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.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Social Studies Education,
Faculty of Social Sciences, submitted to the School of
Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment
of the requirement for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Social Studies)
in the University of Education, Winneba
DECEMBER, 2020