Boys keep swinging? Sex-composition of the school and pressure for gender-conformity

Houtte, Mieke Van

doi:10.1080/09540253.2020.1765995

Cited by 4 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…From a theoretical perspective, our findings are important for understandings of the peer influence process and should be taken into account in future empirical and theoretical research on gender interactions in the school or classroom context. Although many sociological studies of peer influence incorporate the role of gender (e.g., Demanet et al 2013; Van Houtte 2021), economic studies of peer effects in particular could benefit from taking gender into account (Akerlof and Kranton 2002). Our study uses a unique empirical design in which we are able to hold factors such as the socioeconomic composition of peers and friendships constant while analyzing micro-situational variations stemming from academic subject–specific differences in peer traits across different educational contexts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although our results indicate that same-gender peers serve as both normative and comparative reference groups simultaneously, there are other potential mechanisms that can generate peer influence. These include pressures toward gender conformity (Aspenlieder et al 2009; Carver et al 2003; Hoffman et al 2019; Lamb et al 1980; Van Houtte 2021) and gendered peer cultures shaping study attitudes and behavior (Demanet et al 2013). Whatever the explanation for the heterogeneous relationships between peer and individual outcomes, our results clearly suggest that the mechanisms leading to peer effects are complex and diverse.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, ethnographic studies have shown that boys are more likely to form oppositional peer cultures in schools, hampering their achievement (Renold 2001; Swain 2006; Willis 1983; Younger et al 1999). In general, peer culture tends to form along gendered lines and affect the academic outcomes of boys and girls in heterogeneous ways (Demanet et al 2013; Huyge et al 2015; Van Houtte 2004; Van Houtte 2021). Second, studies within STEM education have investigated the role of same-gender friendships on students’ STEM preferences and behavior.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These findings have been corroborated in several quantitative studies of gendered peer influence, which generally show that boys in particular are subject to peer influence in education (Coleman 1961; Heyder, van Hek, and Van Houtte 2021; Rosenqvist 2018; Thijs, Verkuyten, and Helmond 2010; Van Houtte 2004). Third, research has also shown evidence of peer pressure for gender conformity in school (Aspenlieder et al 2009; Carver, Yunger, and Perry 2003; Hoffman et al 2019; Lamb, Easterbrooks, and Holden 1980; Van Houtte 2021) and that such pressures often stem from same-gender peers (Lamb et al 1980). Finally, a few studies within the econometric literature on peer effects have identified peer effects from same-gender peers rather than the entire peer group (Arcidiacono and Nicholson 2005; Ficano 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The present study complements this previous research on the gendered nature of peer influence by considering how general academic peer traits (achievement, self-concept, and interest) of same- and other-gender peers are related to individual students’ achievement and self-concept. Despite a strong interest in the effects of gender composition on individual students’ outcomes, much research until now has focused on the “ x side” of the peer-effect equation, that is, studying gendered peer effects by focusing on gender composition (Demanet et al 2013; Hoxby 2000; Lavy and Schlosser 2011; Van Houtte 2021). However, building on recent research, we argue that research should also focus on the “ y side,” that is, whether male and female peers have heterogeneous impacts on boys and girls.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Do Same-Gender Peers in the Classroom Have Heterogeneous Impacts on Male and Female Students?

Smith

Andersen

2022

Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World

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The authors investigate if same-gender peers in the immediate learning context have heterogeneous associations with academic outcomes of male and female students. By applying within-student across-subjects models to data from 44 countries in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, the authors examine “situational” within-classroom differences between immediate (peer) learning environments for the same student. The results show, first, that student outcomes are correlated primarily with traits of same-gender peers and, second, that different peer traits have diverse associations with student outcomes. Because of the empirical design, the authors are able to hold factors such as the socioeconomic composition of peers and friendships constant. These findings highlight the importance of gender in the peer influence process in the classroom as well as the diverse channels through which peer traits operate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Do Same-Gender Peers in the Classroom Have Heterogeneous Impacts on Male and Female Students?

Smith

Andersen

2022

Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World

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Student and Teacher Culture and Composition and the Development of Gender Role Attitudes among Young Adolescents

Ullrich,

Van Houtte,

Becker

2023

J. Youth Adolescence

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Research has shown that gender role attitudes develop during adolescence; however, the relevant predictors remain a matter of debate. In adolescence, the school environment gains in importance. Thus, the present study investigates how students’ and especially teachers’ culture and composition predict the development of gender role attitudes in young adolescents. The study addresses this question using a sample of 7360 Flemish students (44.8% girls), who were surveyed three times after entering secondary education between 2012 (Mage = 13.14, SD = 0.56) and 2014. Latent change models reveal that boys’ initial gender role attitudes are associated with the students’ gender role culture; however, boys with more traditional gender role attitudes do not develop in an even more traditional direction at the beginning of secondary education. In contexts with a more privileged student SES composition, boys develop less traditional attitudes, while a traditional gender role culture among teachers supports the development of more traditional gender role attitudes among boys. Girls with more traditional gender role attitudes find themselves within student contexts with a more traditional culture. However, the development does not vary with the students’ gender role culture. Overall, boys seem more susceptible to students’ cultural and compositional characteristics.

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When the context withholds girls from gender a‐typical conduct: Schools' gender role culture and disruptive school behaviour of boys and girls

Houtte

2023

Sociology Compass

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On average, boys display more disruptive school behaviour than girls. This study looks at this behaviour in the first place as gendered behaviour, investigating whether boys' and girls' disruptive behaviour is associated with their schools' student and teacher gender role culture. Multilevel analyses (HLM7) of representative Flemish data of 2706 male and 2436 female 8th grade students in resp. 57 and 49 secondary schools, and 1247 teachers gathered at the end of school‐year 2013/14, revealed that a more traditional student gender role culture is associated with less disruptive school behaviour in girls. As for boys, the positive association between traditional student gender role culture and disruptive school behaviour disappears when accounting for their individual gender role attitudes, which are significantly more traditional than those of girls. More traditional gender role attitudes coincide with more disruptive behaviour in boys and girls. Moreover, boys displaying less disruptive behaviour report a higher felt pressure for gender conformity. No impact is found of the homogeneity of teachers' gender role attitudes. The findings demonstrate that disruptive school behaviour can be looked at as gendered behaviour and can be tackled, at least partly, by discouraging gender stereotypical beliefs in students.

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Boys keep swinging? Sex-composition of the school and pressure for gender-conformity

Cited by 4 publications

References 52 publications

Do Same-Gender Peers in the Classroom Have Heterogeneous Impacts on Male and Female Students?

Do Same-Gender Peers in the Classroom Have Heterogeneous Impacts on Male and Female Students?

Student and Teacher Culture and Composition and the Development of Gender Role Attitudes among Young Adolescents

When the context withholds girls from gender a‐typical conduct: Schools' gender role culture and disruptive school behaviour of boys and girls

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