Week 13 Tutorial

How teachers can avoid stigmatizing

children in the assessment process
When a person receives unfair treatment
or alienation due to a social stigma, the
effects can be detrimental. Social stigmas
are defined as any aspect of an
individuals identity that is devalued in a
social context.
These stigmas can be categorized as
visible or invisible, depending on whether
the stigma is readily apparent to others.
Visible stigmas refer to characteristics
such as race, age, gender, physical
disabilities, or deformities, whereas
invisible stigmas refer to characteristics
such sexual orientation, gender identity,
religious affiliation, early pregnancy,
certain diseases, or mental illnesses.
When individuals possess invisible
stigmas, they must decide whether or not
to reveal their association with a
devalued group to others.
The Consequences of Sexual Discrimination
Much discriminatory behavior toward women is not
deliberate, since most teachers consciously wish to
treat all students fairly.
Teachers who tacitly or overtly devalue women
students can diminish students' confidence and
enthusiasm for learning and create long-lasting
impediments to academic, professional and
personal growth. In particular, discrimination can
discourage both classroom participation and the
seeking of help outside of class, can cause women
students to avoid or drop classes to change majors,
and can undermine their scholarly and career
aspirations.
The Consequences of Sexual Discrimination
The damage is the same when the discrimination is
based on race, religion, age or other physical or
cultural characteristics.
Awareness of sexual discrimination in the classroom
also has made them more conscious of ways they
may discriminate against other kinds of students.
Data from CSUN Women's Studies classes in 1983,
reveal that sexual discrimination in the classroom
takes two basic forms: generic discrimination
against women and discrimination against women
as individuals or as part of a classroom group.
Examples of Discrimination Against Women in General
Pejorative statements.
Explicit use of derogatory terms or stereotype
generalizations, such as "Older women don't belong in
college" or "Women don't think geographically.
Sexist humor.
Use of "humorous" images or statements that demean or
trivialize women, such as jokes about "fat housewives" or
"dumb blondes." In many instances women are portrayed
primarily as sexual beings.
Discriminatory stereotypes.
Reinforcing sexist stereotypes through subtle, often
unintentional means, such as by using classroom examples in
which professional people, such as psychologists, managers or
politicians, always are referred to as men.

Examples of Discrimination Against Women in General
Language that marginalizes or ignores women.
Continual use of generic masculine terms like "he" or "man" to refer
to people of both sexes. While such constructions are technically
correct, there is evidence that they evoke masculine images in
students' minds and effectively eliminate women as subjects of
discourse, even though the elimination may be unintentional. For
example, one CSUN student called attention to a textbook statement
that she paraphrased as saying that "culture affects all of man's
activities, including the food he eats, the gods he worships and the
person he takes as a wife." Clearly this statement shows how easily
women can be rendered peripheral or invisible by equating the
generic "man" with "men."

Examples of Discrimination Against Women as Individuals
Habitually recognizing and calling on men more often than
women in class discussions.
Interrupting female students more often than males, or
allowing others in the class to do so.
Addressing the class as if no women were present by using
statements such as "When you were boys..." or "Ask your
wives..."
Listening more attentively and responding more extensively
to comments made by men than to those made by women.
One CSUN student said of her professor that "he didn't hear
women students."
Treating women who ask extensive questions and challenge
grades as trouble makers when men are not treated this way.
Re-entry women at CSUN report that some professors seem
to feel threatened by their presence since they are more likely
than younger women to challenge and question.

Techniques for Eliminating Sexual
Discrimination in the Classroom
Make accurate statements. When making general
statements about women (or any other subject), be
sure that they are accurately based on reliable
information. Universal generalizations about any social
group, such as "Women don't think geographically," are
likely, at best, to represent uncritical oversimplifications
of selected norms.
Use humor with care. Avoid humor or gratuitous
remarks that demean or belittle women, just as you
would avoid remarks that demean or belittle people
because of their race, religion or physical
characteristics. Respect the dignity of all students.
Techniques for Eliminating Sexual
Discrimination in the Classroom
Watch your language. Avoid as much as possible
using generic masculine terms to refer to people of
both sexes. Although the effort to do this may
involve some initial discomfort, it may also result in
more precise communication and understanding.
Watch out for stereotypes. When using illustrative
examples, try to avoid stereotypes, such as making
all authority figures men and all subordinates
women.
Techniques for Eliminating Sexual
Discrimination in the Classroom
Monitor your behavior. Try to monitor or get
somebody else to monitor your behavior toward men
and women in the classroom. For example:
Do you give more time to male than to female
students?
Do you treat male students more seriously than
female students?
Are you systematically more attentive to questions,
observations and responses made by male students?
Do you direct more of your own questions,
observations and responses to male than to female
students?
Techniques for Eliminating Sexual
Discrimination in the Classroom
Ask for feedback. Encourage your department to
add a question concerning discriminatory behavior
in the classroom to those asked on teaching
evaluations.
Avoid using discriminatory materials in your
courses. Choose course material that neither
ignores nor deprecates women or uses sexist
language.
Monitor your students behavior. Make sure that
students treat each other with respect, regardless
of their gender differences.