Quantitative Study of Verbal Communication of the Teacher toward Girls and Boys

Abstract

This study aims to observe the activity of teachers with girls and boys with respect to an object of teaching: the Handstand in gymnastics in college. Many studies have allowed us to see that the school participates in the construction of an "educational inequality" between girls and boys (Vigneron, 2006; Cogérino, 2007). Our study population is composed of 8 teachers of EPS (4 men and 4 women) and 176 eighth-grade students. The analysis of the content of communications (organization, incentives, discipline and teaching content) shows us that there is a significant difference between the gender of teachers and the nature of the communications. So the role of context appears to act at both poles of the didactic interaction (teacher profile and solicitations of students). These two factors combine to determine the interactions of the teacher in learning situations.