Teaching Nine to Five: A Study of the Teaching Styles of Male and Female Professors.

This paper examines the relationship between teaching style and gender. Faculty at the school of education in a mid-Southern university were asked to complete the Van Tilburg/Heimlich Teaching Beliefs Scale and a demographic profile. The response rate was 57 percent, with 47 percent of the replies from male teachers and 53 percent from female teachers. Data analysis grouped respondents as: providers (low inclusion, high sensitivity, structured activities); facilitators (high inclusion, low sensitivity, subject-centered); experts (low inclusion, low sensitivity, subject-centered); enablers (high inclusion, high sensitivity, varied teaching practices); or neutral. The study found that 78 percent of all respondents preferred either the provider or enabler style; however, 53 percent of females preferred teaching-learning decisions constructed by learners, and 65 percent of males used teaching styles that do not allow participants to freely share ideas. Male teachers were found to be more dominant and exacting in their teaching style, while female teachers tended to be more informal and open toward students. The study concluded that the central differences in teaching styles resided in issues of inclusion and control. (Contains 27 references.) (CH)