Gender Bias in the College Algebra Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine instructor-student interactions in the College Algebra classroom for gender bias. Three measuring instruments were constructed to answer five research questions. These instruments included a Researcher Observation Code Sheet, an Instructor Questionnaire, and a Student Questionnaire. One of the research questions required triangulation of all three perspectives for the interactions.Participants included four mathematics instructors, 54 female students and 45 male students. Eighty-one students filled out the Student Questionnaire. The researcher coded 764 interactions.Findings showed most interactions involved instructors posing open questions to the class. Students mostly called out answers. Lower-level questions were asked the most by instructors.Male and female students responded almost equally to male and female instructor's questions. Male students received more positive responses from female instructors and females received more negative responses from male instructors. More students with male instructors were silent in class. Female students interacted more in male taught classes and female students communicated more via questions/comments in female-taught classes.Students perceived instructors called on them by name, pointing, or eye contact. Although male students thought they had more interactions than females, male students in male-taught classes thought females had more interactions with instructors. Female instructors tended to ignore students more than male instructors. More male students thought they were ignored than females. Female students thought instructors responded to them more positively than male students did. Students also thought that male and female students interacted with questions/comments equally regardless of instructor sex. Furthermore, students reported that instructor sex did not matter.Instructors reported their interactions with students as equitable, they knew all or most of the students' names, and treated both sexes equally when responding to them. Male instructors thought female students participated more, whereas female instructors thought males did. Most instructors classified their classroom climate as warm, friendly, or laid back.Triangulation of the three different perceptions showed that in most instances, instructor-student interactions were not perceived the same. However, all three were in agreement on classroom climate.