Differential Teachers’ Attention to Boys and Girls in Mathematics Whole Class Interaction Sequences

Abstract

The relationship of gender to the quality and type of interaction in the mathematics classroom is a question that has concerned researchers for some time. Past studies have indicated that patterns of interaction can be gender-specific, despite individual teachers regarding themselves as teaching in a gender-neutral manner. Drawing on interaction theory and socialization theory, this quantitative observational study tracked the number and type of interactions in 38 high school Mathematics classes across three schools, involving 899 students and 26 teachers (12 male, 14 female). The study investigated whether there were significant gender differences in the treatment of students during their engagement in different types of questioning behavior. It found that there were significant gender differences at student level that favored boys, but that questioning behaviors amongst individual teachers were highly variable. Teachers’ gender did not explain the differences. It is recommended that gender awareness be incorporated into teacher training.