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Sex differences in student—teacher interactions in the college classroom

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Abstract

An observational analysis of student—teacher interactions in 60 college classes revealed sex differences in student behaviors. Male students were the majority sex more often than females in classes taught by male lecturers; there was no sex difference for classes taught by female lecturers. Male students engaged in proportionately more student—teacher interactions than female students in male-taught classes; there was no sex difference in female-taught classes. Neither male nor female professors appeared to respond differentially to male and female students. Possible causes and implications of these findings are discussed.

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Sternglanz, S.H., Lyberger-Ficek, S. Sex differences in student—teacher interactions in the college classroom. Sex Roles 3, 345–352 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289557

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289557

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