Does students' machismo fit in school? Clarifying the implications of traditional gender role ideology for school belonging

Abstract

How much students feel at home in school predicts academic outcomes. In view of the gender achievement gap, it is worth examining the gendered pattern of this school belonging. Studies on school belonging, however, have barely acknowledged possible obstructive effects of traditional gender role attitudes of individual students and student cultures. This study examines the relationship between gender role attitudes and a sense of school belonging among a sample of 6380 students from 59 Flemish schools at the start of their secondary education. The results of multilevel analyses indicate that boys show less sense of school belonging than girls, as do students with more traditional beliefs about gender roles. Moreover, student attitudes related to gender roles are strongly shared at the school level, so that we can speak of a gender role student culture. Students enrolled in more traditional gender role student cultures reveal less school belonging

Effects of personality traits and social status on academic achievement: Gender differences

“…It is the increasing advantage of girls over boys in terms of academic achievement (e.g., Morris, ). Following this theoretical framework, boys’ lower academic achievement could be explained by the incompatibility of the dominant concept of masculinity with the attitudes and behaviors necessary for obtaining good grades (e.g., Huyge, Van Maele, & Van Houtte, ; Legewie & DiPrete, ; Morris, ). In contrast, commitment to school work is not in contradiction with the dominant concept of femininity (Maccoby, ).…”

The Relationship Between Youngsters’ Gender Role Attitudes and Individual, Home, and School Characteristics

“…Boys express-in general-more traditional GRA than girls, and traditional GRA are, in turn, related to negative social and scholastic outcomes (Huyge et al, 2015). This places boys at greater risk for academic underachievement and understanding GRA construction in boys could help increase boys' sense of school belonging (Huyge et al, 2015) and reduce their engagement in violent and criminal behavior (e.g., Ben-David & Schneider, 2005;Flood & Pease, 2009). …”

“…Traditional GRA is found to negatively affect academic participation (Vella, 1994) and academic achievement through its influence on students' sense of school belonging (Huyge, Van Maele, & Van Houtte, 2015) and students' expectations for academic success (Davis & Greenstein, 2009;Davis & Pearce, 2007;McDaniel, 2010).…”

Aproximación etnográfica a la construcción de las identidades femeninas y masculinas en Educación Primaria

“…De alguna manera desde el profesorado se les está obligando a pertenecer a un grupo de género acorde con su sexo, sin permitir desviaciones, lo que aumenta la presión de acomodarse al patrón de género establecido por la sociedad. Se puede hablar de una cultura de género, ya que los roles tradicionales son aceptados por, prácticamente, toda la comunidad escolar (Huyge, Van Maele & Van Houtte, 2015).…”