Male and Female Teachers and Aggression in the Classroom

Point of View Culminating Paper:

Stephanie Bryan EDUC 290 December 2013

In 2008, 76% of public school teachers were female (National Center for Education Statistics). What implications does this imbalance between male and female teachers have for the school environment and education of students? While some students do learn better from teachers of their own gender, and thus male students would be at a disadvantage, it seems more the case that schools are successful because of good teachingnot [because of] hiring more male teachers (Whitmire, 2010, p. 87). However, teachers gender does still play a role in the classroom. When a teacher enters the classroom, he brings with him his own personal beliefs, ideas, and characteristics. All of these aspects influence the ways that he teaches and interacts with his students, and gender is included in these characteristics. One way that male and female teachers differ is in their perceptions of aggression, as well as the ways that they respond to aggression with different styles of classroom management. To begin, it is important to distinguish between types of aggression. Aggression can be seen both directly and indirectly. Direct aggression refers to the outright verbal or physical acts that stem from aggressive emotions, including violence, teasing, taunting, and threatening. This type of aggression is arguably easier to identify and recognize when it is observed, and seems to fit the widely accepted definition of what aggression entails. Indirect aggression, on the other hand, can often go unnoticed or be classified as something other than an aggressive act. These untraditional aggressive acts fall into three subcategories: relational, indirect, and social. Overall, they are referred to as alternative aggression. Relational aggression refers to actions that damage friendships or other

relationships, or socially exclude an individual. Indirect aggression refers to the aggressive acts where the aggressor does not confront her target, and does not necessarily make it known that she is intending harm. Social aggression occurs when the attack is on a persons self-esteem or social status. All are closely related and are more subtle forms of aggression than physical fighting or outright teasing (Simmons, 2002, p. 20-21). The studies mentioned in this exploration of teachers perceptions of and responses to aggression will focus primarily on direct aggression, simply because it is more easily observed and identified. This in itself may lead to gender differences, as aggression is one of the largest and most reliable of the male-female differences (Eliot, 2009, p. 264). Although exceptions certainly exist, in general males are more likely to demonstrate acts of direct aggression while females are more likely to demonstrate indirect aggression. In a study conducted by Pellegrini, Bohn-Gettler, Dupuis, Hickey, Roseth and Solberg (2011), male and female adults observed preschoolers in the classroom, on the playground, and in the gymnasium. The observers recorded any aggressive actions they saw (both physical and direct verbal aggression). This study found that male observers more frequently recorded aggressive actions than female observers did. This could be attributed to the fact that males have had more personal experience with direct aggression than females. Males also tend to attribute male aggression to a need to defend masculinity (Weaver, Vandello, Bosson, & Burnaford, 2010, p. 247). Aggression is often considered a part of manhood, and failing to act aggressively breaks the Boy Code,

or the socially accepted set of characteristics that a male is expected to fulfill (Pollack, 2000, p. 108). While the studies mentioned thus far focus on differences in male and female perceptions of aggression in general, it is also worthwhile to specifically consider differences in male and female teachers perceptions of aggression in the classroom. Interestingly, there is some evidence that there exist no differences in teacher responding to behaviors based on student gender, [but there are]differences based on teacher gender. Specifically, female teachers rated the behaviors as more severe than their male counterparts (Noltemeyer, Kunesh, Hostutler, Frato, & SarrKerman, 2012, p. 98). One consequence of this finding is a possibility that a female teacher would respond to aggressive behavior more seriously than a male teacher would respond to that same behavior. This notion is explored in the results of a study conducted by Salvano-Pardieu, Fontaine, Bouazzaoui, and Florer (2009). This study found that female teachers punished first-time misbehaviors in students less severely than men did, but punished repeated misbehaviors more severely than men did. Academic level also played a role, as men punished the actions of highachieving students more severely than women did (Salvano-Pardieu et. al., 2009, p. 6-7). Clearly, factors outside of gender and perception of the aggression itself play a role in punishment. Another interesting finding regarding male and female teachers perceptions of aggression is with regards to students temperaments. Temperament is defined as a persons innate behavior style, or the basis from which all of their actions stem. Thus temperament includes an assessment of a persons disposition for aggressive

behaviors. Mullola, Ravaja, Lipsanen, Alatupa, Hintsanen, Jokela, and KeltikangasJarvinen (2012) conducted a study that analyzed connections between teachers gender and his or her assessment of students temperaments. This was done using the Temperament Assessment Battery for Children Revised. The teachers rated 41 items on a scale from one to five; the items fell into the categories of Activity, Persistence, Inhibition, and Negative emotionality. Negative emotionality is the category that is most pertinent to teachers perceptions of aggression, as it was comprised of overtly aggressive behaviors, such as, The pupil lets other students know when he/she does not like something by yelling and fighting (Mullola et. al., 2012, p. 190). This study found that both male and female teachers rated boys temperaments more negatively than girls. However, male teachers perceived a smaller difference between boys and girls than did female teachers. In other words, female teachers noted that male students demonstrated significantly more negative emotionality than female students, but male teachers did not note such a significant difference between genders. Beyond the perception of aggressive behaviors, the response to such behaviors may differ between genders. Although some of the studies previously mentioned discuss how male and female teachers may differ in their responses to aggressive behaviors in the classroom, such as the study by Salvano-Pardieu et. al. (2009) on the role of gender in punishments, classroom management in general should also be considered. A teachers approach to classroom management includes how he or she will try to prevent aggression in the classroom as well as how he or

she will respond to it when it does occur. Several studies support the idea that a teachers gender plays a role in his or her style of classroom management. The differences in classroom management between men and women seem to be based on an extension of the traits generally associated with each gender. Males are expected to fulfill a dominant and stereotypically manly role in society, and to reject all things feminine, including the sharing of fear, sorrow, and sadness;to maintain a cool, impenetrable veneer that says, I am on top; I need no help; nothing can hurt me (Pollack, 2000, p. 4). Men are encouraged to be seen as self-reliant and always in control of a situation. Women, on the other hand, face very different gender role expectations. Some of the rules of femininity are to be modest, selfabnegating, and demure;be nice and put others before themselves;[and] get power by who likes them, who approves, who they know, but not by their own hand (Simmons, 2002, p. 157). Women are encouraged to take a less dominant role than men and to avoid confrontation. It is not surprising, then, that studies have found that even when it comes to teaching styles womenare more likely to use helplessness as a way of influencing others.... Girls are more polite and less competitive while boys tend to be more assertive, aggressive, and dominant than girls (Martin, Yin, & Mayall, 2006, p. 4) It also seems to follow naturally from the male traits that research has found that male teachers are more controlling than their female counterparts and males are more likely to take control of conversation (Martin et. al., 2006, p. 4). In one study, surveys and interviews of students were used to assess the impact of a teachers gender and found that a larger proportion of men than women

emphasise the need for strict discipline, the importance of fear in maintaining classroom discipline, and the importance of the teacher maintaining a serious tone in the classroom (Chudgar & Sankar, 2008, p. 634). Of course, this study sampled only a small population of teachers and based its results on the opinions of students in the classrooms of those specific teachers, but the findings do seem to coincide with traditionally male traits and the emphasis on males often being more dominant and in control than females. The agreeability and people-pleasing traits of females, on the other hand, are seen in the finding that compared with male teachers, a relatively larger proportion of female teachers agree with the view that all children are equally capable of learning (Chudgar & Sankar, 2008, p. 634). In several informal conversations with my peers about professors and teachers that they have had during their education, I noted the words that they used when describing male educators versus those used when describing female educators. The most frequently occurring words used to describe female teachers were nice, helpful, and friendly, while the most frequently occurring words when describing male teachers were tough, smart, and cool. These words also lend support to the stereotypical expectations that women are nurturers who avoid confrontation, while men maintain an unwavering appearance of dominance. This could also contribute to why women perceive aggressive acts more severely than men do (Noltemeyer et. al., 2012). Women are conditioned by society to feel less in control than men do, so perhaps they would be more sensitive to actions in the classroom that threatened the control that they do have.

Another study, conducted by Green, Shriberg, and Farber, (2008), presented teachers with one of four scenarios that described a child engaging in aggressive or otherwise undesirable behaviors and had the teachers rate the severity of the scenario and also describe how they would react to the situation, especially noting if and when they would request assistance with the situation. In agreement with the findings of Salvano-Perdieu et. al. (2009) and Noltemeyer et. al. (2012), this study also found that female teachers rated scenarios as more severe than male teachers did. Further, female teachers were more likely to request assistance in these scenarios than male teachers it is noted that this may result from the fact that male teachers are socialized to downplay problematic behavior and to try to solve challenges on their own (Green et. al., 2008, p. 368). It could certainly also have to do with the fact that women are often socialized to be more helpless, and therefore more frequently feel that they need additional support in difficult scenarios. In considering the differences in teachers perceptions and responses to aggressive behavior in the classroom, it is important to note that teacher gender is certainly not the only factor. In fact, one study that sought to explore differences in classroom management styles of males and females as well as between teachers in rural and urban settings found little evidence of gender differences but did find significant differences between rural and urban teachers (Martin, Yin, & Baldwin, 1997). This demonstrates that school or community environment may also have an impact on teachers perspectives. Beyond this, many other factors exist in determining how teachers perceive or respond to aggression. One such factor is simply the teachers personality;

regardless of gender, some people will be more sensitive to aggression than others, and of course each individual will employ different methods of maintaining control in the classroom. The teachers background in classroom management training will also dictate how he or she believes it is best to manage a classroom and the types of behaviors that he or she will be more attentive to. The number of years of teaching experience that a teacher has can also be an influential factor; it has been found that practicing teachers with fewer years of teaching experience were significantly less likely to ignore behaviors [in the classroom] than respondents with more years of experience (Noltemeyer et. al., 2012, p. 105). Any preconceived notions or beliefs that a teacher has will impact how he or she assesses and deals with aggression in the classroom. No matter what factors are influencing the ways that a teacher identifies, perceives, and responds to aggression in the classroom, it is important that he is aware of those factors. While some aspects are unchangeable for example, gender or years of teaching experience it is still beneficial to have an awareness of the perspective from which one is approaching his management of the classroom. In doing so, he can better assess which practices are most effective, independent of the schemas he is bringing with him into the classroom. Different individuals perceive and react to aggression in different ways. In general, males and females often do view aggression differently, both in how it is identified or explained as well as how it should be dealt with. By recognizing these differences, along with the differences in how male and female students tend to display aggression, teachers can develop a better understanding of how to best manage their classrooms.

Bibliography Chudgar, A., & Sankar, V. (2008). The relationship between teacher gender and student achievement: Evidence from five Indian states. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 38(5), 627-642. doi: 10.1080/03057920802351465 Eliot, L. (2009). Pink brain blue brain. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Green, S.P., Shriberg, D., & Farber, S.L. (2008). Whats gender got to do with it? Teachers perceptions of situation severity and requests for assistance. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 18(4), 346-373. doi: 10.1080/1047441082463288 Martin, N.K, Yin, Z., & Baldwin, B. (1997). Beliefs regarding classroom management style: Differences between male and female, urban and rural secondary level teachers. Martin, N.K., Yin, Z., & Mayall, H. (2006). Classroom management training, teaching experience and gender: Do these variables impact teachers attitudes and beliefs toward classroom management style? Mullola, S., Ravaja, N., Lipsanen, J., Alatupa, S., Hintsanen, M., Jokela, M., & Keltikangas-Jarvinen, L. (2012). Gender differences in teachers perceptions of students temperament, educational competence, and teachability. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 185-206. doi: 10.1111/j.20448279.2010.02017.x National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). Fast facts: Teacher trends. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28. Noltemeyer, A., Kunesh, C., Hostutler, C., Frato, P., & Sarr-Kerman, B.J. (2012). The effects of student and teacher characteristics on teacher impressions of and responses to student behaviors. International Education Studies, 5(4), 96111. doi: 10.5539/ies.v5n4p96. Pellegrini, A. D., Bohn-Gettler, C.M., Dupuis, D., Hickey, M., Roseth, C., & Solberg, D. (2011). An empirical examination of sex differences in scoring preschool childrens aggression. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 109, 232-238. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2010.11.003 Pollack, W. S. (2000). Real boys voices. New York, NY: The Penguin Group.

Salvano-Pardieu, V., Fontaine, R., Bouazzaoui, B., & Florer, F. (2009). Sanction in the classroom: Effect of age, experience, and academic context. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2008.06.006 Simmons, R. (2002). Odd girl out. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Weaver, J.R., Vandello, J.A., Bosson, J.K., & Burnaford, R.M. (2010). The proof is in the punch: Gender differences in perception of action and aggression as components of manhood. Sex Roles, 62, 241-251. doi: 10.1007/s11199-0099713-6. Whitmire, R. (2010). Why boys fail. New York, NY: AMACOM.

10