Perception of tutors of colleges of education on gender equity and its influence on their classroom practices in the Ashanti region

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the perception of tutors of Colleges of Education in the Ashanti Region on gender equity and how their perceptions influence their classroom practices. It was also meant to explore how tutors‘ own practices create gender biases and stereotypes and how tutors can do away with these biases to promote equity in the class to effect social change and development. Four research questions were raised to guide the study on how college tutors perceive gender and gender equity, the extent to which tutors‘ perceptions translate to their classroom practices, the benefits of promoting gender equity in the classroom, and the challenges of achieving gender equity in the classroom. The embedded exploratory sequential mixed method was adopted with sample size of 132 chosen using Yamane‘s formula from four public mixed colleges. In order to get some lessons observed, twelve (12) tutors comprising five (5) females and seven (7) males of the sampled population volunteered for their lessons to be observed. A questionnaire with a five-point Likert Scale was used to gather quantitative data while observation data were used to validate qualitative results. Frequency counts and percentages were used to analyse quantitative data with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while thematic analysis and coding were used to analyse observation findings. The study revealed that tutors perceive gender as a social construct and these constructions breed inequities and create biases in major sectors of the community. It further revealed that tutors understand gender equity as fairness and justice that are given to individual males and females in education more importantly the classroom and that tutors own actions breed biases and stereotypes in the classroom. Tutors classroom practices were seen to contain some level of biases and stereotypes. The study further indicated that greater attempts are made to promote equity in the classroom through tutor pedagogies, language usage, teaching and learning materials selection and usage and provision of counselling services to males and females during classroom interactions. The study recommended that educational planners and deliverers should put much emphasis on gender equity and inclusivity in the school curriculum so that it will induce tutors to strive hard to promote gender equity in their classroom practices in order to achieve gender equality in education.