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Gender construction at school

Schools play a powerful role in constructing masculine (and feminine) identities. They influence how boys and girls see themselves and each other. Schools are places of intense interaction where both the formal and informal curriculum shape students' understandings about gender.

… schools help to teach boys about being male and becoming men … They learn there are male and female ways of being a student, a friend, a worker, a sports person, a teacher and a partner. They also learn that there are different ways of being a male, some more powerful and prestigious than others …

(Kenway 1997:6)

Those of us who work in schools cannot pretend to be outside the process of gender construction. In conducting our daily business we send messages, set boundaries and respond with support, disinterest or censure to the acting out of different masculinities and femininities. These gender behaviours affect teaching and learning. Our central role gives us responsibilities to be aware of our influence and to empower students to understand, evaluate and make informed choices about gendered behaviour.

Every day attitudes and beliefs about gender are brought into the classroom and influence what is taught and how it is taught. Nothing is neutral. Teachers take part, with students, in constructing gender in daily interactions and relationships.

(Department of Education, Training and Employment, SA 2001:2)

To ignore gender is to ignore a powerful force in school life. On the other hand, accepting the challenge of working with gender as a central issue provides new ways of moving forward.

… as gender is such a feature of our lives and because an understanding of gender offers useful insights into educational issues and problems, … educational change should not remain gender blind.

(Kenway 1997:xviii)

Understanding how schools contribute to the social construction of masculinities helps teachers, parents and students to address issues of importance for boys, including the antisocial and violent behaviours that occur in schools and impact on student and teacher welfare, and social and academic outcomes.

… masculine identities are at the core of many of the problems some boys have, from suicide to literacy … addressing the issues of masculinity will also begin to address these problems.

(Kenway 1997:7)

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