Teacher talk with boys and girls

last updated:October 2007

We chose this case study because it investigated the way in which girls’ and boys’ experiences of praise and feedback in the primary classroom can differ.

The findings link to the main study’s findings about girls’ and boys’ different responses to challenge after their transfer to secondary school.

The study took place with 31 Year 5 pupils (aged 9-10) in a state maintained primary school. The teacher asked a non-teaching assistant and pupils to tally the number of different types of verbal interactions she had with the boys and girls in her primary school class during the course of one week. She also tape-recorded some sessions. The teacher noted several differences in how she praised and gave feedback to boys and girls.

The first week’s observations made it clear that, in this classroom, boys received more verbal teacher interventions than girls. These tended to be given in public, in a whole class context. When the teacher spoke to girls, she tended to give feedback more quietly, in private. Comments from the teacher to boys tended to be longer and more detailed, as well as more frequent. Several different types of interactions were identified.

The boys received more instructions than the girls. These were often lengthy and precise and explained why something was being asked of them. The boys were asked more questions than the girls, but the girls often answered questions more accurately and precisely. The boys asked more questions than the girls and had more of their questions answered. Girls’ questions tended to relate to set tasks and activities; boys questions were often personal questions, asked during both formal and informal times of the day.

The boys received about four times more reprimands than the girls. Many of these were lengthy, explanatory and given in a whole class context. Boys and girls received similar amount of ‘helping’ interventions, which were usually given in the context of individual or small group work. It seemed that boys and girls received similar amounts of private attention.  Girls received more ‘checking’ interventions, which ensured that the girls were getting on satisfactorily with their work, but which tended to be cursory.

Boys received more ‘miscellaneous’ comments, which tended to be informal and friendly.

The type and frequency of praise given to girls and boys also differed. The girls often received brief praise for behaviour such as sitting still, being ready and being quiet. They received more of this type of praise than the boys. The praise given to boys was intended to encourage and enthuse them in their work. It was longer and more complex than the praise for good behaviour. Boys received this type of ‘personal’ praise more often than did girls.

The teacher also discovered that, whilst girls’ perceptions of the number and type of teacher comments they received were in line with the research findings, boys perceived the girls to receive more teacher attention. This mismatch suggested that the boys’ expectations of teacher intervention were higher than those of the girls.

The teacher developed different ways of responding to pupils as a result of her investigation. She dealt with most questions privately, rather than in a whole class context, introduced a three-chance tally system to record reprimands privately and tied to make her expositions to the whole class as precise and non-repetitive as possible. After a two week trial, the pupils listened more carefully, worked on their tasks for longer, sought attention less than before and seemed much calmer. The pupils agreed at the end of the trial period that they preferred the new system and it was maintained until the end of the school year.

Reference: Addy, M., Teacher talk with boys and girls.