Sex Roles, Vol. 21, Nos. 3/4, 1989

Teachers' Selections of Boys and Girls

as Prominent Pupils I

Shoshanna BenTsvi -Mayer 2 ORANIM Teachers College, Israel

Rachel Hertz -Lazarowi tz and Marilyn P. Safir University of Haifa, Israel

Over 300 teachers and student-teachers were asked to nominate their most noticeable pupils regarding ability, achievement, behavior, and teacher's preoc- cupation with them, as defined in eight eminently school-relevant categories. Frequencies of male and female names recorded were employed as measures of teachers" perception of saliency of the two sexes. Respondents recalled significantly more boys as prominent in most categories. More boys than girls were perceived as the best students in general and in mathematics in particular, and as possessing high potential. More boys than girls occupied the minds of these teachers after school. Boys appeared to cause the over- whelming majority of discipline problems. On the other hand, more girls were considered very successful in Hebrew and in social skills. Boys received more nominations in each of their five categories of salience then did girls in any of their two categories of salience. No difference was found between sex-related nominations of experienced teachers and student-teachers. Find- ings indicate that both teachers and future teachers of the elementary grades perceive boys as the majority of salient students. Moreover, the direc- tions of most sex differences found are stereotypical. Such perceptions, un- supported by objective psychometric evidence, may impede sex equity in school practice, and particularly deprive girls of opportunities o f full per- sonal development.

1part of this study was presented at the Third International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women, Dublin, Ireland, 1987. We would like to thank Hudda Halabi and Tamar Michaeli for their help in coding.

ZTo whom correspondence should be addressed at ORANIM, K. Tivon, Israel, 36910, or 26a Witkin Street, Haifa, Israel 34755.

231

0360-0025/89/0800-0231506.00/0 © 1989 Plenum Publishing Corporation

232 BenTsvi-Mayer, Hertz-Lazarowitz, and Safir

The past 20 years have produced a growing body of research on sex-linked differential experiences of boys and girls within the modern mixed classroom. Many studies relate specifically to teachers as mediators of relevant social expectations, values, and procedures. Areas of teachers' direct or indirect impact on their pupils have frequently been identified as reinforcement of certain behaviors, stimulation of intellectual development, assignment of grades, shaping the character of classroom interaction, and curricular con- tent choices. The following paragraphs contain a summary of some major findings in these areas.

FEMININE A N D MASCULINE-TYPE BEHAVIORS IN THE CLASSROOM

Effective teaching, teachers' primary task, is facilitated by effective con- trol of pupil behavior. In consequence, conforming, nondisruptive behaviors may be preferred and rewarded. While schoolchildren with such traits can be found among both boys and girls, more are likely to be girls, whether by nature or as affected by conventional socialization practices.

Preschool teachers were observed to reinforce quiet play, more charac- teristic of girls, in both sexes (Fagot, 1984). Teachers of children aged 5-7 clearly differentiated between male and female pupil traits, and described girls as more mature and ready to comply with classroom rules (Hartley, 1978). Levitin and Chananie (1972) found that first- and second-grade teachers preferred dependent to aggressive behavior in both sexes, and ex- pressed special liking of the typically dependent girl. In a related study (Etaugh & Hughes, 1975), eighth-grade teachers also preferred dependency over ag- gression in both sexes- male teachers even more so. In an Israeli sample (Ben Tsvi-Mayer, 1976), teachers rated higher essay-type self-reports describing dependent, rather than assertive, behavior in both sexes. In a role analysis of children in schools, Kedar-Voivodas (1983) concluded that teachers may favor relatively passive pupils whose behavior is compatible with the female sex role, precisely because they enable teachers to fulfill their own institu- tional roles. Student-teachers also seemed to prefer conforming pupils of either sex, but especially girls (Feshbach, 1969).

As for school records, according to Maccoby and Jacklin (1974), "It is well-known that girls get better grades throughout their school years" (p. 135). No doubt many of these higher grades reflect real academic achieve- ment, but in Israel, Dar (1975) compared teachers' grades with related ob- jective tests, and found that grades given to many girls were higher than their test scores. He suggests that girls' neatness in school work may play a part

Teachers' Selections of Prominent Pupils 233

in teacher evaluation. Similarly, Kfir (1982) proposed that schools reward girls not only for their abilities, but for conformity as well. Given the com- plexity of the school ethos and the makings of a "good" student, such at- tractive traits may be hard to resist. (See the detailed review in Brophy & Good, 1974.) Regretably, no comprehensive data could be found on grades of boys vs. girls in the Israeli school system.

In contrast to the relatively comfortable position of sex-typed girls, many boys may experience problems in complying with schools' behavioral demands. In some instances this situation has been viewed as a form of dis- crimination (McGuiness, 1979; see review in Brophy & Good, 1979). Kedar- Voivodas (1983) proposed that male sex attributes are consistent with the role of the active, assertive learner whose behavior may be in conflict with preferred conduct. However, assertive independence is the very stuff intellec- tual advancement is made of, which in turn constitutes the essence of teachers' professional task-role toward pupils. The school's bias against typical boy behavior has been perceived by Sexton (1970) as emasculating and a reason for male pupils' underachievement. In Israeli schools, Hertz-Lazarowitz ob- served "on-task" learning-related behaviors, in solitary and in cooperative situations, and "off-task" demeanors like daydreaming and chatting. Boys and girls behaved in remarkably similar ways, except on two measurements: Boys vs. girls tended more to off-task and less to cooperative on-task be- havior (Hertz-Lazarowitz, in press, a,b). It can be speculated that boys' off- task conduct may come under discipline problems.

It should be noted that many researchers failed to find differences be- tween male and female teachers in relation to male and female pupils and their assumed characteristics (HiUman & Davenport, 1978), nor do male teachers generate higher achievements in boys (Vroegh, 1976). Brophy and Good (1973) propose that the school-as-institution socializes teachers toward equal norms. Moreover, teachers of both sexes have been exposed to the same social influences (Brophy, 1985).

There is general consensus on boys' more frequent and prominent dis- cipline problems (Kedar-Voivodas, 1983). In addition, behaviors prevalent in boys were perceived by teachers as more disturbing than those in girls. In fact, boys outnumber girls in special education services, in Israel as well as in other modern societies (Educational Psychological Services, personal communication, Haifa Municipality, Nov. 12, 1987; see also list in Stock- ard et al., 1985, pp. 14-15). Intense teacher sensitivity to boys' behavioral problems was found in the preschool class (Serbin, O'Leary, Kent, & To- nick, 1973). Sometimes both boys and girls who do not fit the gender stereo- type are subjects of concern (Schlosser & Algozzine, 1980) and are referred to psychological counseling (Feinblatt and Gold, 1976).

234 BenTsvi-Mayer, Hertz-Lazarowitz, and Safir

W H O A T T R A C T S M O R E I N T E R E S T ?

Many direct observations of interactions within the classroom reveal that boys receive the majority of verbal attention from teachers, either as a result of their own initiative or that of the teacher (Jackson & Lahederne, 1967; Hillman & Davenport, 1978; Brophy & Evertson, 1981; Stanworth, 1981; Spender, 1982; Sadker, Sadker, & Bauchner, 1984; Enders-Dragaesser & Fuchs, 1987; as well as a review by Brophy and Good, 1974). It seems that boys receive both more criticism and more praise, as well as more direct teaching (Sadker et al., 1984) and more challenging and complex questions (Morrison, 1979; Sikes, 1971). Characteristically, the academically success- ful boy is apt to receive most of the praise and the low-achiever boy most of the criticism (Good, Sikes, & Brophy, 1973). Type of subject has also been found to influence this distribution: Teachers of second grades contacted more boys during math and more girls in reading classes (Leinhardt, See- wald, & Engel, 1979). Adolescent boys dominated verbal activity in science classes, despite no sex differences in actual achievement (Morse & Handley, 1985). In a group of talented Israeli high school students who volunteered for science enrichment classes, led by a female teacher, boys also monopo- lized discussion, while the girls-whose achievements equaled those of the boys-behaved in a markedly unassuming manner. These girls also testified to behaving with similar passivity in their other subject classes (Sabar & Levin, 1987).

In spite of many observations of boys' preponderance in classroom in- teraction, the picture is far from clear-cut (Wilkinson & Marrett, 1985). Nor are underlying dynamics fully understood, especially the pupil's part (directly- Klein, 1971; indirectly- Brophy, 1985) in influencing teachers to behave in certain ways. However, from accumulated evidence it appears that boys generally maintain a stronger presence in class than do the "good" girls.

Teachers' concern with boys' discipline problems may also influence choices of content and method of teaching. Observed teachers chose topics intended to attract and hold boys' attention while the girls, perceived as more flexible and easier to please, were expected to behave so that attention could focus on their male counterparts. In this manner lessons are apt to become androcentric, with boys the primary target and challenge (Clarricoates, 1978).

Focusing on boys in the classroom may also originate from direct prefer- ence rather than disciplinary needs. Even though girls are considered easier to control, many teachers differentiate between comfortable and interest- ing. In Clarricoates' (1978) sample, teachers perceived boys as more brilliant and profound. Ricks and Pyke (1973) reported that whenever teachers preferred boys they described them as more honest, open, active, and easier to talk to. The only reason given for preferring girls was smoother control. Teachers claimed that girls were more conscientious but also devious and

Teachers' Selections of Prominent Pupils 235

insolent (Davies, 1975). They preferred teaching boys, to whom they attribut- ed enthusiasm and logical thinking, a preference not outweighed by their "boys will be boys" variety of naughtiness. In a comprehensive study by Stan- worth (1981) on life within the high school, teachers identified boys by name shortly after the beginning of school year, and were able to describe their individual characteristics, but could not readily recall the names of female pupils. Girls were perceived as an anonymous and fairly homogeneous group for a longer period. Even names of boys described as quiet and feminine were more readily remembered than those of girls. Boys also elicited more interest and concern, and more specific and positive future professions were predicted for them by teachers. The students were aware that class activity and interest focus on boys, and although teachers denied the existence of any sex differences in abilities, pupils rated boys as superior. Spender (1982), too, found that high school teachers related to girls as a group and to boys as individuals. They also tended to maintain more physical proximity to boys during question periods. Another study found conservative and homogene- ous assessment of female pupils, in contrast to analytical assessment of boys (Mclntyre, Morrison, & Sutherland, 1966).

If boys more than girls appear to generally preoccupy the minds of teachers, it comes as no surprise that third-grade teachers revealed more signs of personal involvement with them. Jackson, Silberman, and Wolfson (1969) asked teachers to recall the names of their pupils, one sex at a time, and then to describe those recalled first and those recalled last or only after checking the class register, Salient boys (those mentioned first) elicited most signs of personal involvement. Second came boys recalled last, next came salient girls, and lastly nonsalient girls, those recalled last. Boys aroused more intense feel- ings, albeit often of a negative nature. Descriptions of boys also showed great- er variety than did descriptions of girls.

The majority of these references come from non-Israeli sources. Pupils' sex-related schooling experience and teachers' role in it has not yet gained wide Israeli research interest. As the ethos and demands of schooling are probably similar in all modern societies, this review may be employed as framework for our own research. Moreover, sexually asymmetric attitudes are apt to be particularly widespread in Israel, intensified by a deep tradi- tional, patriarchal-religious heritage for the majority of the Jewish popula- tion, including those of Asian-African origin. Of course Judaism itself is preeminently male oriented, with scholarship a masculine pursuit and part of the worship, to the exclusion of women. Moreover, the constant heavy stress on national security results in relating to the military active male with special concern and care, perhaps as early as schoolboy days. In contrast, the idealization of the early pioneer women and women's obligatory soldier- ing today are less likely to raise girls' esteem in teachers' eyes; a good deal of both these glorious images have long since been eroded. Last, research

236 BenTsvi-Mayer, Hertz-Lazarowitz, and Safir

also corroborates the similarity between the character of sex typing in Israel and elsewhere (Ziv, Ziffstein, & Litan, 1972; Tzemah & Peled, 1983; Lieb- lich & Friedman, 1985).

In this study we investigated teachers' perceptions of their male and female students as salient in central areas of schooling. Specifically, we asked teachers and student-teachers to recall their most prominent pupils in im- portant categories of ability, achievement, and behavior. In analyzing these direct recalls by pupil's sex, we probed into the possibility of a pattern by which teachers may differentiate between boys and girls as pupils in general and in sex-stereotypical areas in particular.

M E T H O D

Construction of the Research Instrument

A group of 24 teachers, with experience in kindergarten (K) through 10th grade, participated in constructing our research instrument. They were asked, in a group discussion, to suggest a list of components and signs of pupil saliency. The group agreed on a number of categories best describing salient students, in both positive and negative terms (recounted here in ar- bitrary sequence): general academic eminence; eminence in math, in Hebrew, and in social skills; high general potential; discipline (behavior) problems; and need much help in studies. In addition, there seem to be pupils who, for whatever reason, occupy the teacher's mind even after school hours ("I often think of them after school hours"). These characteristics were formulated into eight categories of salience and developed as a questionnaire (Appendix 1), employed as our research instrument.

Subjects

Two groups of subjects participated in our research (iV = 319). One group consisted of 153 teachers, in in-service training courses throughout the country. All of them had experience in obligatory preschool and elemen- tary school teaching (K-6). Their average seniority in teaching was 10 years. Teachers who participated in constructing the research instrument were not included. The second group consisted of 166 student-teachers, located in schools of education, all in preservice training for teaching in grades K-6. Their average age was 23. Subjects were Jewish, and all but 11 female. None of the institutions with which they were associated was of religious affiliation.

Teachers' Selections of Prominent Pupils

Procedure

237

Subjects were asked to participate in a study on teachers' perceptions of their pupils. Their task consisted of recalling and anonymously recording first names and ages (or grades) of those of their students who best fit each category listed in the questionnaire. A maximum of three names could be listed in each category.

Analysis o f Data

Two students of education read and coded every questionnaire, assign- ing 1 for each male and 2 for each female name. As foreseen, some names appeared in more than one category. Names were classified as male or fe- male, with our coders in agreement of 97°70 over these classifications by gender. A small number of names were equally applicable to either sex (Gili, Tal, Adi, etc.). These names were coded alternatively as female or male.

Frequency of male and female names in each of the eight categories of each questionnaire (Appendix 1) served as basis for our statistical analy- sis. Out of a m a x i m u m o f 7 4 1 6 = 319 (subjects) x 8 (categories) x 3 (max- imum number of pupil names in each category), 6515 names were collected, as some of our subjects recalled less than three names in some of the categories.

The statistical method of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was employed to test the effects of each independent variable, namely sex (names of boys vs. names of girls), status (experienced vs. student teachers), and age (grades K-4 vs. grades 5-6 taught by our subjects), as well as their interactions with each other. MANOVA also produces univariate analyses of variance (ANOVA), demonstrating more precisely the impact-expressed in size of F as tests of s ignif icance- of sex, status, and age, and their inter- actions on each of the dependent variables, namely our eight categories of salience.

It should be noted that F values, derived from the ANOVA, are simi- lar to t values, and in one of our earlier versions t tests indeed showed the same significant results as our later F values. However, t tests cannot test for interactions, and thus for overall effects. To demonstrate the difference between the two tests: Our MANOVA indicated no significant interaction of Sex × Status, thereby indicating that in the matter of nominating more boys or more girls as salient students (sex), differences in teaching experience (status) may be irrelevant. Thus, the complex method of MANOVA takes us beyond the simple comparisons of t tests.

238 BenTsvi-Mayer, Hertz-Lazarowitz, and Safir

RESULTS

Two (sex) by two (status) by two (age) multivariate and univariate ana- lyses were computed for the dependent variable of names in each cateogry. The main effects for the multivariate F(Wilks) for sex [F(8, 308) = 65.25, p < .001] and for status (teachers vs. student-teachers) [F(8, 308) = 3.62, p < .05] were significant. The multivariate F(Wilks) for age (K-4 vs. 5-6 grade) was marginally significant [F(8, 308) = 1.87, p < .06]. Interaction of Sex x Status was not significant, while interaction of Sex × Age was [F(8, 308) = 2.15, p < .05). Subsequent univariate analysis indicated that sex was significant in all categories except that of need much help in studies. F values ranged from 9.02 to 323.77, all significant beyond p < .005.

Table I and Fig. 1 show greater salience attributed to boys in five and to girls in two categories.

boys I

girls~

general disc teach need social math Hebr potential academ probl think skills

of them help Xx xx XX xx XX XX X

n.s.

x p~-~ .005 xx p ~ .001

Fig. 1. Nominations of prominent male and female pupils in eight categories.

l~eachers ' Selections of Prominent Pupils 239

Table I. Salience of Pupils, Means, and Standard Deviations, by Sex of Pupils, in Eight Categories ~

Boys Girls Categories Mean SD Mean SD

General academic eminence 1.51 .92 1.08 .83 Discipline problems 2.00 .87 .47 .67 Teachers think about them

after school hours 1.48 .87 .92 .84 Need much help in studies 1.23 .96 1.17 .97 Eminent social skills 1.03 .88 1.37 .87 Eminent in mathematics 1.40 .97 .55 .67 Eminent in Hebrew .87 .90 1.22 .98 High general potential 1.39 .93 .98 .85

~Sex differences in salience are significant (beyond p < .005) in all but one category (need much help in studies).

The magnitudes o f differences in favor o f boys, in descending order, were as follows: discipline problems (F = 323.77), eminent in mathematics (F = 132.57), I of ten think o f them after school hours (F = 39.56), general academic eminence (F = 19.92), high general potential (F = 9.02). A cor- responding order in favor o f girls consisted o f eminent in Hebrew (/7 = 12.64) and eminent in social skills (F = 11.59). Degrees o f f reedom for all categories were 1,315.

A closer inspection o f Table I yielded another intriguing phenomenon : The sex differences were greater in categories in which significantly more boys were prominent than in categories with significantly more prominent girls. In creating this new measurement, the means o f girls' salience were sub- tracted f rom the means o f boys ' salience, for each category. It would appear that any salience on our list was more pronounced when attributed to b o y s - or that even prominent girls are not very salient (Fig. 2).

Status was significant in the M A N O V A analysis. Teachers recorded more names o f pupils o f bo th sexes than did student-teachers. The results o f A N O V A revealed that teachers wrote significantly more names in the categories o f general academic eminence [F(1, 315) = 3.93, p < .05], need much help in studies [F(1, 315) = 5.63, p < .02], and eminence in math [F(1, 315) = 12.19, p < .001]. Future (student) teachers recalled more names only for high general potential IF( l , 315) = 4.57, p < .04]. No significant interaction o f Sex × Status was, however, found.

Since effect o f age w a s p < .06 in the M A N O V A , the one-way A N O V A was carried out for age in each category o f salience. Significant differences were found in three categories. More names o f prominent p u p i l s - o f both s e x e s - i n grades 5-6 were recorded in the following categories: general aca- demic eminence [F(1,315) = 9.26, p < .003], discipline problems IF( l , 315) = 4.47, p < .04], and need much help in studies [F(I , 315) = 6.48, p < .02].

240 BenTsvi-Mayer, Hertz-Lazarowitz, and Safir

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Fig• 2• Differences in n o m i n a t i o n s of boys a n d girls (means of boys minus means o f girls).

Interaction of Sex × Age proved to be significant in two categories: need much help in studies [F(1,315) = 4.09, p < .05] and general high poten- tial [F(1,315) = 3.84, p < .05]. In the category of need much help in studies, teachers of grades 5-6 wrote more boys' and fewer girls' names• Those who teach K-4 wrote more boys' than girls' names in the category of high general potential (see Table II).

DISCUSSION

Our major findings indicate that teachers of children under 12 recalled and recorded more boys than girls as prominent pupils in major school-related categories• This asymmetry is characterized by specific, mostly sex-

Teachers' Selections of Prominent Pupils 241

Table II. Saliance of Pupils, Means, and Standard Deviations, by Sex of Pupil (B = Boy; G = girl) and Age Group, in Eight

Categories

Grades K-4 Grades 5-6

Categories Mean SD Mean SD

General academic eminence B 1.44 .93 1.69 .87 G 1.06 .81 1.13 .89

Discipline problems B 1.93 .86 2.19 .85 G .49 .69 .41 .61

Teachers think about them B 1.42 .84 1.62 .98 after school hours G .93 .81 .85 .92

Need much help in studies B 1.13 .93 1.51 1.04 G 1.18 .98 1.13 .94

Eminent social skills B 1.04 .89 1.02 .84 G 1.36 .85 1.40 .91

Eminent in mathematics B 1.35 .96 1.55 .99 G .54 .65 .55 .70

Eminent in Hebrew B .84 .88 .93 .95 G 1.17 .97 1.34 1.01

High general potential B 1.44 .94 1.26 .90 G .92 .82 1.17 .90

stereotypical areas that are dominated either by boys or girls. More boys than girls appear to stand out as best general achievers and in math, and as pos- sessing high potential. They also present most behavior problems. Moreover, teachers tend to think of more boys even after school hours. On the other hand, more girls stand out in social skills and in Hebrew.

This general picture is not affected by level of experience in teaching or age of the pupils. Both teachers and student teachers, of both younger and older age groups, reveal similar conventional perceptions of boys and girls. In particular, our findings point to an underestimation of girls as suc- cessful and/or interesting pupils.

Sex typing was most predictably manifested in the categories of emi- nence in math and high general potential for boys, and eminence in Hebrew and eminence in social skills for girls. However, two findings were unexpected: In place of the familiar image of girls as excelling pupils (Maccoby & Jack- lin, 1974), our subjects had more such boys in mind. Also surprising were our nonsignificant results regarding boys and girls in need much help in studies. Teachers recorded many names in this category--the third largest group of all categories-but given the majority of boys in all remedial class- es, a majority of boys needing help would have been more typical. In these two categories (general academic eminence and need much help in studies) boys scored more positively and girls more negatively than sex-stereotypically expected.

242 BenTsvi-Mayer, Hertz-Lazarowitz, and Safir

Boys' frequent discipline problems do not seem to effect the overall pic- ture of their high achievement, perhaps because these are classified under normal "naughty" conduct of boys. Similarly, girls' outstanding social skills are often deemed natural for their sex; at any rate, more as accomplishments than real achievements.

In our findings, boys seem to arouse more concern or feelings in teachers after school hours. This finding corroborates overall male prominence in this study as well as in our review of literature. Correspondingly, few girls took up substantial place in teachers' minds, although many were classified as need- ing frequent help, and few as best achievers.

Experienced teachers recorded more names in general. Perhaps matu- rity and experience lend more self-confidence in evaluating pupils. However, as already pointed out, in relation to pupils' sex, teachers and future teachers manifested shared views (no Status × Sex interaction), and henceforth will be referred to as one group of "teachers."

Sex and age of pupils appear related in two categories only: Teachers of grades 5-6 attribute need much help in studies to more boys than girls; teachers of K-4 do not. Perhaps the more exacting demands in higher grades reveal more weak male pupils. On the other hand, teachers of grades 5-6 record quite similar numbers of both sexes in the area of high general poten- tial, in contrast with teachers of the lower grades (K-4) who list many more boys in this category. These responses of teachers in grades 5-6 corroborate psychometric findings regarding equal potential. In the lower grades, however, a troubling teacher bias appears, to the detriment of younger girls, whose potential appears underestimated.

In light of these findings we might ask whether a predetermined sex- related division of prominence may in fact exist in the grade school. Such a claim might be supported by the classic theory of greater male var iabi l i ty- more males than females clustering at the extreme ends of the normal curve (Hutt, 1972). In educational terms, this would predict more boys in classes for both gifted and retarded pupils. However, the theory has been criticized as unreasonably deterministic and not sufficiently verified by research (Mac- coby& Jacklin, 1974; Lloyd & Archer, 1982; Fausto-Sterling, 1985). But even advocates of the greater male variability hypothesis do not propose it for children under 12 (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974), the age group in our research. Moreover, in our study there were no significantly more boys' than girls' names among those with learning difficulties (category of need much help in studies).

One of the reasons for the diminishment of the variability hypothesis may be the growing body of research on the effects of environmental sex role socialization. Moreover, many objective measurements do not bear out the belief of male intellectual superiority, especially in the 5-12 age group. It is now well established that whenever such superiority does appear on any subtest, this occurs near adolescence (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974). In contrast, in some Israeli studies boys started to excel, beginning with verbal ability,

Teachers' Selections of Prominent Pupils 243

at 9 (Lieblich, 1985; Safir, 1986). Our teacher respondents, however, indi- cated such eminence in younger boys, in grades K - 4 - i n contrast to Lieb- lich's findings that girls entering school are not only consistently equal, but (nonsignificantly) superior to boys. She suggests that teachers' beliefs may produce this early and unusual male superiority.

It is widely accepted that teachers can and do influence personal de- velopment and quality of life of their pupils. The question then arises as to the influence of sex-related perceptions of teachers on all pupils, and on girls in particular. If more boys predominate in the minds of their teachers as able and exciting, then girls may essentially linger on the margins of teacher attention. Although not enough is known of the impact of teacher attitudes' on pupils, it is reasonable to assume that they are expressed, in overt or covert ways, and do make a difference. Sex-stereotypical attitudes, such as found in this study, may distort pupils' thinking of themselves and of the other gender. In particular, they may deter girls from developing self-esteem and confidence so fundamental to the realization of personal potential, and cut short early participatory and leadership qualities right there on the first for- mal training ground, the classroom.

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246 BenTsvi-Mayer, Hertz-Lazarowitz, and Safir

A P P E N D I X 1

Who o f Your Pupils 3 Can Be Characterized by the Following Categories?

Please write 2-3 first names o f pupi ls you can immed ia t e ly recal l into the slots p rov ided for each ca tegory . The same pupi l ' s name m a y appea r in more than one ca tegory .

Genera l academic eminence

Discipl ine p rob l ems

I o f t en th ink o f them af te r school hours

Need much help in studies

Eminen t social skills

Eminen t in ma themat i c s

Eminen t in H e b r e w

High genera l po ten t i a l

.

2.

3.

1. 2. 3.

1. 2. 3.

1. 2. 3.

1. 2. 3.

1. 2. 3.

1. 2. 3.

1. 2. 3.

N a m e G r a d e or age

3Questionnaires were in Hebrew in which gender is indicated by masculine or feminine endings of the plural. "Pupils" was printed in the accepted form of specifically including both sexes (Talmidim/ot). In the categories sexually neutral language was used.