Gender Bias and Inclusion

1. Gender Bias and Inclusion • Do we value all children equally? • Is anyone more or less valuable? Gender Bias and Inclusion are controversial topics in education because both topics relate to our moral and intellectual virtues. Therefore, we thought both sides of these topics would be relevant to future educators.

2. Black Americans • Brown v. Board of Education • Desegregation…not much for 10 years after, “all deliberate speed” (91% in the South in all Black schools in 1964) • Civil Rights Act (1964) Title IV…feds given the right to desegregate Title VI prohibited distribution of federal funds • Busing • Second-generation segregationsecond-generation segregation   When a school's multiracial populations are separated through tracking, extracurricular activities, and even in informal social events, the school is considered to be in secondgeneration segregation.

3. Hispanics • Over 40 million in the U.S., 13% of the nation • Several sub-groups sharing common language, but differ in many ways • Mexican Americans…war with Mexico (1846-48) • Puerto Ricans…1898 acquired from Spain, citizenship in 1917 • Cuban Americans…after Castro took power

4. Single Sex Education as a Means for Eliminating Gender Bias • There are several strategies that teachers can use to help eliminate gender bias in education, however, it is very difficult for teachers to even realize that they are using biased techniques. Another possible solution to eliminated gender bias is discussed in our textbook, American Education. This solution is single-sex education. • According to Spring, single-sex education would: • Eliminate the problem of female students having to compete with male students for teachers’ attention. • Teachers would not be able to push girls aside to focus their instructional efforts on boys. • Female students might receive the equal opportunity denied to them in a coed classroom.

5. Single-Sex Education as a Solution to Gender Bias in Education • In American Education Spring devotes attention to Susan Estrich, who is an advocate of single-sex education. • According to Spring, Estrich notes that 60 percent of the National Merit Scholarship finalists are boys. • Estrich says that single-sex schools are working. Here is the evidence she has to prove it: - In all-girls schools 80 percent of girls take four years of math and science. In coed schools, the average is two years of these two subjects. • - In Fortune 1000 companies, one-third of the female board members are graduates of women’s colleges even though graduates of women’s colleges represent only 4 percent of all female college graduates. - Graduates of women’s colleges earn 43 percent more math and 50 percent of engineering doctorates by all women, and they outnumber all other females in Who’s Who.

6. Single-Sex Education as a Solution to Gender Bias in Education (continued) • Although benefits can be seen for single sex schools, there are several negative effects that these classrooms/schools can have: • According to Valerie Lee, a University of Michigan researcher, in many all girl classrooms still contained high levels of sexist behavior. • Valerie Lee also found that male bashing was taking place in some all-female schools. • Lee found that boys in all-male schools engage in serious sexist conversations about women. • “In other words, all-female schools do not do anything about the sexist attitudes of men. In fact, all-male schools might reinforce male sexist behavior.” • According to Spring, there is the possibility that single-sex schooling might result in greater academic achievement for girls while doing nothing about sexist attitudes among men.

7. Gender Bias and Inclusion These two topics seem as though they are unrelated, however, they do overlap – the following slides will introduce the topic of inclusion and then later the two topics will be tied together.

8. What Is Inclusion? • The term “inclusion” is the most frequently used word to refer to the integration of children with disabilities into regular classrooms. • The phrase “full inclusion” refers to the inclusion of all children with disabilities. (Spring)

9. IDEA • Individuals with Disabilities Act • Requires that children with disabilities be educated in regular education classrooms unless “the nature and severity of the disability is such that education in the regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.” (www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion/legal/) • Guaranteed equal educational opportunity for all children with disabilities. (Spring)

10. Benefits of Inclusion • All students are part of a learning community. • Diversity becomes a tangible concept. • All children are treated and viewed as being equal. • There is an improvement in self-concept of all students. • Development of personal principles. • Reduced fear of human differences. • Inclusive classroom may reduce the cost of special education. (www.coe.ilstu.edu/jabraun/students/laodonn/Pros.html)

11. Disadvantages of Inclusion • Resources are often inadequate for many of the students with disabilities. • Classroom sizes are too big for the adequate management of an inclusive classroom. • Preparing the other students in a classroom for the needs of the student is not always implemented, creating a stressful situation for the general classroom. • School administrations and boards are not always actively aware and educated about the inclusion process and do not make informed decisions about the program in their school districts. • School districts are not employing enough sufficiently licensed counselors to address the emotional, social, and cognitive needs of all students.

12. Inclusion • Isolation of children with disabilities often deprives them of contact with other students. • It denies them access to equipment found in regular classrooms. • Full inclusion, it is believed, will improve the educational achievement and social development of children with disabilities. (Spring)

13. Benefits for Children with Special Needs • affords a sense of belonging to the diverse human family • provides a diverse stimulating environment in which to grow and learn • evolves in feelings of being a member of a diverse community • enables development of friendships • provides opportunities to develop neighborhood friends • enhances self-respect • provides affirmations of individuality • provides peer models • provides opportunities to be educated with same-age peers (www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion/philosophy/benefits.html)

14. Disadvantages for Children with Special Needs • Resources are often inadequate for many of the students with disabilities • Some students with disabilities are less probable to receive an appropriate education. • Some students with severe disabilities need alternative classes and instruction. • Support and services are in place, but not to the appropriate need of many children. • Appropriate physical accommodations are not always in place before a student is integrated into a general education classroom. • Many feel that inclusion should be made on an individual basis and may not be appropriate for every child with special needs.

15. Benefits for the General Education Students • provides opportunities to experience diversity of society on a small scale in a classroom • develops an appreciation that everyone has unique and beautiful characteristics and abilities • develops respect for others with diverse characteristics • develops sensitivity toward others' limitations • develops feelings of empowerment and the ability to make a difference • increases abilities to help and teach all classmates • develops empathetic skills • provides opportunities to vicariously put their feet in another child's shoes • enhances appreciation for the diversity of the human family (www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion/philosophy/benefits.html)

16. Disadvantages for General Education Students • Preparing the other students in a classroom for the needs of the student is not always implemented, creating a stressful situation for the general classroom. • Regular classroom students are “distracted by the constant disruptions.” • Regular classroom student may begin acting out themselves for attention. • Placement decisions are not made including the needs of the peers in the classroom.

17. Benefits for Teachers • helps teachers appreciate the diversity of the human family • helps teachers recognize that all students have strengths • creates an awareness of the importance of direct individualized instruction • increases ways of creatively addressing challenges • teaches collaborative problem solving skills • develops teamwork skills • acquires different ways of perceiving challenges as a result of being on a multi-disciplinary team • enhances accountability skills • combats monotony

18. Disadvantages for Teachers • Classroom sizes are too big for the adequate management of an inclusive classroom. • Entire school staff does not indicate a coherent philosophy of inclusion education. • Staff development is not in place in many financially burdened schools. • Many school districts do not have unified programs, making the evaluation counter-productive. • School districts are not employing enough sufficiently licensed counselors to address the emotional, social, and cognitive needs of all students. • There is not enough time for a teacher to plan and collaborate for all the students.

19. Benefits for Society • promotes the civil rights of all individuals • supports the social value of equality • teaches socialization and collaborative skills • builds supportiveness and interdependence • maximizes social peace • provides children a miniature model of the democratic process

20. Disadvantages for Society • Some feel that it is hard for some students to adjust using the social skills necessary for the appropriate education of other young children. • School administrations and boards are not always actively aware and educated about the inclusion process and do not make informed decisions about the program in their school districts.

21. Gender Bias & Inclusion Are they connected?

22. Gender Bias and Inclusion • Textbooks • Boys Vs. Girls in the Special Ed. Classroom Why more boys in the inclusion program?

23. Gender Bias in the Special Ed. Classroom • Although males and females comprise equal proportions of the school-aged population, males account for approximately two-thirds of all students served in special education In many cases, it is not clear if females are under identified for special education, if males are over-identified, or if real differences exist in the prevalence of disability between males and females.

24. The Statistics   Gender of Elementary and Secondary-Aged Students with Disabilities, by Disability Category 1994 Elementary and Secondary School Compliance Reports. Male Female Specific Learning Disability 69.3 30.8 Mental Retardation 59.0 41.6 Emotional Disturbance 79.4 21.0

25. Why is this Happening? • Some researchers cite physiological or maturational differences between males and females as a cause for some disproportionate representation. (http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm) • Males maybe referred more because of gender differences between female teachers and male students. (http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm) • Female teachers may be more likely to identify boys’ behavior and learning styles as indicative of a disability, inflating the referral of boys for special education evaluation. (http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm) • Higher expectations for boys then girls. Girls maybe overlooked if a boys needs help in the classroom. Teachers may have lower expectations for girls. (http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm) • The disproportionate representation of males in programs for students with emotional disturbances may reflect a bias in the ways emotional disturbance is defined and/or the instruments used to identify students as eligible under those definitions (http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm) • Teachers play a big role as future teachers we have to learn to not favor a certain gender because in the long run we may be hurting the child’s education.

26. Why is this happening continued • According to Glen Young, Learning Disabilities and Adult Education Specialist at the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education,"The issue of gender bias in referring children for special education is based on two issues: the widely held belief that males are more likely than females to have learning disabilities, and that referrals to special education within schools seem to be more based on challenging behavior in the classroom rather than poor academic achievement or deficits.” http://www.famlit.org/Publications/Momentum/February2000/ld.cfm • According to Chris Moran “Some say boys are moved into special education to manage rambunctious behavior. Others say girls who might need special education are overlooked because they hide their problems by withdrawing.”(The San Diego Union-Tribune)

27. Gender Bias in Educational Magazines • “Mainstreaming of 5.8 million disabled children, notwithstanding, disability is still not adequately presented in the two most popular children’s magazines Highlights for Children and Sesame Street Magazine sample of all Highlights for Children published from 1961 through 1990 found that only sixty-three disability articles were published during a thirty year period of time.” • Disability narratives in Highlights are gender biased. Twenty-five narratives featured a male disabled character, eighteen depicted a female disabled character, and nineteen were either mixed, or non-gender specific. Males names dominated titles of stories.

28. Summary Many general considerations need to be in place before any classroom can be successful. Teachers need to be reflective. Making the decision to educate everyone in their classroom, being able to make important decisions about instruction, ability to make adaptations to the general curriculum, and seeking support are all characteristics of a reflective teacher. Many teachers do not realize that teachers are responsible for the emotional needs as well as the academic and intellectual needs of their students. Flexibility, individualization, caring, natural supports, fairness are all qualities of an effective teacher in any setting. (Bauer, A.M, 2004) Careful consideration needs to take place for teachers to provide an equal learning environment. Schools are a good place for gender bias in society to be eliminated. By teachers taking the correct approach to teaching (using the suggestions for eliminating gender bias presented previously), some of the gender bias that is present may be decreased. Hopefully in the future all classrooms (math, science, technology, special education, family and consumer sciences, etc) will contain an equal representation of both genders. It is up to future teachers, all of you, to help achieve this goal!