A 'microcosm of society'
Directions: Read the given passage and answer the question that follows by selecting the most appropriate option.
Clearly the socialisation of gender is reinforced at school. "Because classrooms are microcosms of society, mirroring its strengths and ills alike, it follows that the normal socialisation patterns of young children that often lead to distorted perceptions of gender roles are reflected in the classrooms." (Marshall, 1997). Yet gender bias in education reaches beyond socialisation patterns, bias is embedded in textbooks, lessons, and teacher interactions with students. This type of gender bias is part of the hidden curriculum of lessons taught implicitly to students through the everyday functioning of their classroom.
Research has found that boys were far more likely to receive praise or remediation from a teacher than were girls. The girls were most likely to receive an acknowledgement response from their teacher. They give boys greater opportunity to expand ideas and be -animated than they do girls and that they reinforce boys more for general responses than they do for girls. Clearly the socialisation of gender roles and the use of a gender-biased hidden curriculum lead to an inequitable education for boys and girls. Gender bias in education is an insidious problem that causes very few people to stand up and take notice.