GENDER INEQUITY IN THE CLASSROOM RESEARCH IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND THEORIES OF LEARNING Gender inequity is not only learned and accepted in the socialization process that starts at home, but is also present in the school environment form the very early years. Parents and teachers consciously or unconsciously reinforce sex stereotypes. In 1992 Olivares and Rosenthal's research findings examined three areas:1-interactions in the classroom that are both teacher-to-student and student-to-student2-instruction features involving relation between classroom activities and the gender of the students assigned to perform the activities3-the perceptions of gender roles through teachers modeling of sex stereotypes in the classroom. There are fundamental elements of the school environment develop and reinforce inequity: teachers may be unaware of their gender bias; there is a lack of school textbooks and other instructional materials are sex-bias free; and children may interact according to strongly stereotyped gender blueprints.There are teachers who promote gender equity and believe all students should receive the same opportunities to classroom resources and participation an activities. A number of teachers believe the cause of gender equity is best served through a approach of extending equal opportunities to all students and being sensitive to the special need of the groups perceived to be "at risk."Commeyras et al. (1997) stated that teachers generally agreed the there is a need for implementing gender-fair strategies, yet feel uncomfortable actively addressing gender issues in their classrooms. They are often unsure how much authority they should exert in determinin...
