Boys, Girls, and Everyone Else: Gender in the Classroom

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Boys, Girls, and Everyone Else: Gender in the Classroom

Educational Psychology · Chapter 5: Identity, Language, Morality, and the Whole ChildSection 5.7 · lesson 44 of 1008 min · free with a free account

← A Different Voice: Gilligan's Take on MoralityNext lesson: Born That Way or Raised That Way? The Gender Debate →

Earn 3 college credits for Educational PsychologyRecommended for credit by NCCRS · Psychology 120 · self-paced · one payment, lifetime access
Enroll in Educational Psychology · $250 →Download the syllabus (PDF)

In this lesson

Stereotype threat, identity-safe classrooms, and what silence communicates.

  • Distinguish sex, gender, gender identity and gender expression
  • Explain stereotype threat and its measured effects
  • Identify the three levels at which inclusive practice operates
  • Apply inclusive strategies to materials, interaction and policy

Transcript

Everything said in the video, section by section (1,083 words). Read along, or search it.

Identity, Language, Morality, and the Whole Child

Boys, Girls, and Everyone Else: Gender in the Classroom

A capable student stops putting her hand up in mathematics. Her grades are fine. Something else changed. This section is about gender in the classroom, and what it costs. We will start with four terms that are not synonyms. Sex, gender, gender identity, and gender expression. Then stereotype threat, which has a measurable effect on performance. Then how gendered messaging reaches course selection and careers. Then five inclusive practices, at three different levels. And why LGBTQ-plus inclusion is a safety issue, not only a curriculum one. The through-line is that constraint operates before choice does.

Definitions

Four Terms That Are Not Synonyms

Start with four terms, because they get used interchangeably. Biological sex refers to physical characteristics. Chromosomal, hormonal and anatomical. Gender refers to socially constructed roles and behaviors. Expressions, and identities associated with being a woman, a man, or another gender. Gender identity is a person's deeply held internal sense of their own gender. It may or may not align with the sex assigned at birth. Gender expression is the external presentation. Through clothing, behavior and appearance. Being precise about these four is practical, not fussy. Each names something different. Confusing them makes conversations with students harder than they need to be.

Schools As Agents

The Curriculum Teaches Gender Too

Schools have historically been powerful socializing agents for gender. Usually without any intention of being so. Consider the ordinary examples. Picture books that show only mothers in kitchens. Expectations that boys will excel in mathematics. And that girls will excel in reading. None of that is stated as a rule anywhere. All of it is transmitted reliably. And the cost is specific. School environments can reinforce stereotypes that constrain aspirations. That constrain identities, too. And the constraint operates before any student has chosen anything.

Stereotype Threat

Anxiety With a Measurable Cost

Stereotype threat is the mechanism worth understanding in detail. It is the anxiety students feel when they are at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about their group. Steele and Aronson demonstrated it experimentally. They found that reminding African American students of their race before a standardized test reduced their scores. Simply reminding them. Nothing else changed. Similar effects have been shown for girls in mathematics. Now notice carefully what is doing the damage here. It is not the stereotype being true, because it is not. It is not the student believing it. It is the cognitive anxiety of being at risk of confirming it. That anxiety consumes working memory, during the test itself.

Academic Effects

How Stereotypes Reach the Transcript

Gender stereotypes about ability have measurable academic effects. They affect performance, course selection, and career aspirations. Take girls and mathematics. Girls who internalize the belief that mathematics is a male domain are less likely to pursue STEM courses. And this holds even when their actual abilities equal male peers. Or exceed them, which is the striking part. Now take boys and literacy. Boys who perceive reading and writing as feminine activities disengage. But these patterns are not inevitable. They are products of social messaging. And a pattern with a cause has a point of intervention.

Three Levels

Where Inclusive Practice Operates

Inclusive practice operates at three levels, and all three are needed. The first is curriculum materials. Whose stories are told, and who is represented in them. The second is teacher-student interaction. Who gets called on. Whose contributions are treated as valuable. That level is largely invisible to the teacher doing it. The third is structural policies. Dress codes. Bathroom access. Athletics. Consider what happens if you work at only one level. A diverse reading list inside a school with exclusionary policies sends two contradictory messages. And students read the structural one as the real one.

Key Idea

Identity-Safe Classrooms

Here is the key idea, and it has a name. An identity-safe classroom is one where students' social identities are valued. Rather than treated as threats to achievement. And the research findings are practical. Students who feel their gender identity is seen and respected are more engaged in class. They are more likely to seek help when they need it. And more likely to form positive relationships with teachers and peers. Those are all academic outcomes. Teachers reduce stereotype threat by affirming individual capabilities. And by building that environment deliberately. Not by avoiding the subject, which does not make it go away.

Five Strategies

What Inclusive Practice Looks Like

Five inclusive strategies, and each is concrete. Gender-neutral language. Use inclusive terms in speech and writing. Say students, rather than boys and girls. Diverse representation. Include books, examples and role models. Feature scientists, leaders and artists of all genders. Examine your materials. Review textbooks and resources for stereotyping. Replace older books that show only gendered occupations. Safe signaling. Create visible signals that all identities are welcome. Safe space stickers, and inclusive policy statements. And address stereotypes directly when they arise. Why do we assume scientists are men? That question, asked once in a class discussion, does real work.

In Practice

Auditing a Reading List

Here is one of those strategies applied. A middle school English teacher audits her reading list. She discovers that ninety-five percent of featured authors are male and cisgender. That was not a policy. It was an accumulation. So she diversifies the list. She includes authors who identify as women, as non-binary, and as LGBTQ-plus. Student engagement increases markedly. Particularly among students who had previously expressed disinterest in reading. Several said the same thing, in different words. They were seeing characters and authors who looked like them. The audit cost an afternoon, and changed who the list was addressed to.

LGBTQ+ Students

A Safety Question, Not Only a Curriculum One

For LGBTQ-plus students, this is a safety question first. Research consistently shows disproportionate rates of harm. Bullying. Harassment. And school avoidance. School avoidance means missed instruction, which compounds. But the same research shows what helps. Schools with inclusive policies significantly reduce those outcomes. So do affirming curricula, and visible support systems. At the level of an individual teacher, three practices matter. Use affirming language, as a default rather than an exception. Respond immediately to homophobic remarks. Immediately, because a delayed response reads as permission. And acknowledge diverse family structures as ordinary.

Why It Matters

Constraint Operates Before Choice

The through-line of this section is worth stating once more. Gendered messaging shapes what students believe is available to them. It does that long before they make any explicit choice. Which is why silence on the subject is not neutral. A classroom that never addresses stereotypes does not avoid them. It leaves the existing messages in place. And it adds one piece of information. That this teacher does not contest them. Meanwhile, a student who feels seen behaves differently. They are more engaged. They ask for help sooner. They build better relationships with teachers and peers. Those are academic outcomes, reached by a route that does not look academic.

About Educational Psychology at UPI Study

Educational Psychology (Psychology 120) is a self-paced online course of 100 video lessons in 11 chapters, from memory, conditioning and child development to motivation, individual differences, assessment, instruction and educational technology. It carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits.

Every lesson transcript is free on pages like this one, and the videos are free with a free UPI Study account. Enrolling adds a practice quiz after each lesson, the graded work and final exam that earn the credit, lifetime access, and an official transcript on completion. UPI Study has helped over 130,000 students with college credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

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Why take it here

Why students take Educational Psychology with UPI Study

How people learn, and how to teach themEducational Psychology explains how students learn, develop and stay motivated, and how teachers assess and support them. It is a standard course in education and teaching degrees and a common psychology elective.
Credit at a fraction of the priceThe same 3 credits can cost $750 or more at a US college. Here it is one payment, self-paced, with lifetime access.
Finish your degree soonerTransfer credits reduce the courses you still owe, so you can graduate earlier or lighten a heavy semester.
Strengthen an applicationA completed college-level course on an official transcript shows admissions and scholarship committees you can do the work.
Study on your own scheduleNo start dates, no deadlines. Watch the lessons, practice, and take the final when you are ready.
130,000+students helped with college creditsACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Where the credit goes

Universities that work with NCCRS

Educational Psychology carries a NCCRS credit recommendation. These universities work with NCCRS; some are UPI Study's signed partners. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Thomas Edison State UniversityThomas Edison State UniversitySigned partnerUniversity of the PeopleUniversity of the PeopleSigned partnerCharter Oak State CollegeCharter Oak State CollegeSigned partnerStrayer UniversityStrayer UniversitySigned partnerColumbia Southern UniversityColumbia Southern UniversitySigned partnerIndiana TechIndiana TechSigned partnerPenn StatePenn StateWorks with NCCRSSouthern New Hampshire UniversitySouthern New Hampshire UniversityWorks with NCCRSSUNYSUNYWorks with NCCRS +many more cooperating universitiesFind my college →

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FAQ

Questions students ask us

About Boys, Girls, and Everyone Else: Gender in the Classroom

What is the difference between sex, gender, gender identity and gender expression?
Biological sex refers to physical characteristics, including chromosomes, hormones and anatomy. Gender refers to socially constructed roles, behaviors and identities associated with being a woman, a man or another gender. Gender identity is a person's deeply held internal sense of their own gender, which may or may not align with the sex assigned at birth. Gender expression is how a person presents externally through clothing, behavior and appearance.
Why is LGBTQ+ inclusion a safety issue in schools?
LGBTQ+ inclusion is a safety issue because research consistently shows these students face disproportionate rates of bullying, harassment and school avoidance, and missed school compounds into lost learning. Schools with inclusive policies, affirming curricula and visible support systems significantly reduce those outcomes. Individual teachers help by using affirming language by default, responding immediately to homophobic remarks, since a delayed response can read as permission, and treating diverse family structures as ordinary.
How do gender stereotypes affect students' course and career choices?
Gender stereotypes about ability can shape performance, course selection and career aspirations. Girls who internalize the belief that math is a male domain are less likely to pursue STEM courses, even when their abilities equal or exceed those of male peers, while boys who see reading and writing as feminine may disengage from literacy. These patterns are products of social messaging, which means teachers can intervene, for example by featuring diverse role models.
What is an identity-safe classroom?
An identity-safe classroom is one where students' social identities are valued rather than treated as threats to achievement. Students who feel their gender identity is seen and respected tend to be more engaged, more likely to seek help, and more likely to build positive relationships with teachers and peers. Building one involves inclusive materials, fair interaction patterns and supportive policies, along with habits like using affirming language and responding immediately to homophobic remarks.

About the Educational Psychology course

How many college credits is Educational Psychology?
Educational Psychology (Psychology 120) carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
How much does Educational Psychology cost and what is included?
$250, paid once, with lifetime access: all 100 video lessons, a practice quiz after each, the graded work and final exam, and an official transcript when you finish. Students who want several courses choose UPI Study PRO instead.
Which universities accept UPI Study credits?
UPI Study has signed partner agreements with universities such as Thomas Edison State University, University of the People and Charter Oak State College, and works with universities such as Penn State, SNHU and SUNY. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Use "Find my college" on this page to check yours.
How long does Educational Psychology take?
It is self-paced with no deadlines. The 100 lessons total about 15 hours of video; most students add reading and practice time and finish in a few weeks to a few months, on their own schedule.
How are the exams done?
Quizzes and assignments are online in the course. The final exam is taken online with proctoring; a person on the UPI Study team checks assignments, usually within two days.
How do my credits reach my college?
When the course shows 100% complete, request the official transcript from your dashboard. It is sent to the college you name, and you can send it to more than one. Check your college first with "Find my college" on this page, or ask Athena.

Ready for the full course? Earn 3 credits in Educational Psychology.

100 video lessons, a quiz after each one, and the graded work that earns the credit. Recommended for credit by NCCRS.

Enroll in Educational Psychology →Download the syllabusEvery course with PRO →
Educational Psychology
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