Issue

Vol. 10 No. 3 (2021): Special Issue Gender II

Gender Inequalities in Pedagogical Classroom Practice: What Influence Do Teachers Make?

https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v10i3.90
Rehema Japhet Mwakabenga
Dar es Salaam University College of Education, Tanzania
Sotco Claudius Komba
College of Social Sciences and Humanities Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania

Corresponding Author(s) : Rehema Japhet Mwakabenga

rmwakabenga@gmail.com

Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), Vol. 10 No. 3 (2021): Special Issue Gender II

Abstract

Most Sub-Saharan African countries have made great efforts towards promoting gender
equality in gaining access to, and completing, education cycles. Regardless of such efforts,
less attention has been paid to gender-biased classroom practices that affect students’
effective learning. This disparity calls for nuanced understanding of teachers’ classroom
practices that perpetuate gender inequality with a view of devising mechanisms for
improvement. This paper specifically analyses patterns of gender inequalities caused by
teachers in the classroom through their knowledge, beliefs and behaviours. Data were
obtained from a review of 55 empirical and theoretical publications on gender in
education, of which 26 articles and research reports were scrutinised. The findings
revealed that there were several patterns through which teachers promote gender
inequalities during teaching, whereas making gender-biased attributions to students was
found to be the most typical one. Other patterns were related to teacher-students
interactions that favour one’s sex. It was also found that while some teachers promoted
gender inequalities intentionally, others did it unconsciously. Thus, it would seem that
classroom-based gender practices were mainly emanating from teachers’ preconceptions
and limited knowledge in gender matters. Based on this review, recommendations are
made to teachers, researchers, and policy makers in Tanzania to address gender
inequalities through improved classroom pedagogical practices, and professional
development for in-service and pre-service teachers.
 

Keywords

gender inequality, classroom practice, teachers, student learning, gender pedagogy
Gender Inequalities in Pedagogical Classroom Practice: What Influence Do Teachers Make?. (2021). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 10(3). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v10i3.90
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Author Biography

Sotco Claudius Komba, College of Social Sciences and Humanities Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania



How to Cite

Gender Inequalities in Pedagogical Classroom Practice: What Influence Do Teachers Make?. (2021). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 10(3). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v10i3.90
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