Breaking Down Stereotypes in Physics Education

The assignment is based on a socio-cultural pedagogical situation in Australia where girls are discouraged from taking science courses due to the perception that they are masculine. The initiative aims to promote gender equality by encouraging girls to pursue subjects where they perform better, revising lesson plans, and educating parents through school meetings and the website. The goal is to eliminate the culture that certain careers are feminine or masculine and ensure equal treatment and opportunities for all students.

Running head: GENDER, SEXUALITY AND EDUCATION 1
A Socio-Cultural Pedagogical Report on; Gender, Sexuality, and Schooling
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GENDER, SEXUALITY AND EDUCATION 2
Introduction
This paper outlines a practical pedagogical initiative developed in response to a socio-
cultural educational situation which has been more evident in our communities encountered in
the area of gender and schooling by a graduate teacher. Gender and schooling are based on the
understanding that variations in the experiences and results in education for boys and girls are as
a result of gender on what are the expectations, behaviors, and interests of the two sexes
(McClintock & Anne, 2013). The impact of gender and schooling acknowledge that boys are
valued by the education system over girls in many parts of the world. There most evident cases
in the social-cultural area of area of gender and schooling in most institutions (Jones et al., 2012,
p. 437). Gender is an aspect that has been distinct in many parts of the world both in schools as
well as other fields. Both the initiative and the pedagogical situation are evident in this paper by
a rationale which is theoretically informed.
The socio-cultural educational situation is set in a huge state high school on the outskirts
of Brisbane, along with Racecourse road in Australia. It has been noted that most of the student
who joins the institution are boys and also a few female students select subjects related to
technical courses. This I observed as a graduate teacher and taking students for year 10 through
physics. It was also present in a task force report that was commissioned on gender equity in
schools to ensure that all students had equal chances of education and careers (Vavrus, 2009, p.
383). The year ten students are making their subject selection before advancing to year 11. It is
astonishing how the girls are performing in physics, and other technical subjects and they drop
them. This is due to the perception that certain careers such as engineering suitable for males.
This was the response given by the girls upon asking them why they don't opt for physics. They
also argued that the community valued technical courses as male careers. The socio-cultural

GENDER, SEXUALITY AND EDUCATION 3
pedagogical situation that is faced with as a graduate teacher is a large number of female students
in year ten opting to drop physics despite performing well because it is linked to technical
courses that are perceived to belong to males.
As a pedagogical initiative to curb this issue, I have decided to sink into educating female
students on the need to ignore such perceptions hindering them from subject selection and career
choices. This will mainly be mainly through reviewing the lesson plans and putting down new
ones. I will also enlighten parents during school meeting on post-school career pathways and
bring a session of dealing with school culture in my class and the school at large (McClintock &
Anne, 2013).
Rationale
Critics on whether girls should take sciences and the perspective that technical courses
are a common thing in most parts of the world affecting gender and schooling of many students.
In my case, I am faced with girls in year ten not selecting physics as one of their subjects. The
main cause of this was the culture that boys were best suited to pursue careers linked to technical
courses. In my class of year 10, I have witnessed some well-performing girls opt to drop physics
in claims that it is not feminine subjects based on their careers and also the culture that the
society has towards girls who enroll in technical courses (Jones et al., 2012, p. 438). The
rationale here is to justify the presence of this scenario in my class as a graduate teach and lay
down the suitable means to help the girls under questions fight this articulation that makes them
drop physics when proceeding to year 11 (Asher, 2007, p. 66). The rationale will also involve an
initiative focused on the school parents during the meeting to enlighten them on the significance
of providing equal chances to both girls and girls in the Australian community.

GENDER, SEXUALITY AND EDUCATION 4
The educators in the Australian school have to put in practice the regions national
curriculum and the teachers have a diverse and complicated role in managing gender questions in
all fields in everyday life of students at school not taking any side. There are socio-cultural
beliefs that have in the past valued the male child to be highly valued and advantaged compared
to the girl child. This is evident in the cases in my class of year ten girls who have been victims
of not taking physics and other technical subjects such as chemistry due to the perspective from
the community that these subjects were masculine. This nature has largely advantaged the male
child over the female. The partakers in this institution and the community at large should be
made aware of the Australian policy that had been initialized back in the 1970s up to the late
1980s enabling women to receive same and equal treatment as males (Robinson & Davies, 2008,
p. 222).
Some examples of gender and schooling pedagogical are one study conducted by Forum
for African Women Educationalists' (FAWE) that was aimed to utilize cultural norms, role
models, and institutional dynamics to inform the creation and application of lesson plans seeking
to remove gender barriers in class. It was initiated because girls' barriers in class and setting that
may hinder their ability to equally take place and exploit their academic potential (Jones et al.,
2012, p. 450). The case of girls of year ten not taking physics and other subjects termed to be
masculine is gender sensitive pedagogical and teachers should handle them with care and give
proper guidelines and equal chances to all students regardless of their gender (Smith et al., 2014).
This was also constituted by myths in the community that male students perform better in
physics and other technical subjects compared to females. This was opposed by the fact that girls
of year 10 had an overwhelming performance in my subject, i.e., physics compared to girls
(Flintoff et al., 2008, p. 73). Thus, girls in year ten were dropping physics for subjects such as

GENDER, SEXUALITY AND EDUCATION 5
arts due to the claims that have been characterized in the gender and education for a long time in
the past. Another myth that I will highlight in my rationale is that for creating awareness to
parents, students and the community at large to embrace a change in schooling practices so that
female can have equal chances for experiencing career subjects as well as males (Vavrus, 2009,
p. 383). This rationale will help push for gender equality in the school and Australia at large by
making the girl child feel valued and presented with the same chance as boys in the fraternity.
Pedagogical Initiative
The issue brought about by the high number of girls from my year ten science class not
taking physics in year 11 as a result of perceptions about it and other science subjects termed as
masculine and the future career is a complex socio-cultural pedagogical situation in nature. The
situation is linked to other huge issues in the society of gender and gender inequality. However,
the claim that physics and other science subjects are masculine is a belief that has no support
base. To demonstrate to my female students, parents and the entire school at large that physics
and other science subjects do not have any relevant links for the girls in lives and their career
aspirations. I have designed a practical pedagogical initiative that includes strengthening
female’s experiences of the world in my class, school and the community as a whole (Robinson
& Davies, 2008, p.239). This will take place through revision of the lesson plans and write new
ones over the year as time goes by as well as organizing enlightening talks to the parents during
school meeting and re-organizing specific aspects of the built environment of the science
classroom itself.
Writing and revising the lesson plans and coming up with learning experiences which
actively show young females experiences will target some work units over the course of the
coming semester specifically for those which target physics and other science subjects (Jackson

GENDER, SEXUALITY AND EDUCATION 6
& Mazzei, 2008). My area of specialization will be the experimentation bit where have noted
through a survey that begins major after subject selection. This area is where most girls claimed
not to like (Meyer, 2010, p. np) and thus constitutes to poor performance to those who choose
physics in year 11. I will prepare few practical lessons in the science laboratory and incorporate
the girls to actively take part in measuring volumes of specified objects so that they may gain a
better understanding and monitor the necessary concepts in using scientific instruments and
obtain the correct measurements. These lessons will be in a series format articulating what the
students will cover to real-life situations that will narrow down to career opportunities in future.
The practical part will be articulated to economically driven processes of devolution and
deregulation present in the current working climate which are regressive to end gender inequality
(Yates, 2009). These processes have also opened up new chances for creative feminine
intervention with the shift towards active policy schools.
There will be a session of talking to the girls about careers. These will be mainly to pass
the point that it is not the subject that matters which post-school career choice one makes make
but most important the grade scored. Some girls ended up performing poorly in their final exams
in physics after putting into consideration the claims and culture that physics and other science
subjects guided one to masculine career courses (Liasidou et al., 2014). The school's course
guideline should outline that to students selecting subjects so that girls do not feel limited in
taking science courses where they could have performed better.
Moreover, I will review the national action plan for the girl child education with the year
ten science class, the school and the community through a percentage of parents who attend
meetings in the school. This will discourage the culture developed towards girls who take
physics and other science subjects termed as masculine (Sing & Khine, 2008, p.299). The

GENDER, SEXUALITY AND EDUCATION 7
national policy of Australia resulted in the national action plan for the education of girls which
involved eight prioritized areas. They include; examining the construction of gender, improving
the educational results for girls who benefit least from schooling due to socio-cultural factors and
others, eliminating sex harassment for the girl child and reforming the curriculum and teacher
practice to end these practices (Robinson, 2014, p. 221). Through the review of this plan, the
school and community will be able to see them through which the girls are disadvantaged
through their school experiences. This may be used to expound on the fact that at year 10 class,
girls were performing better than boys as opposed to their final exams where trends showed girls
who had the potential to score highest grades during their final exams ended up underperforming
(Yates, 2008). The reasons attributed to this could be the culture that physics and other science
were masculine.
However, after the increased awareness on gender equality in schools and diversification
of careers to fit both sexes, an alarming number of girls will join science courses and achieve
better results overall than boys. This plan will enlighten the girls on the continued narrowed
definition of gender as reflected in post-career options. Through this, the will be a high number
of girls who have the potential to perform better in physics and other science subjects in my class
and the school as a whole. In exploiting the plan, I will also teach the girls in my class that the
extent that the school achieves in gender equality does not mainly translate into workplace
reforms. The entire fraternity and also that schools do not all times teach the skills required to
curb post-school barriers hindering equity (Clegg & Rowland, 2010, p. 720).
I will launch my initiative first to the girls in my class (year 10) and also the boys to
educate them on the need for equal treatment and chances across all parties. After creating
awareness in my class and aiding the girls who have problems whether to pursue physics and

GENDER, SEXUALITY AND EDUCATION 8
other sciences (Thompson & Harbaugh, 2013, p. 301). I will proceed to the school administration
to request for permission to address the same issue to parents during the general meeting and the
school website. This will help cover wider regions and enlighten people that no careers are
feminine or masculine.
Conclusion
This paper is based on a socio-cultural pedagogical situation, and the initiative laid to
solve the problem. The situation in the picture is the low number year ten girls in a school in
Australia who choose to proceed with physics and other science subjects despite performing well
than boys. This situation is constituted by the belief that science course leads to masculine
careers which are not true. Students' career is determined by the overall performance of the
student in class regardless of the subject.
The initiative has come up with as a graduate teacher is to revise the lesson plan of the
girls in year 10 and encourage them to pursue subjects which they perform better despite the
socio-cultural situations in the fraternity. Additionally, I will reach out to the community through
meeting the parents during school meetings. This will aid in dealing with the inequality that girls
face due to the culture that there career that is masculine. Through an analysis of all teachers in
the school, those upholding the same pedagogical situation will be able to figure things right and
lay down strategies for ensuring equity across all students taking particular subjects and create
awareness to others within the institution.

GENDER, SEXUALITY AND EDUCATION 9
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