Minimizing Gender Division in Sixth Grade Classrooms

Abstract

This thesis looks at gender bias in a sixth grade social studies classroom in order to develop a new strategy to minimize the gender gap and create a classroom environment that makes learning a success for all students. The author used student survey, teacher questionnaires and direct observation to gather data, specifically looking at the participation level of forty-eight female students in a suburban middle school. In order to obtain the goal of greater female participation, the results demonstrated that there is a need for more female historical figures in the social studies curriculum. Further research should be conducted on the impact of gender-based teaching throughout the whole school year to determine whether there is a difference between students' confidence levels from the beginning of the school year to that at the end of the school year.