The behaviour and mentality of teachers influence children’s choices?

After the family, school is the first basic socialization institution for the child. Apart from the parents, it’s the student’s teacher who is effectively in the front seat in regards to his/her personality development and both academic and social performance, so it could help the student to improve his/her ideas also about the theme of gender equality. The teacher has a great influence on the creation of the self-image and on the student’s motivation; if they recognize and accept emotions, include them in their teaching, they can influence them and contribute to the development of the students’ ideas on the role of man and woman in society. Teachers with a dynamic mindset dedicate a lot of time to their students but this has nothing to do with altruism, but with a strong passion: the passion for learning. This one mentality, however, is not visible to children and is not automatically transmitted to their students. Professors, therefore, have to intentionally put in place a series of actions that set an example for their students, in the way they praise them, how they face obstacles, and how they focus on improving learning (teaching students to understand content, rather than asking them to memorize facts and procedures).The link between socio-cultural conditions and school learning level is still a discussed aspect in numerous researches conducted both in Italy and in other European countries. But do teachers really influence their students? School, as the first instrument of socialisation, can be an instrument of the transmission of gender stereotypes? For someone it could, and for someone not. Let’s find out through some surveys and statistical data what influence the teachers have on the themes of Gender. 

There are 774 million illiterate people in the world and sadly two-thirds of them are female. One of the reasons for girls being out of school is their gender. The early years and Primary phases are of crucial importance for development of each person and the influence of school, in particular of teachers, should never be underestimated, as demonstrated by Professor Dame Alison Peacock in a report by social enterprise Lifting Limits. Gender stereotypes are reinforced in school through books, language, staff assumptions and daily interactions with adults. This happens at a crucial stage in pupils’ development that leads to limiting student’s futures when they see certain careers as ‘girl jobs’ and ‘boy jobs. Furthermore, Professor Gina Rippon from Aston University, highlighted that gender stereotypes affect children’s views about their abilities and behaviour to their potential achievements and probable failures. Such messages are relayed to them in numerous ways, such as by the toys they are given to play with and the language used to describe approval or disapproval of their successes or failures (“what a pretty girl”/“what a brave little boy”). By the time they are about six years old, they have normally fixed conclusions about their world and their place in it, they have also set themselves firmly to their own gender and made up their minds about what this means for them, what they can do and how they should behave. Sadly, this can also include firm beliefs about what they can’t do. For instance, the article “Gender Stereotypes in the Classroom and Effects on Achievement” by MIT Press Direct, has found that female students who have teachers with “traditional gender views” show lower performance in maths and verbal tests and this effect is amplified with longer exposure to the same teacher. To strengthen the thesis, let’s mention some big names: in 1989, Oprah welcomed her favourite fourth-grade teacher, Mary Duncan, as a guest on her show. During the interview she explained how the reason for her talk show today it’s her teacher who did exactly what teachers are supposed to do: create a spark for learning that lives with you from then on. Oprah stated that because of Duncan she always felt like she could take on the world. Another great example is John Legend: he credits his English teacher, Mrs. Bodey, with cultivating his confidence as a writer that ultimately led him to become a songwriter. Mrs. Bodey was instrumental in the educational journey that carried him through school and into his career. Until her class, he hadn’t believed in his ability as a writer. She recognized his potential and showed him that he could write with creativity, clarity and passion. Today these celebrities are household names, but we may never have heard of them if it weren’t for the behaviour and encouragement they received early on from their teachers. 

However, although the school is undoubtedly the primary tool through which everyone comes into contact with the social reality, this does not determine the fact that the teachers have in any case a total influence on the students. The relationship that is created between the teacher and the student is not always a direct relationship that allows an empathic relationship, which is fundamental to transmit an influence. There are teachers who base their method exclusively on the transmission of notions, which are not sufficient to prevail over all the information tools that today the children, both the older and the younger, have. The fact of having technological tools at your disposal allows you to form your own idea, developing a critical character towards gender issues. Teachers are distinguished by the method of teaching transmission, and although there are sometimes teachers who go beyond notions and also provide teachings on life, this is not always the case. The new generations do not base the development of their reasoning only on the impact provided by school education, we can see how it is statistically proven that more than 1 teenager out of 7 is more likely to be influenced by figures for which he has a deep esteem; not only focusing on the adult age of the person in front of them but on the contrary trying to assimilate the ideas of those he considers as models, and not necessarily in all cases every teacher is a model for a student. Students in the schools, although the traditional system provides for a higher male attendance in scientific school and women in the humanistic school, are divided among the various courses of study in percentages closer and closer to being balanced. Moreover, in early childhood, the differences between girls and boys are not so obvious, school today is not the only agency of socialisation present in everyone’s life, since the family itself is also placed as a tool for the development of ideas. Children can certainly assimilate ideas from what they observe and study in the school environment, but saying that only teachers are a source of influence is incorrect. Everything related to the school environment, therefore also the relations with the classmates, can be a source of influence. Professors can sometimes be seen as authorities and students can be compelled to adhere to the ideas provided by those who teach us, but their behaviour does not outweigh the other visible aspects. Although a teacher may say that there is a gender disparity, a student who is subject to the observation of the global school environment can internalize, especially if we speak about a child, that there is no such difference as he sees the teachings both from a female teacher and a male teacher. Often it is not just the influence of someone who occupies much of our life time that made students ideas, as Tommy Campbell claims, we tend to use prejudice as a mental shortcut, it is therefore not the influence that a teacher has on the student that leads him to have certain ideas, it is mostly the student himself that observing the work activities, the role of the woman and the man in the workplace, the different occupations of the mother or father in the family, the experiences on social media, the public demonstrations also present today, to independently provide an idea on the gender difference, creating a reasoning starting from a totality of events that surround the students. 

We can all agree when we say that during the years the roles of teachers in our society have changed as well as the school system but as we already said before even now teachers and parents have the responsibility to educate every student without differences, and above their formal knowledge they should be teaching respect and equality. But since in our society there are lots of stereotypes related to genders nowadays it is really complicated for a kid to grow without being influenced by the judgment of the grownups he is surrounded by. When we talk about gender inequality we are talking about the social phenomenon in which men, women and non-binary people (it is an umbrella term for gender identities that are not solely male or female, but outside the gender binary) are not treated equally. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or cultural norms prevalent in the society. Some of them are empirically grounded, while others appear to be social constructs. Studies show the different experiences of genders across many domains including education, life expectancy, personality, interests, family life, careers.  Everyone from a very young age until the end of the teenage years spend most of his time in school and since these are fragile years of life teachers have an important role for sure, but we have also to remember that even though this should be different the traditions and the culture of the place we grow up in influence our thought, and changing what someone older think isn’t always easy, so sometimes we are pushed to do something and be someone we are not just to please a cultural standard (like when girls chose to avoid some sports just because they are considered “masculine”).Luckily in the last years things are starting to move for the best but the road is still long and we have lots of things to change to assure that everybody in our society can feel included. In our everyday life  we can start by speaking about inequality and make sure to treat everybody with kindness by accepting and respecting  all the possible differences. 

So the teachers and the school are fundamental for the formation of the individual and their ideas about themself and the others, but also the family is needed to help kids to deeply understand who they are and what they can become. The government is also really important to fight all the problems linked to gender equality, such as the salary and maternity problems, and, at least in Europe, it is helping a lot through awareness-raising initiatives. Therefore, the project “Memorandum of understanding”, between the Ministry of Education, University & Research and National Equality Councillor at Social Policies Ministry of Labour, was born. That plan involved the constitution of a council which could guarantee gender equality in the working environment and it could be used as an example to be  spread all over in Europe and in the world. The European Union aim is to end gender violence, stereotypes and reduce gender gap in working environment and policy. Despite all the projects that the government and the schools are activating what has been done so far is not enough. Gender equality is farther than we can even imagine. As it has already been said there are too many illiterate women, and it is because they are denied education because of their gender or difficult economic conditions. However, there are women who fought and fight for their education: Thais was only 21 when she fought for her rights, into an environment full of corruption, crime and poverty, in the Brazilian poorest district. This is Thais’ experience, a woman who could build her future with her own hands, and today a teacher whose goal is to help the poorest girls to study and believe in themself and in their dreams. 

Group work by Erna Bektic, Ilenia Imberti, Veronica Rivieri, Chiara Rizzo, Ifra Shahzadi.

Cover photo by Aaron Burden

Sitografia:

• Frontiers – Influences of Teacher–Child Relationships and Classroom Social Management on Child-Perceived Peer Social Experiences During Early School Years
• National Library of Medicine – Observation of Children’s interactions with Teachers, Peers and Tasks across Preschool Cassroom Activity Settings
• Unicef – Girls’ education
• MIT Press Direct – Gender Stereotypes in the Classroom and Effects on Achievement
• Lifting Limits – Delivering gender equality through education
• Unesco – Gender inequalities in education
• Center for Global Development – Mind the Gap: 5 Facts About The Gender Gap in Education
• Miur
• Commissione europea
• Act!onaid – Istruzione: 3 donne che hanno lottato per il diritto di poter studiare