29th November 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
New research has emerged which suggests that sexism remains a ubiquitous problem faced by women at UK universities. This is not a problem that materialises in higher education institutions, but rather one that pervades many women’s education from the day they start school. Girls are rewarded by teachers for being quiet and obedient at school, whilst boys who assert themselves are considered forthright, outspoken and tenacious. Such characterisations of girls’ and boys’ respective behaviour leads to a mind-set which can last their entire academic career. In addition for rewarding girls for staying quiet, teachers often steer girls away from subjects such as science and maths, assuming that boys will show more aptitude in these areas.
Although parents may try to shield their children from gender stereotyping, it is difficult to overcome when these stereotypes are being propounded by their children’s educators. As private tutors, in addition to teaching the subjects we are hired to help with, we should also watch out for any gender stereotyping that gets in the way of our students’ progress. Tutors are usually hired to help with subjects that students find the most challenging, and tutoring in maths and science for girls at GCSE is among the most common requests. But how many of those students do not have the natural aptitude to cope with these subjects, and how many have simply been conditioned to think that they cannot do it? Girls are often sent a number of signals by teachers that they are not expected to perform well in these subjects, and are often neglected, leading to them falling behind.
As tutors we must identify cases where this has occurred, watching out for students who say they are no good, or that science is for boys. Tutors themselves can be positive role models for students, but by far and away the best approach is to build students’ confidence slowly but surely, and let the student know that no limits are assumed on their abilities in the subject. The damage caused by years of gender stereotyping cannot be undone overnight, but sustained confidence building by tutors may well lead to students entering university with the confidence they need to deal with sexism in academia.