachers’ gender; female and male teachers will naturally exhibit feminine and masculine traits while teaching the language, respectively. Tolerance, energy, attention, assertion, accents, body language, and, of course, teachers’ preference for a particular sex of student are examples of these. Students, on the other hand, are far too likely to have a gender preference when it comes to their language teachers.
Male and female students are said to receive different educations while sitting in the same classroom, reading the same textbook, and listening to the same teacher. In light of this, Ibe (2004) stated that the most important goal of education should be to provide individuals with the ability to adapt to change, regardless of gender.
To accomplish this, curriculum planners and textbook authors should provide gender reality modules for both in-service and pre-service English Language teachers. Educators must be made aware of the biases they are instilling in their students through socialization messages, sexist texts, and the type of attention given to boys and girls in the classroom.
1.3The Study’s Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which teacher gender influences student performance in English Language in selected secondary schools in Ogun State’s Ado-Ode Ota Local Government Area. The researcher’s goal is to determine whether or not:
1. The gender of the teacher is related to the performance of students in English.
2. Female teachers have a greater influence on female students’ English language achievement.
3. Whether male teachers have a greater influence on male students’ English language performance.
4. Whether students perform better in English when taught by a teacher of the opposite gender.
1.4Research Issues
1. Is the gender of teachers related to student performance in English language?
2. Does the performance of female teachers for female students affect their performance in English?
3. Does male teachers’ preference for male students affect their performance in English?
4. Does students’ preference for teachers of the opposite gender affect their performance in English?
1.5Analysis of Research Hypotheses
1. There will be no significant relationship between teachers’ gender and students’ English language performance.
2. There will be no significant relationship between female teachers’ preference for female students and their English language performance.
3. There will be no significant relationship between male teachers’ preference for male students and their English language performance.
4. There will be no significant relationship between teachers’ preference for students of opposite sex and their English language performance.
1.6 Importance of Research
The following education stakeholders will benefit from the study:
2.The Students: At the heart of any educational system, students must master the English language in order to excel in other subjects, as English is the medium of instruction in secondary schools. Second, a credit pass in English Language is required for admission to Nigerian tertiary institutions.
3.Teachers: Teachers are the means by which knowledge is passed on to students in school. This work will enable them to recognize biases in their teaching behavior as well as those inherent in the curriculum and to correct such biases in their classroom instruction.
4.The Curriculum Planners: This group will benefit from this research by becoming more aware of the hidden gender biases in the curriculum.
5.The Counsellors: As the advisory personnel in secondary schools, the counsellor will be equipped with knowledge of the extent to which teachers’ gender can affect student performance and will be able to guide the school in order to use gender to the advantage of learning in schools.
6.The Evaluator: The results of this research would allow the evaluator to assess the learning difficulties that students face when learning English as a second language and offer solutions to those difficulties.
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