Teacher-Student Gender Consciousness Interaction and Teacher''s Pedagogical Position in a Gender-Related Class for General Education

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to describe the interaction of teacher-student gender consciousness and the dynamics of the changing process in a gender- related class.
Naturalistic inquiry was adopted and the researcher was as a participant observer. The foci of the study were formed in process of time, and data was collected throughout the whole semester. According to three sampling methods: maximum variation sampling, snowball sampling, and purposive sampling, 11 students as well as the teacher were selected and interviewed in-depth. The narrative data collected from in-depth interviews was transcribed and open-coded carefully, then analyzed by constant comparative method. In addition, the data collected from classroom observation and students'' written assignments was not analyzed but compared with that collected from interview as a triangulation to assure the trustworthiness of this study. The two main themes that emerged from the data were gender consciousness as well as the teacher''s pedagogical position. The findings were as follows:
1. The main influences of this gender-related course were on increasing students'' sensitivity to gender-related social phenomena, enlightening them to perceive the influence of gender to life, and re-considering the incidents relating to gender.
2. The key obstacle for students to develop their gender consciousness was due to the traditional teacher-student hierarchical relationship and the power discrepancy, but not the differences of gender consciousness, between the two.
3. Only if the teachers reconsider and change their instructional roles and strategies, students changing their perceptions to teachers'' pedagogical position will be possible. After all, teachers are as the key to decrease the power discrepancy between teacher-student relationship.
4. Teachers should consider the importance of students being learning subjects when they arrange and process their instruction.
Based on the above findings, suggestions for gender-related curriculum, teachers who teaching about gender issues, and future research were presented.

Date of Award	1999
Original language	English
Supervisor	Wei-Ming Luh (Supervisor)