ERIC Number: ED407669
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1997-Mar
Pages: 16
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
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Available Date: N/A
Educators' Stances toward Gender Issues in Literacy.
Commeyras, Michelle; And Others
A study examined literacy professionals' interest in gender issues in literacy education. A total of 1,519 K-12 teachers; reading specialists; teacher educators in reading, language arts, and related fields; library media specialists; and school administrators who make policy decisions related to literacy education completed a survey. Results indicated that: (1) 87% of respondents identified themselves as White/Caucasian/European American, and 82% supported an eclectic approach to literacy instruction that combines basic skills with whole language; (2) 85% were somewhat to very interested in knowing about gender issues in literacy education; and (3) 52% thought that the behavior of boys and girls is determined by biological/physiological determinants as well as sociocultural factors. Responses to seven teaching scenario items indicated that educators were least enthusiastic about the scenario that called for discussions of sexist language, the scenario where a non-traditional school text was used to examine how males and females are portrayed, and the scenario that encouraged boys and girls to identify with characters of their sex during a class discussion. Two of the four scenarios that educators preferred do not deviate from what is commonly viewed as appropriate curriculum for middle and high school teaching. The remaining two scenarios were found acceptable to many educators: monitoring equal participation by males and females in discussions and including the works of those men and women considered non-mainstream in the curriculum. (Contains three tables of data.) (RS)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Chicago, IL, March 24-28, 1997).