Conformity to masculine norms and academic engagement in college men.

Abstract

Gender differences in academic engagement and performance have been explored by a number of researchers, with many qualitative researchers asserting that male students who endorse popular notions of masculinity are less likely to be academically engaged in school (Francis, 1999;Jackson, 2003;Morris, 2008). In the current study, the potential relationship between conformity to masculine norms and behaviors reflective of academic engagement was explored in a sample of college students in the United States. Specifically, the relationship between conformity to masculine norms and various learning and study strategies and approaches to learning were explored using correlational and regression analyses. As predicted, conformity to various masculine norms predicted engagement in adaptive learning and study strategies, intrinsic goal orientation, and deep and surface approaches to learning. Of the 11 masculine norms, 2 significantly predicted deep approach to learning and 3 predicted surface approach; all of the predictions were in a direction consistent with the notion that greater conformity to masculine norms is associated with decreased levels of behaviors reflective of academic engagement. These results suggest that investigations of the gender gap in academic performance would benefit from greater attention to variables such as conceptions of masculinity, conformity to masculine norms, and gender identity.

Which Boys and Which Girls Are Falling Behind? Linking Adolescents’ Gender Role Profiles to Motivation, Engagement, and Achievement

“…Boys who display high levels of physical aggression, competitiveness, and risky behaviors may experience more interpersonal conflict with their teachers and peers, thereby reducing their odds of success in school (Ueno and McWilliams 2010). Male students who endorse the physical aggression norm also report lower levels of mastery goals (Marrs 2016) and school enjoyment .…”

“…Indeed, individuals’ degree of gender role conformity matters, and rigid constructions of masculinity can undermine boys’ and young men’s academic success. For example, male students who feel pressured to appear emotionally detached and self-reliant have been found to adopt a surface approach to learning (Marrs 2016 ), avoid seeking help in the classroom (Leaper et al 2019 ), report lower levels of school engagement (A. A. Rogers, DeLay, et al 2017 ), and perform worse academically (Santos et al 2013 ).…”

“…Boys who display high levels of physical aggression, competitiveness, and risky behaviors may experience more interpersonal conflict with their teachers and peers, thereby reducing their odds of success in school (Ueno and McWilliams 2010 ). Male students who endorse the physical aggression norm also report lower levels of mastery goals (Marrs 2016 ) and school enjoyment (Rogers et al 2017 ). Meanwhile, by conceptualizing conformity as ranging along a continuum, prior studies indicate that boys and young men who reject rigid conformity to traditional masculine norms tend to be more academically successful.…”

School, Studying, and Smarts: Gender Stereotypes and Education Across 80 Years of American Print Media, 1930-2009

“…Since masculinity is partly constructed in opposition to femininity, an affinity for school is often stigmatizing for boys (Adler, Kleiss, and Adler 1992;Archer, Pratt, and Phillips 2001;Epstein 1998;Pascoe 2007;Thorne 1993;Young and Sweeting 2004). Indeed, students who conform more strongly to masculine norms also tend to be less engaged with school (Marrs 2016;Yavorsky and Buchmann 2019). We will thus examine the gender associations of (i) schooling.…”

Masculinities and Emotional Deficit: Linkages between Masculine Gender Pattern and Lack of Emotional Skills in Men who Mistreat Women in Intimacy

“…Nevertheless, for some authors (Rodríguez, 2009;Garrido, 2001), the treatment of this violence must not be restricted to its cultural dimension but must take into consideration the psychological particularity that makes some men more inclined than others to exert violence against women in their intimate relationships. Recent studies relate violence to personalities showing low frustration tolerance, paranoid, antisocial and narcissistic features (Garrido, 2001;Rojas, 2005;Mañas, 2005;Amor, Echeburúa, & Loinaz, 2009) and even a lesser intellectual engagement (Marrs, 2013). These studies argue that the special complexity of gender-based violence in intimacy requires the integration of additional factors likely to have a direct effect on their expression.…”