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Failing to notice? Uneven teachers’ attention to boys and girls in the classroom

Author

Listed:
  • Marina Bassi

    (World Bank Group)

  • Mercedes Mateo Díaz

    (Inter-American Development Bank)

  • Rae Lesser Blumberg

    (University of Virginia)

  • Ana Reynoso

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

This paper analyzes whether teachers’ attention to boys and girls differs in low-performing schools in Chile, where large gender gaps in test scores are also observed. We coded 237 videotaped classes of fourth graders, identifying specific behaviors of teachers toward boys and girls. The results show a general imbalance in teachers’ attention and interactions favoring boys. Gender attention gap is correlated with lower scores in math for girls on Chile’s national standardized test (SIMCE). The gender attention gap was also greater in general in classrooms in which teachers had overall worse interactions with students, as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). The evidence in this paper contributes to the discussion about whether traditional measures of teacher–student interactions really capture all that matters for learning. JEL Classification O12, J16, I2

Suggested Citation

  • Marina Bassi & Mercedes Mateo Díaz & Rae Lesser Blumberg & Ana Reynoso, 2018. "Failing to notice? Uneven teachers’ attention to boys and girls in the classroom," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-22, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:izalbr:v:7:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1186_s40172-018-0069-4
    DOI: 10.1186/s40172-018-0069-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Marina Bassi & Costas Meghir & Ana Reynoso, 2020. "Education Quality and Teaching Practices," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 130(631), pages 1937-1965.
    2. Rakshit, Sonali & Sahoo, Soham, 2023. "Biased teachers and gender gap in learning outcomes: Evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender gap; Quality of teacher–student interactions; Student learning;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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