Sociology & You

Chapter 12: Education

Web Activity Lesson Plans

"Sexism in the Classroom"

Introduction
In this chapter, students learned about the basic functions of education as well as the ways in which schools socialize children. Classroom teachers, who are usually a child's first authority figure outside the family, have a unique and important role in socializing children. Sometimes, teachers affect children unintentionally, and even well-meaning teachers unconsciously transmit sexist expectations of how male and female students should behave. In this activity students will take a closer look at sexism in schools.

Lesson Description
Students will visit a few Web sites to read articles about sexism in the classroom. They will learn about studies that have been conducted to analyze the treatment of male and female students in the classroom. They will then conduct a study of their own to find out how classrooms of the past compare to classrooms of the present.

Instructional Objectives

1. Students will be able to determine the validity of the sampling method used in a study.
2. Students will be able to summarize examples of and reasons behind gender bias in the classroom.
3. Students will be able to compare and contrast classrooms of the past and present in terms of student-teacher interaction and gender bias.