The Metropolitan Life Survey of the American Teacher, 1997: Examining Gender Issues in Public Schools

This report is part of a series of surveys that reflect MetLife's continued efforts to bring insight and understanding to current issues in education that affect American public schools. MetLife's overall goal is to bring the opinions of teachers and students to the attention of educators, policymakers and the American public. The 1997 survey sought the opinions of both students and teachers on topics related to students' future goals and expectations and their experiences in the classroom. Gender differences and similarities were the primary focus of the report. Public school students from middle and high schools nationwide, in grades seven through twelve, were surveyed on: (1) Goals they most want to achieve; (2) Confidence in achieving goals; (3) Expectations for the future and perceived opportunities to succeed; (4) Goal-striving difficulties and sources of encouragement; (5) Gender differences on behavioral characteristics; and (6) Differing behaviors of boys and girls in the classroom. A total of 1,306 students in grades 7-12 were surveyed during an English class using a self-administered questionnaire conducted between April 22, 1997 and June 2, 1997. Telephone interviews were conducted with 1,035 teachers who teach in middle school, junior high, or a high school, between April 28 and June 11, 1997. Reported findings include: (1) Girls are more likely than boys to see themselves as college bound; (2) Girls are more likely than boys to want a good education, especially minority girls; (3) Boys most often identify their athletic skills as the area in which they excel, and girls most often identify their people skills; (4) Boys and girls report similar degrees of confidence in their ability to achieve their goals and are equally likely to have high expectations for their future, but teachers believe girls have more confidence and aim higher than boys; (5) Minority girls are the group most likely to believe in equal opportunities; (6) Students believe boys and girls face different roadblocks in striving to reach their goals: the obstacle cited most often for boys is too much competition, and for girls it is fewer opportunities in society; (7) A substantial majority of girls and boys alike are actively encouraged by their parents, teachers and friends to pursue their goals, but girls receive more encouragement from some than boys; (8) Minority girls like school the most and white boys like it the least; (9) Some students exercise more caution than others when they participate in class; (10) Girls and boys alike feel they make important contributions in class but sex and race differences are notable; (11) The majority of students believe they are treated fairly by their teachers, but minority boys are the least likely to feel this way; and (12) White girls are most likely to receive positive feedback from teachers. Four appendices are included: (1) Survey Methodology for Students; (2) Harris/Scholastic Sample Design Methodology; (3) Survey Methodology for Teachers; and (4) Questionnaires. (Contains 55 figures and 122 tables.) [For the 1996 report, see ED504813, ED504814, ED504815 and ED504827.]