Key Assessment – Faculty Issues Related to Gender (ELCC Standards 2.1, 2.2, 5.1, 6.2, 

6.3) 

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You are an elementary principal, and your faculty is all female, except for the physical 

education teacher. As you work with your teachers on the development of curriculum 

and lesson plans, you begin to notice a subconscious prejudice about expectations for 

students depending on gender. When you observe classes, you notice that boys are 

called upon more in science lessons, and that they typically take the lead in the labs and 

experiments. You also notice that girls are called upon more frequently to answer 

questions in reading lessons. As the teachers lead the discussions about the reading 

selections, the teachers express an obvious opinion about gender roles in the family. If 

you had not looked at the calendar, you would think that you were in the fifties as 

indicated by some of the comments made by the teachers about the roles of moms and 

dads in discussions and stories about families. You also notice that boys and girls are 

disciplined differently at recess. Some of the aggressive behavior that boys exhibit is not 

tolerated if the girls exhibit the same behaviors. The teachers seem to dismiss the boys’ 

behavior as “Boys will be Boys.” But they are quick to criticize the girls by saying; Young 

ladies don’t act that way.” 

Although you have a very dedicated and collaborative faculty, you realize that they are 

most likely influencing student success based on gender. As you look at the state test 

scores, you notice that boys score significantly higher in math and the girls score 

significantly higher in reading. You could dismiss this as typical of the interests of boys 

and girls at this age, but you strongly suspect that your faculty members might 

unknowingly be contributing to this achievement gap. 

As the principal of the school, what would you do? Write a seven page paper 

explaining in detail the process, strategies, and changes that you would implement in 

addressing this challenge. You must include a clear and comprehensive rationale for 

each change and strategy and must utilize a collaborative and trustful decision making 

process that will sustain a positive learning environment with high expectation for 

students. Please align your plan with ELCC Standards 2.1, 2.2, 5.1, and 6.2 which are 

specified in the Rubric. ELCC Standard 5.1 is especially important in that it focuses on 

the importance of the leader and his/her abilty to promote the success of every student 

by acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner to ensure a school system of 

accountability for every student’s academic and social success.