| Nicole Gibson
NSF
Gender differences in survey responses of science teachers
FINAL REPORT:
The science teacher component of the National Science and Mathematics Education Survey(1993) was analyzed to determine differences in male and female response rates. The study includes 747 male and 472 female high school teachers and 313 male, 462 female middle school teachers from public and private schools in the United States. Survey questions included in the study were chosen to correspond with the recommendation of the National Science Education Standards (1996) on teaching methods. The Chi-squared test of independent samples, with alpha set at .05, was used to determine differences. Results show that male and female teachers consider similar teaching strategies to be important, but a higher percentage of female teachers indicate that they use the strategies. Major gender differences include response rates of the frequency of small group work and laboratory experiences in the classroom, the importance placed on non-traditional assessment strategies, and the teacher's self-report on how well prepared s/he feels to encourage female and minority students to participate in science. The findings reflect a need for greater equity training in teacher preparation and professional development programs.
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