Gender bias staggering impact on boys and girls school marks

Researchers have found teachers who endorse gender stereotypes hold a grading bias, leading to teachers marking students they think will be less competent in the subject more favourably.

Loreto College grade 3 students Mina and Collette. Picture: Tom Huntley

A gender bias leads to boys being marked down in maths because teachers feel sorry for less confident girls, new research shows. But the opposite applies in humanities, with boys given more generous marks to compensate against their perceived lower ability.

This widescale gender bias was uncovered by German researchers, who found teachers who endorsed gender stereotypes had a grading bias, but those who did not endorse gender stereotypes did not.

This leads to teachers marking students they think will be less competent in the subject more favourably.

“The gender stereotyped as less competent in the subject (i.e. girls in mathematics, boys in German) was graded more favourably,” lead author Dr Caroline Schuster reported in the Social Psychology of Education Journal.

Presbyterian Ladies College students Vaishnavi, Grace and Ruth with maths teacher Dr. David Treeby. Picture: Aaron Francis

The assumption was based on the notion that the students with less talent had to work harder.

It comes as gender gaps continue to plague school subjects, with NAPLAN results showing boys outperform girls in maths at every level but girls are better at reading, spelling and grammar.

University of South Australia researchers say one third of students suffers from maths anxiety arising from gendered views of subject competence.

Dr Florence Gabriel, a lecturer in STEM education, said most of these students were girls who had negative attitudes to maths and doing maths tests.

“This increased anxiety can come from exposure to gender stereotypes, especially those transmitted by female teachers who themselves might be anxious about maths,” she said.

A recent report from Helen Connolly, the South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young people, found both girls and boys in schools face gendered differences, stereotypes and expectations from teachers and peers.

Boys and girls both faced gendered stereotypes from teachers and peers.

“Regarding school subjects, young men identified science and maths or STEM subjects as ‘male’ subjects in that they underpin financially lucrative careers such as engineering or technology,” Ms Connolly said.

“Many girls and young women spoke about the impact the expectation of motherhood has on their career aspirations,” she said.

“It is clear from conversations with children and young people that they are well aware of the way gender stereotypes, harassment, and sexism impacts almost every aspect of their lives, from their subject choices and career aspirations to their relationships, appearance, self-esteem and mental health,” Ms Connolly said.

Loren Bridge, executive officer of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia, said such discrimination did not exist in girls’ schools because educators “are acutely aware that societal gender biases exist and it is their role to equip girls with the skills to tackle those in the world beyond school”.