Gender

Please find below the instructions of the Paper:

Section 3: Exploring Issues of Gender and Exceptionality
Our society can be viewed as a melting pot which includes different ethnicities, races, gender and academic abilities. As we are all different in one way or the other, we are all the same and everyone is entitled to equal treatment and respect. As an educational leader of a school or classroom, you are often confronted with difficult decisions regarding personnel and must remember to make decisions which are fair, consistent and represent equality.
Gender
Many of the countries in which girls� enrollment still lags have expressed a strong commitment to promote the education of girls, but their efforts are constrained by three challenges. First, as countries make progress in extending educational access to education, the marginal cost of reaching those still not served increases. Second, strategies that were successful in extending educational opportunity when access was low may not yield the same returns as the proportion of children out of school shrinks. Third, the nature of the problems girls face is changing. In many countries, the emphasis on raising initial enrollment is giving way to promoting the conditions that encourage girls� persistence and achievement in schooling.
Citation of Quote: Chapman D. Promoting education access, persistence, and achievement for girls: What works.
Paper presented at the SEAMEO-UNESCO
Education Congress and Expo, 27-29 May 2004, Bangkok.
Students with Exceptionalities
Today�s classrooms contain a diverse population of students; they include diversified genders, cultural backgrounds, and different levels of intellectual abilities. Although each student is different, as educators we must value each student as a unique individual and be skilled enough to educate them and challenge them to the best of their abilities. Among the diverse student population, a large number of students are those with exceptionalities and are present in the mainstream classroom. In the United States, 5.5 million students (8 percent) have a learning disability of some sort. These students are those who have Individual Educational Plans (IEP) and require some sort of modification or accommodation in their daily instruction.

Required Reading:
See Activities for Required Readings.
Assignment 3  Week 3: Gender
This week�s lesson focuses on gender in the classroom. We have come a long way in recognizing males and females are equal and should have the same opportunities in society. According to Gollnick and Chinn (2009) �Many people believe that if the school experiences of boys and girls are changed, differences in academic achievement will be eliminated, and both will have a chance for more equitable lives� (p. 147). If asked, many school administrators would contend their schools are gender neutral, where there is gender equality. However, if we examine the make-up of a typical school; women represent the majority of the population in elementary schools and the number of male teachers increase in middle and high schools. While a large portion of the male staff is math and science teachers, women tend to teach subjects associated with language and social sciences. Although it may not be intentional, society tends to treat male and female students differently.

Required Reading
Gollnick, D. M., & Chinn, P. C. (2009) Multicultural education in a pluralistic society
Chapter 4- Gender and Sexual Orientation
Supplemental Reading
Exploring and understanding gender in education: a qualitative research manual for education practitioners and gender focal points (2005) Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok. Key Chapters 2 and 3Anticipatory Set
Video Viewing: The Fairer Sex? (Please view the video on the DVD that accompanied your text – Chapter 4).
Self-Reflection
This video segment depicts a man and woman who decide to see for themselves if men and women are treated differently in identical situations; such as buying a car, getting clothes dry cleaned, setting a tee time at a golf course and interviewing for a job. Using a hidden camera, they documented how women often suffer from a subtle and insidious kind of discrimination that is hard to quantify and difficult to prove.
While watching this video, consider and reflect in the following questions.
Is this the way we want to see our future society?
As an educational leader, how could such a situation impact your school community?
What steps could an educational leader employ to prevent such a situation?
Please respond to one of the two scenarios.
As principal of the Sunflower Elementary School, you are leading the interview committee through the process of hiring a first grade teacher. After reviewing more than sixty resumes, the committee has decided to interview the top three candidates. The best candidate without a doubt is Mr. Green-Smith. During the interview process he shares how he and his domestic partner recently moved into town. In the hiring process, you want full consensus among the interview members; however, Mrs. Beetle a veteran kindergarten teacher has strong reservations about hiring Mr. Green-Smith. She is concerned with the perceptions of the kindergarten parents and how people in the small community may be judgmental. What do you do? Please elaborate on your course of action(s).
Or
In your school district, you are the director of the state mandated Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) initiative. In January, you are reviewing the enrollment data of the STEM classes offered in the district and notice a great disparity between the male and female enrollment in the courses. After you share these findings with the superintendent, she asks you to develop an action plan to increase female participation in the program by September. The action plan should promote the awareness and career demands in STEM careers and include; long term and short goals, objectives, timelines, benchmarks, personnel responsible and how will success of the action plan be measured
Length: 5-7 pages (app. 350 words per page) include minimum of 5 peer reviewed journal articles
Your action plan should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.
Learning Outcomes: 3 and 4
Assignment Outcomes
Evaluate differentiated instructional approaches to learning by focusing on the strengths and needs of diverse learners.
Integrate knowledge and skills into strategies of effective and reflective practices to reduce academic achievement gaps.
Course Work