Perspectives on Gender Equity Instruction in Teacher Education Programs.

Overview & Synopsis

This research involved two studies--one of teacher education students and one of teacher education faculty--to examine preservice teachers' views about gender equity in learning and schooling and the role of preservice instruction in addressing gender issues in education. The student assessment instrument examined three major categories of gender-equitable classroom practices, including teacher-student interactions, classroom management/organization, and teacher expectations. Participants were 758 student teachers at 3 universities. The faculty assessment instrument included examples of 30 gender-related topics that might be included in the teacher education curricula. Faculty had to rate the extent to which they included the topics in their classes and the extent to which they thought the topics should be included somewhere in preservice education. Participants were 247 full-time teacher educators in 29 preservice teacher education institutions. Data analysis indicated that there were low levels of student teacher knowledge about gender-equitable classroom practices, low levels of faculty instruction about gender, and high levels of faculty advocacy on gender as an appropriate topic for instruction in teacher education. (Contains 10 tables and 69 references.) (SM)