Are Teacher Beliefs Gender-Related?

Abstract

Teacher beliefs influence student behaviour and learning outcomes. Little is known about the role of specific teacher characteristics (e.g., gender and teaching domain) in the formation of these beliefs. In the current study, three versions of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) were used to assess gender-related beliefs regarding career, aptitude for science and learning styles, respectively. The IAT-genderLearningStyles instrument was designed especially for the study. The beliefs of 107 participating teachers and student teachers in the Netherlands were investigated. Neither the gender nor the teaching domain of the teacher was associated with gender-related beliefs regarding student career choices. For male teachers, having a STEM background was associated with stronger gender-related beliefs regarding aptitude for science. The results of the IAT-genderLearningStyles reveal small gender-related scores (stronger male-independent learning association) for male teachers and STEM teachers, along with negligible gender-related scores for female teachers and non-STEM teachers. Keywords