1. GENDER COMMUNICATION
EDUCATION
Elizabeth Davis
CMS 498; Professor Ebben

2. Sociologist Patricia Yancey Martin (2004) outlines 12
characteristics of social institutions. Institutions
(1) are social,
(2) persist across time and space,
(3) have distinct social practices that are repeated,
(4) constrain and facilitate behavior,
(5) designate social positions characterized by
expectations and norms,
(6) are constituted by people,
(7) are internalized as part of people’s identities

3. Sociologist Patricia Yancey Martin (2004) outlines 12
characteristics of social institutions. Institutions
(8) have a legitimating ideology,
(9) are contradictory,
(10) continually change,
(11) are organized and permeated by power, and
(12) are not separable into micro and macro
phenomena. (pp. 1256–1258)

4. GENDER IN INSTITUTIONS IS CHALLENGING
Reasons
 1) Institutions are amorphous. Institutions are the
practices and beliefs that link groups and
organizations together.
 2) Institutions are large and pervasive in society.
 3) Institutions are interdependent.
 4) They normalize rules and values—make them
seem natural and universal.
 5) Institutions change constantly and embrace
contradictory values and norms.

5. Why it is Difficult
Institutional forces influence how
people perform their gender identities.
*Institutions communicate gender and
are gendered through communication.
*Studying gender/sex is complex
because gender/sex is constructed at
both the micro and macro levels at the
same time.

6. Race, ethnicity, social class, and other social categories also affect
a child’s learning opportunities.
Interestingly, British education scholars Becky Francis and Christine
Skelton (2005) suggest the popular focus on the gender/sex of
students rather than race and social class may simply be
happening because it is an easier option for the government to
address.
It is less political than race because it raises fewer questions about
social injustices in the current educational system.

7. The reality is that schools are not
typically expected to bring about social
equality or cultural change, but rather
to maintain the existing culture and its
values, thus to maintain the current
hegemonic relations (Stabiner, 2002).
This clip may seem comical reflecting
the school of the past? But, many
would argue that there are aspects
that still rear their heads.

8. Intersectionality is key to understanding
gender in education.
This means incorporating elements of race,
ethnicity, sex, citizenship status, religion, and
social class to better understand the complicated
elements at play (DeFranciso and Palczewski,
2014).

9.  The results are mixed as to
which system is better.
Should students be in same
sexed classes? Do boys do
better than girls when
separated?
 The information is
inconclusive and by the
time the results are in from a
study, there is a new line of
thought.
 It continues to be difficult at
best to determine what
method is best and most
suitable for boys and girls.
We do not know!
Social class and gender 'have huge
effect on the way pupils are taught'

10. Classroom interactions: No other social institution
promotes the notion that girls and boys are different as
constantly as education. Whether meaning to or not,
teachers and administrators tend to make sex
distinctions a central part of children’s identities
(DeFranciso, Palczewski, 2014)

11. SERIOUS ISSUES IN EDUCATION
Hidden curriculum: It is gendered, raced, classed and
heterosexist.
It is educational practices that implicitly assume a
White, male, middle-class standard for both the
knower and that which needs to be known.
This can result when powerful groups decide and
influence what goes in our textbooks.

12. Peer Pressure, Bullying and Harassment
In my opinion peer pressure is responsible for
incalculable damage. Its effect is difficult to measure
or control. Schools must do a better or job of
managing and recognizing it.
Bullying and harassment go hand in hand with peer
pressure. If the behavior is not supported, it will
discontinue. Unfortunately, it is subtly and sometimes
openly supported.

13. World Bank Gender Project
Incorporating gender strategies to
make it a better world which
necessarily encompasses
Education.
Communication is global and we
must incorporate
And investigate what may be a
Better way of viewing and
Understanding the world.
https://youtu.be/wT3i0OWQXuU

14. At the top, Education is a male controlled profession because that is
what has been socially constructed by the power elite. These are
my thoughts.
By taking the authors suggestions of becoming more sensitive to the
institutional workings and starting small and noticing the little things
that become ingrained and reinforce the power structure, we may
be able to effect change.
Each chapter, including the introduction and last chapter
essentially challenges us to see the inequality and injustice that is
socially constructed and to point it out when you see it and take a
part in correcting harmful practices when possible. But, do not
contribute to making things worse.

15. YouTube Video
Gender & Education cstubbe
Published December 18, 2013
https://youtu.be/vicEy08TJlw

16. Educational Amendment Act of 1972, Title IX
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be
excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or
be subjected to discrimination under any education
program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
*It is playing an essential role in a nation-wide cultural shift
toward more flexible gender roles whereby people have
more socially sanctioned options available in how they live
their lives.

17. Some possible solutions: Keep Learning
Be mindful of the things you read in the
course
Speak up when you notice hurtful
language
Do not be a contributor to furthering injustice
Take note of institutional patterns and see where
things can be adjusted for the better.
View Identity from an intersectional approach
Put your new found cultural gendered lens to good
use by observing and then speaking up and then
possibly changing.

18. Emancipatory Education
For education to be truly egalitarian institution, people must
embrace emancipatory education: educational practices that
seek to challenge accepted categories, unexamined norms, and
repressive practices.
a gender-relevant model
includes girls and boys, as it attempts to make the gendered
dimension of social life and education a part of the discussion.
Educators directly address stereotypical assumptions as a part of
the lesson, albeit reading, writing, math, or science
(Connell, 2000).
It is these types of approaches that will find success if given a
chance. Hardworking and observant people can make things
better even when going up against institutionalized policy.

19. References
Connell, R. W. (2000). The men and the boys. Berkeley: University of California Press
DeFrancisco, V. L., & Palczewski, C. H. (2014). Gender in communication: A critical
introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
Francis, B. & Skelton, C. (2005). Reassessing gender and achievement: Questioning
contemporary key debates. London: Routledge
Martin, Patricia Y. (2004, June). Gender as a social institution. Social Forces, 82(4),
1249-1273.
World Bank. (2015,May 15). Towards a World Bank Group Gender Strategy.
Retrieved from https://youtu.be/wT3i0OWQXuU
Cstubbe (2018, Dec 18). Gender & Education. Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/vicEy08TJlw