Wanting Your Opinion

Teacher's gender affects how well kids learn, study suggests:    

For all the differences between the sexes, here's one that might stir up debate in the teacher's lounge: Boys learn more from men and girls learn more from women.

That's the upshot of a provocative study by Thomas Dee, an associate professor of economics at Swarthmore College and visiting scholar at Stanford University. His study was to appear Monday in Education Next, a quarterly journal published by the Hoover Institution.

Vetted and approved by peer reviewers, Dr. Dee's research faces a fight for acceptance. Some leading education advocates dispute his conclusions and the way in which he reached them.

But Dr. Dee says his research supports his point, that gender matters when it comes to learning. Specifically, as he describes it, having a teacher of the opposite sex hurts a student's academic progress....

Dr. Dee said he isolated a teacher's gender as an influence by accounting for several other factors that could affect student performance. But his study is sure to be scrutinized.

“The data, as he presents them, are far from convincing,” said Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, which works to advance the progress of women.

Ms. Greenberger said she found Dr. Dee's conclusions to be questionable and inconsistent. More broadly, she said, boys and girls benefit by having male and female teachers as role models.

“I don't think there are many parents or students, looking back over their educational careers, who haven't been inspired by a teacher of the opposite sex,” she said.

Dr. Dee said his research raises valid questions.

Does  the findings  of this study surprise  you? Do you believe that a teacher's gender has a strong influence in the classroom? Have you been inspired by a teacher of the opposite sex?

Comments

[kenju]

I think the intelligence and personality of the teacher have more influence on students than gender. I was greatly inspired by my male college English professor and also a male Sociology professor. In high school, I was more apt to like female teachers, but it was not because they were females.

[Mamacita]

SOME girls learn better from female teachers and SOME boys learn better from male teachers. And vice versa. It's all about personality and attitude. It is not something that can be generalized. Children are people and people are varied and should not be categorized or stereotyped with a bogus study like this one.

I have been inspired by teachers of both sexes, but mainly by male teachers. That's just me and it was a coincidence of placement.

Sometimes I wish that researchers, etc, would just leave our teachers and our children alone, and let them learn from one another how best to make the world a better place.

Oh, and if anybody quotes that 'blueberry' story again I might have to scream, loudly.

[pickalish]

My 5th and 6th grade teachers were both male, and I spent 8 hours a day with them. I learned more from them than I ever did from a woman teacher. That was just my experience. I related better to the male teachers I had....now i'm wondering why that was?!

[Paula]

I take most studies with a grain of salt--and this one with the whole shaker.

[Uisce]

I've never ever thought about this before, but the three teachers I look back on who had the most influence on me, and they were just fantastic teachers. It happens they were all men. I don't know if this is just coincidence or not.

[Jennie]

I don't know about the study, but if all three boys of mine were in school, I'd love nothing more than a great respectable warm smart man teaching them and modeling for them. Plus, at a certain age, I think the more good men around boys teaching them how to be men is awesome and same for women/girls. The teacher's I loved in high school were almost all men. One inspired me into teaching science.

[Chrysalis]

I think it's irresponsible to form an opinion about the reported results of a study, until you've read the actual study. Media are consistently irresponsible in reporting research science. It's a pity story with 'response' potential. Reading the source material is the only way to start forming a proper opinion.

[Cyndy]

One male Spanish teacher, who was a wonderfully intelligent and charismatic person even being an Olympic medalist for swimming inspired me. Basically most of my teachers were women (nuns)

[rampantbicycle]

I don't know, it never seemed to make much difference to me whether the teacher was male or female. What I remember about the ones that taught me most and inspired me to better things is a more nebulous quality...a sort of energy that seemed to hover round them making everything interesting and exciting.

[anniebird]

I don't want to make Mamacita scream, but I have to ask now because I'm curious...what's the "blueberry story"?

[Michele]

Anniebird,

I was also curious, so I did a quick search and I think this: http://teachers.net/gazette/JUN02/vollmer.html is the "blueberry story".

If I am wrong, could someone please inform Anniebird and I what the infamous "blueberry story" is. Could the same person please refrain from quoting the story to Mamacita. I imagine none of us wish to make her scream.

[Gypsy]

I had wonderful teachers of both sexes, but in my early education I probably felt more comfortable with women teachers.

[utenzi]

I pay more attention to female professors so I suspect I learn better from them. I can't say what other students experience though.

[Goldie]

I think both girls and boys learn better from good teachers and worse from crappy ones, regardless of their gender.

[Goldie]

Google and ya shall find... here it is, the blueberry story.

http://teachers.net/gazette/JUN02/vollmer.html

[Chrissie]

I think I personally learned more from Male teachers.
My Kindergarten teacher, Mr. Oliver, was excellent but he had to leave half way through the year... (never knew why) and I ended up with a woman teacher I didn't like. This may have tainted my thinking throughout my school years.

[Mamacita]

Yes, that's the blueberry story. The first year, it was cute. The second year, it was a re-run. The third, fourth, fifth, sixth. . . . . .well, you get the picture.

And then there was that year the school paid a woman eight thousand dollars for an in-service seminar and it was based on that story.

I won't mention the several times this story was read to us from a podium by an administrator.

[Shephard]

Yeah. Far from conclusive.
My opinion, as a gay man, is that gender gets in the way as often as it helps out. And his research of course is ignoring that 20% of the students who are gay who don't fit the narrow reasons he claims are limiting students.
Myself... if a teacher is kind, attentive, funny, creative and passionate... it wouldn't matter WHAT gender they are. Can't believe someone is spending money on studies like this.

~S