Gender and communication in children and school: aligning theory and evidence

Abstract

AbstractThere are many ways in which communication practices can be gendered. It is important to recognise and understand how, why, and in what contexts these can be observed. This paper focusses specifically on children and the context of formal schooling, analysing the empirical data and connecting it with theoretical analyses to provide an overall picture of gendered communication amongst children in educational contexts, especially with regard to classroom discussion. This paper demonstrates that masculine dominance in communication is present in children’s communication, and explanations for this occurrence fall on traditional gender stereotypes that still linger, to greater and lesser degrees, in all parts of our society, including education. Therefore, it is incumbent upon educators to be aware of this threat to gender equitable learning and plan accordingly.