Perspectives of Teachers in the United States and Nigeria
Dyke, Erin
Oklahoma State University
2019
64
M.S.
Oklahoma State University
2019
The purpose of this study is to explore the perspectives of teachers in the United States and Nigeria with the view of understanding their different gendered experiences and perspectives in coming to teach. The study aims to illuminate the underlining factors in the gender variation in the teaching profession in each country. Qualitative interview design was used and the targeted population was teachers in Ogun State, Nigeria, and Oklahoma, United States. Eight teachers were purposively selected for this study because they have taught or are currently teaching in a public school; 4 teachers in Nigeria and 4 teachers in the United States (male and female teachers). The interview was the main instrument used for the data collection and a qualitative approach was used to analyze the data. The findings in this study show that; (a) gender and femininity in teaching is socially constructed and operates differently across international context, (b) the socially constructed gendered norm that women are perceived to possess nurturing abilities affects their roles in the classroom, (c) the role of the men are gendered masculine in both countries, and (d) teachers' income differ by countries and contributes to the gender gap in the teaching profession.