European Journal of Education Studies
ISSN: 2501 - 1111
ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111
Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu
10.5281/zenodo.225628
Volume 2│Issue 12│2016
TEACHERS’ GENDER INFLUENCING BOY-CHILD
EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS: A STUDY OF SECONDARY
SCHOOLS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA
Benjamin K. Koskeii, Godfrey K. Ngeno, Catherine Simiyu
Moi University, School of Education, Department of Educational Psychology
Abstract:
Educational aspiration is one of the crucial determinants of a person s success in life. It
is influenced by a number of factors. The present study was an attempt to explore the
influence of teachers gender on boy-child educational aspirations in secondary school
in Nakuru County, Kenya. The question of educational aspirations among Kenyan boys
has become the subject of concern. It is against this background that the need for this
study was envisaged. The researcher employed a causal comparative (ex-post facto)
design in the study. The study involved a sample of 420 Form three boys in secondary
schools. Research instruments used in collecting data were questionnaire and interview
schedule. A pilot study was carried out to ensure reliability of the instrument. Internal
consistency was determined through the use of Cronchbach s alpha formula and a
coefficient of 0.867 was obtained. Expert judgment was employed to establish the
validity of the research instrument. The finding from this study revealed that teachers
gender significantly influenced boys educational aspirations. It is anticipated that the
study will aid to develop greater insights into the above factor influencing the boy-child
educational aspirations in public secondary schools for the purpose of improving the
quality of education in Kenya. Knowledge of such factors would be useful to
government, parents and teachers since it may guide in formulating strategies that may
improve boys educational aspirations.
Keywords: gender roles, boy-child and educational aspirations, secondary school
i
Correspondence: email benjkos@yahoo.com
Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved
Published by Open Access Publishing Group ©2015.
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1. Introduction
Educational aspiration is an important variable in predicting academic achievement
and may be seen as an element in academic achievement motivation, focusing on the
desire for success and the development of goals to succeed in particular educational
fields or to gain a particular degree. Educational aspirations play important roles in
education attainment, and, in turn, status attainment processes. Students educational
aspirations have strong positive effects on their educational achievement and
attainment (Kao & Tienda 1995; Marjoribanks, 2005; Mau 1995; Wilson & Wilson 1992),
which, in turn, have strong effects on their earnings (Pascarella & Terenzini 2005; Perna
2003).
Students with high educational aspirations are more likely than students with
low educational aspirations. Students educational aspirations also mediate the effects
of their socioeconomic origin parents socioeconomic status on their achievement and
attainment (Garg, Kauppi, Leuko, & Urajnik, 2002; Marjoribanks, 1995; Mau & Bikos
Seginer & Vermulst,
. In other words, students educational aspirations can
strengthen or diminish the effects of where they come from on how well they do and
how far they go in school. Researchers have thoroughly studied students educational
aspirations and identified a number of factors that affect variation in these aspirations.
“mong the strongest predictors of students educational aspirations are the educational
aspirations students parents have for them Okagaki & Frensch,
Qian & Sampson
Lee 1999; Teachman & Paasch, 1998; Trusty, 1998).
Educational aspirations are influenced by multiple intrapersonal and systemic
factors Gottfredson,
. Some individual factors related to students aspiration
include their level of intrapersonal skills, self-reliance, self-control, self-concept
(Marjoribanks, 2002). Systematic variables related to educational aspirations include
students socio-economic status SES , the level of family s involvement in their
children s education, ethnicity, race, familial aspiration and level of parental education
(Suh & Suh, 2006). As one aspect of educational engagement, educational aspirations
have been found to be one of the most significant predictors of actual educational and
career educational attainment for young people (Garg, Melanson, & Levin, 2007; Mau &
Biksos, 2000). This current study looked at gender roles, illegal sect, school type,
teachers gender, teachers expectations, and paternal socialization on boys educational
aspirations.
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Benjamin K. Koskei, Godfrey K. Ngeno, Catherine Simiyu TEACHERS’ GENDER INFLUENCING BOY-CHILD EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS:
A STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA
2. Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of teachers factors on boychild educational aspirations in secondary schools. It was hoped that the study will
provide information that helped in developing policies so as to adequately respond to
continuously changing trends of the boys in school.
3. Literature Review
The experience of students at school has the ability to promote both academic
achievement and future aspirations (Uwah et al. 2008). School climate, including
relationships with teachers, contributes to global life satisfaction (Suldo, Shaffer, & Riley
2008), lower rates of depression (Eamon, 2002) and fewer behavior problems (DeSantis
King, Hueber, Suldo & Valois, 2006; Gilman & Huebner, 2006). Satisfaction with school
is usually higher in children and reaches its lowest levels around eighth grade.
Attitudes towards school have been shown to predict aspirations (Geckova, Tavel,
VanDijk, Abel, & Reijneveld, 2010), and school bonding has been shown to be greater in
students with congruent aspirations and expectations (Boxer, Goldstein, DeLorenzo,
Savoy, & Mercado, 2010). Connection to school may become the key in helping students
think about attending college, although this may be true of white students than black
students (Lowman & Elliott 2009).
Another influence on the achievement of boys may be the lack of male teachers.
The majority of primary school teachers in the Asia-Pacific region are women. This was
perceived as a factor contributing to boys underachievement in the report from
Malaysia (Goolamally & Ahmad, 2010), where the majority of teachers are female and
are seen to favour girls. It is widely recognized that the fewer the female teachers, the
wider the enrolment, retention and promotion gaps are between female and male
students. The link between female teachers and girls educational achievement has been
clearly charted (UNESCO, 2006). There is a common perception in Mongolia that boys
are likely to be more severely punished by teachers than girls. Boys reported that they
prefer dealing with female teachers and are in fact afraid of male teachers as they beat
them painfully (Undarya & Enkhjargal, 2011). According to McLeod (2011), children
pay attention to some of these people (models) and encode the behaviour they have
observed regardless of whether it is appropriate or inappropriate. Neuert (2007) and
Mbevi (2010) found male role models to have more influence on a boy-child s character.
This may therefore be suggesting that the boy-child educational aspirations has been
imitated from the males he interacted with particularly. It is therefore important for
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male teachers in the school to understand the role they play in determining the
educational aspirations of boys.
A phenomenon in the school system that has been rather disturbing is the fact
that despite the clamour for gender equality treatment, boys and girls do not seem to
exhibit the same level of academic achievement. Ammermueller and Dolton (2006)
drew attention to the fact that large literature existed on the difference between the
academic achievement of boys and girls. They reported that historically, there had
always been a gap favouring girls in reading, English and the Arts and languages.
According to them, the pattern had been changing in recent times with girls improving
in Mathematics and the Sciences, and even outperforming boys in many countries. They
further reported that there was in the United Kingdom, widespread evidence of girls
outperforming boys at most levels in school and specifically, there was a gap between
boys and girls by the age of 14-16 in the General Certificate of Secondary Education
(GCSE) public examination results.
Smith (2004) observed that the diminishing presence of male teachers was a
global issue and that the proportion of men within teaching ranks was declining
significantly. He cited many studies whose findings demonstrated the continual decline
of males in the teaching profession. He quoted figures from Commonwealth of
Australia (CA) (2002), Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) (2002),
National Education Association (NEA) (2003), and Nelson (2003) to illustrate the
situation of gender imbalance among primary school teachers, especially within
Australia. Nelson (2003), for instance, was cited to have claimed that in 2002, the
proportion of male primary teachers (within Australia) was only 20.9% and NEA (2003)
was said to have indicated that only nine percent of American elementary school
teachers are men. It has also been speculated in some quarters that teacher s gender
affected the performance of the child. Dee (2006) described two theories which
suggested that the performance of the child depended on the gender of the teacher.
“ccording to Dee,
, one theory asserts that the teacher s gender shapes
communications between teacher and pupil, while another says the teacher acts as a
gender-specific role model, regardless of what he or she says or does. Dee further
explained that the second theory stipulated that students were more engaged, behaved
more appropriately, and performed at a higher level when taught by one who shared
their gender. Studies by Dee (2005) found that the sex of the teacher has a large
influence on a student s test performance and engagement with academic material, as
well as the teacher s perception of students. Simply put, girls have better educational
outcomes when taught by women and boys are better off when taught by men
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Dee,
.
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A STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA
It is clear that the preponderance of female teachers at lower education levels has
left few male role models for boys in their early years in school (UNICEF, 2004). It is
noteworthy that at secondary and tertiary levels, where the dropout rate for boys
seems to be at its highest, the majority of teachers are male. One area in which male
teachers may play a particularly significant role is as informal counselors and mentors
for male students. They may encourage boys to stay at school or guide them to
alternative learning pathways. However, such informal mentoring systems should be
supplemented with formal guidance and counseling systems within schools, including
good training for the informal mentoring process. Such systems can advocate for
meaningful, personal career choices for boys, and serve to bridge the gap between the
academic curriculum in post-primary education and labour market needs. School career
guidance can help students to prepare for market-oriented employment. Counselling
and guidance services that are gender-responsive redress gender inequalities by
promoting attitudinal and behavioural changes (Raghavan, 2009). The absence of male
role models is a factor that comes up regularly within the literature on boys
underachievement, and it assumes the stance that boys needs within both school and
the broader society are different from those of girls.
In the Caribbean context, where the number of women-dominated and single
parent households has been on the rise, the literature reviewed presents strong concerns
about the lack of male presence within the home as well as the school. Hunte (2002), in
the context of Guyana, argues that boys will seek out negative role models to fill the
gaps at home or school, and that the resultant anti schooling attitudes will leave an
emotional deficit that inhibits their progress. Figueroa (2000) takes this further and
suggests that the absence of discipline meted out to boys in Jamaica by women - who
believe this to be the preserve of a father or other male figure – disadvantages boys by
permitting their exploration of negative masculine identity to be played out unchecked.
West (2002) analyses the problem of an imbalance of male and female teachers,
which potentially disadvantages boys by giving messages that only women teach and
only women read . His paper further outlines studies that have been conducted in
Australia showing that boys value male teachers as role models to get them through the
difficulties of the classroom. West quotes a paper by Bress (2000), who argues that
males and females have a different language – genderlects . This theory arguably takes
the issue of role models out of purely socialization discourses and into the more
contentious area of gendered heredity. One of the few findings that addressed the issue
of boys educational underachievement and under-participation in Lesotho also
stressed the lack of male teachers in the educational system. However, the MUSTER
project conducted in that country showed that the cause of boys dropping out was
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more often in order to fulfill work obligations due to hard economic circumstances
(Jobo, 2001). Researchers have identified school factors such as the availability of male
teachers, teacher quality, pupil-teacher-ratio, and school infrastructure as affecting
boys academic achievement Koutros,
. Teachers play a significant role in
providing students with opportunities to discover and reach their full potential, thereby
ensuring that societies progress. Yet teacher shortages have long been a concern in
many parts of the world. According to UNESCO (2006), it was estimated that achieving
the educational millennium development goal of universal primary education by the
year 2015 was dependent upon recruiting million new teachers around the world. The
proportion of men within teaching ranks is declining significantly. Moreover, Koutros
(2010) indicated that the lack of male teachers, particularly at the elementary level, has
become epidemic throughout the world. A recent survey, conducted by the National
Education Association (NEA), revealed that men accounted for less than one-fourth of
all teachers (Koutros, 2010). Countries with the greatest shortfall in teachers tend to
have low secondary enrollment ratios, thus resulting in a small pool of educated adults
from which to recruit teachers (UNESCO, 2006).
According to Chege (2001), the contemporary family was characterized by
parents, mainly mothers, who made explicit efforts not only to keep their daughters in
school but also motivate them and support them to attain educational success both in
the process of the school cycle and in the benefits or outcomes. It was argued that many
parents apparently constructed their daughters as worthwhile investments whose
economic and material returns to the parents were guaranteed. Boys were constructed
as self-centred and less likely to support their parents after completing school. The
researcher pointed out that schooling culture had increasingly made girls more
confident both socially and in academic performance. In addition, the school workforce
which was, in most cases, predominantly female portrayed an explicit enthusiasm of
empowering girls through education and documentary evidence supported the fact that
overall, there were more women teachers in the schools than men. There was little
doubt that schools were becoming progressively more feminized with women teachers
being the majority overall.
According, Chege, (2007), the female head teachers and their deputies raised
concerns that while the men teachers were relatively few, they also portrayed
themselves laid back and were apparently not interested in connecting with the boys
and the boys interests as men-to-be. In addition, the dearth of available school-based
mentors also played havoc in the construction of masculinities through schooling. It
was also revealed that boys lacked male figures that could guide and counsel them in
the same way as the girls in the schools, thus resulting in frustration with the schooling
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career and eventually apathy when the girls outdo them in school work. Therefore,
there was need to investigate the influence of teachers gender on boy-child educational
aspirations.
4. Research Design
This study employed an ex-post facto research design. This design was a definite plan
determined before data was actually collected. The design was useful in the study
because the researcher did not have direct control of independent variables. This design
was suitable for the study because the researcher could not manipulate the variables
(Kothari & Garg 2014). The boy-child educational aspirations were taken as the
dependent variable while teachers gender was the independent variables. Thus, the
researcher was able to relate an after-the-fact analysis to an outcome or the dependent
variable. In order to eliminate confounding variables in the study, techniques such as
matching and random selection of respondents from appropriate population was done.
The researcher investigated the influence of teachers gender on boy-child educational
aspirations.
4.1 Population of the study
The population of this study was all the teachers, and students (boys) in public
secondary schools in Nakuru County of Kenya. The accessible population was all the
male and female teachers and Form three boys in the selected schools within the
county. All the time of this research there were 9,715 Form three male students in
Nakuru County. Form three boys were chosen because they had stayed for long time in
the school and had selected the subjects they were examined at the end of the Form four
in line with their aspirations. There were 950 male and female teachers during the
study. The teachers gave their views concerning the influence of teachers gender on
boys educational aspirations.
4.2 Instrumentation
In this study, two research instruments were used to collect data; questionnaire for
students (boys) and interview schedule for male and female teachers. Most research
work uses methods that provide high accuracy, generalizability, and explanatory
power, with low cost, rapid speed and maximum management demands and
administrative convenience. Questionnaires are commonly used to obtain important
information about the population. Each item in the questionnaire is developed to
address a specific objective of the study. Questionnaire was appropriate with the large
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Benjamin K. Koskei, Godfrey K. Ngeno, Catherine Simiyu TEACHERS’ GENDER INFLUENCING BOY-CHILD EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS:
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number of respondents from whom a lot of information was required and for the
purpose of easy coding. The interview schedule was used to obtain information from
the male and female teachers to obtain in depth information about the influence of
teachers gender on boy-child educational aspirations.
4.3 Procedure
Pre-field work activities such as identifying and training research assistant were
performed. The researcher also sought an introductory letter from the office of the
Dean, School of Education, Moi University (Appendix III) and a permit from National
Commission for Science Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) was sought before
carrying out the research. Permission was also sought from the County Commissioner
Nakuru and County Director of Education Nakuru. The researcher visited the selected
schools after seeking an appointment with the school administration and explained the
purpose of the study to the head teachers.
5. Results and Discussion
The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of teachers gender on boychild educational aspirations. This was established using both descriptive and
inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics involved the use of frequencies and
percentages. The inferential statistics involved the use of Pearson correlation coefficient,
linear regression, t-test and Anova. The respondents were required to rate the
statements relating to the gender roles of boy-child using a five point Likert scale.
Computation was done on each statement on teachers gender using frequencies and
percentages as shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Teachers gender influence on boys educational aspirations
Strongly
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Agree
There are few male teachers
Strongly
Disagree
Freq
%
Freq
%
Freq
%
Freq
%
Freq
%
44
12.0
49
13.3
104
28.3
79
21.5
92
25.0
93
25.3
78
21.2
45
12.2
76
20.7
76
20.7
76
20.7
80
21.7
62
16.8
54
14.7
96
26.1
121
32.9
90
24.5
43
11.7
41
11.1
73
19.8
in School
Male Teachers are role
models
Enjoy being taught by male
teachers
Motivated by male teachers
Source: Survey Data, 2016
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A STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA
Teachers gender influence on boys educational aspirations index was
. which was
ambivalent. At least 92 (25%) of students strongly disagreed that there are few male
teachers in school, with 21.5% disagreed, while 28.3% were undecided, 12% strongly
agreed and 13.3% agreed. This showed that 46.5% of the students perceived that male
teachers were not few in their school. Also 93 (25.3%) of students perceived that male
teachers were role models, 21.2% agreed, while 12.2% were undecided, 20.7% strongly
disagreed as well as disagreed. This indicated that 46.5% of students enjoy being taught
by male teachers.
Also 76 (20.7%) of students strongly agreed that they enjoy being taught by male
teachers, with 80 (21.7%) agreed, while 16.8% were undecided, 26.7% strongly
disagreed and 14.7% disagreed. This indicated that 42.4% of students enjoy being
taught by male teachers. At least 121 (32.9%) of students strongly agreed that they are
motivated by male teachers, with 90(24.5%) agreed, while 11.7% were undecided, 19.8%
strongly disagreed and 11.1% agreed. This indicated that 57.4% of students were
motivated by male teachers. The teacher s gender influence on education aspiration
index was 12.5 which was ambivalent.
5.1 Correlation of teachers’ gender on boys’ educational aspirations
Pearson moment correlation was used to describe the linear relationship between
teacher s gender and boy-child educational aspirations as shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Correlations of teachers’ gender on boys’ educational aspirations
Aspiration
Pearson Correlation
Aspiration
Teachers gender
1
.544**
Sig. (2-tailed)
Teachers gender
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
.000
.544**
1
.000
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
b. Listwise N=368
Source: Research Data, 2016
There was a positive influence of teacher s gender on boy-child educational aspirations
[r= .544, n=
, p<.
]. This indicated that teacher s gender positively influenced the
boy-child educational aspirations. This may be attributed to the influence of teacher s
gender on attitude and motivation of students with respect to their aspirations.
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Benjamin K. Koskei, Godfrey K. Ngeno, Catherine Simiyu TEACHERS’ GENDER INFLUENCING BOY-CHILD EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS:
A STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA
5.2 Linear Regression on teachers’ gender and boys’ educational aspirations
“ linear regression model was used to explore the relationship between teacher s
gender and boy-child educational aspirations. The prediction was carried out based on
the effect of teacher s gender as shown in Table .
Table 3: Model summary on teachers gender on boys educational aspirations
Model
1
R
.544
a
R
Adjusted R
Std. Error of
Square
Square
the Estimate
.296
.294
Change Statistics
R Square
F
Change
Change
.296
153.77
.43039
df1
df2
Sig. F
Change
1
366
.000
a. Predictors: (Constant), Teachers gender
b. Dependent Variable: Aspiration
Source: Research Data, 2016
The R2 represented the measure of variability in educational aspirations among public
secondary schools in Nakuru County that is accounted for by the predictor. From the
model, (R2 = .296) indicating that the predictor account for 29.6% variation in boy-child
educational aspirations predictors used in the model captured the variation in boy-child
educational aspirations. The teachers
gender contributes
. % of boy-child
educational aspirations through their motivation and positive attitude.
5.3 Analysis of variance on teachers’ gender on boys’ educational aspirations
The analysis of variance was used to test whether the model could significantly fit in
predicting the outcome than using the mean as shown in Table 4.
Table 4: “nalysis of variance on teachers gender on boys educational aspiration
Model
1
Sum of Squares
Df
Mean Square
F
Sig.
Regression
28.485
1
28.485
153.77
.000b
Residual
67.797
366
.185
Total
96.282
367
a. Dependent Variable: Aspiration
b. Predictors: (Constant), Teachers gender
Source: Research Data, 2016
The regression model significantly improved the ability to predict the boy-child
educational aspirations. The F- ratio was 153.77 and significant (P<.05) and thus the
model was significant leading to rejection of the null hypotheses, that there is no
significant relationship between teachers gender and boy-child educational aspirations.
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5.4 Coefficients of teachers gender on boys educational aspirations
The β coefficients for independent variable was generated from the model and
subjected to a t-test, in order to test each of the hypotheses under study. The t-test was
used to identify whether the predictors were making a significant contribution to the
model. Table
shows the estimates of β-value and gives contribution of the predictor to
the model.
Table 5: Coefficients of teachers gender on boys educational aspirations
Model
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
B
Std. Error
t
Sig.
Beta
Correlations
Zero-
Partial
Part
.544
.544
order
1
(Constant)
2.423
.107
Teachers
.354
.029
.544
22.55
.000
12.40
.000
.544
gender
a. Dependent Variable: Aspiration
Source: Researcher Data, 2016
The β-value for teacher s gender had positive coefficient, depicting positive relationship
with boy-child educational aspirations as summarized in the model as:
Educational aspirations = .
+ .
teacher s gender + ε………… Equation .
The coefficients results showed that the predicted parameter in relation to the
independent factor was significant β4= 0.354 (P< 0.05), which implies the null
hypothesis is rejected that there is no significant relationship between teachers gender
and boy-child educational aspirations. This indicates that for each unit change in the
teacher s gender, there is
.
units increase in boy-child educational aspirations.
Furthermore, the influence of perceived teachers gender was stated by the t-test value =
12.40 which implies that the standard error associated with the parameter is less 12.4
times that of the error associated with it.
From the interview schedule most of the teachers agreed that the gender of a
teacher affects boys educational aspirations. This is what one teacher had to say:
Boys tend to be closer to male teachers and due to lack of male teachers they lack motivation.
There are many female teachers in this area are I think most boys think that teaching and
learning is a female thing. You see some boys are very shy to get advice from female teachers
because the lack of someone to share their feelings with especially issues that they cannot share
with female teachers . One male teacher from Naivasha
From the interview, one teacher had to say this: The perception of boys regarding
the gender of the teacher affecting their educational aspirations is critical. For instance, I have
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A STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA
talked to many boys and approximately 70% of them said that female teachers are encouraging
girls in class, compared with 30% of them who said that male teachers encouraged boys in class
in mixed school.”(A teacher from Nakuru Sub-County)
6. Conclusion and Recommendations
The teachers gender significantly influence boys educational aspirations in secondary
schools. Most teachers did not appear to consider boys socialization needs it is not
surprising that boys seemed to take the back stage in many of the schools activities
where teachers also treated boys differently from the girls and this may have affected
the boys. In addition, the availability of school-based mentors also played havoc in
educational aspirations through schooling. It was also revealed that boys lacked male
figures that could guide and counsel them in the same way as the girls in the schools,
thus resulting in frustration with the educational aspirations and eventually apathy
when the girls outdo them in school work. Boys tend to be closer to male teachers and
due to lack of male teachers, they lack motivation. There are many female teachers in
Nakuru County and most of the boys perceive teaching and learning to belong to girls.
Also, boys were found to be very shy in getting advice from female teachers. The
researcher recommends that teachers especially male teachers should be encouraged to
act as role models to the boys and should treat all students in school equally
irrespective of their gender. Teachers should also motivate and rate students equally
without bias in term of social behavior. It is necessary for teachers and school
administrators to be empowered with the relevant knowledge and skills that would
enhance their capacities to respond to the gender issues in their schools. Such capacities
would ensure gender friendly and that gender relations were equitable between
teachers and students at various levels. It is therefore important that issues of gender
should be made compulsory to the teacher training institutions.
References
1. Ammermueller, A., & Dolton, P. (2006). Pupil-teacher gender interaction effects
on scholastic outcomes in England and the USA. ZEW-Centre for European
Economic Research. Discussion Paper No. 06-60. Retrieved on 17th October, 2014,
from http://papers.ssrn.com/so13/papers.cfm?abstractid-927689.
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Benjamin K. Koskei, Godfrey K. Ngeno, Catherine Simiyu TEACHERS’ GENDER INFLUENCING BOY-CHILD EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS:
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