Dr Francis will present her findings at a seminar at the University of Greenwich today. Teachers themselves often accommodated the behaviour of male class clowns when their behaviour was not overly challenging or offensive. This applied to both male and female teachers. The suggestion is that teachers actually collaborate in the perpetuation of boys constructions, either by actively collaborating with their behaviour in class, or more passively regarding them with our admiration. Teachers expectations and behaviour can shape that of their pupils, according to the research.
Boys blame teachers and the media for propagating the view that girls are better at learning.
Some believed that teachers have higher expectations of girls, because they expect boys to cause trouble. Dr Francis observed that teachers are more likely to regard girls as their helpers in the classroom, for example, asking girls to hand things out to the class more often than boys. A number of boys claimed that teachers are more lenient to girls, boys being disciplined more quickly and severely. In contrast, bantering by girls with a male teacher can be constructed as flirtatious and, generally, girls do not usually actively call attention to themselves in class. Methods used included classroom observation in English and Maths lessons and individual interviews.