“Some of you won’t speak up at all” – The Crucial Role of the Teacher in the (Gendered) Classroom Dynamics while Discussing Political and Social Issues

Discussing politics is an important part of the (political) socialization of young people (Ekström, 2015). Classroom discussions about political issues can enhance political self-efficacy beliefs in young people (García-Albacete & Hoskins, 2024), which predicts future political participation. Scholars argue that the gender gap in political self-efficacy - which tends to develop favorably for boys between the ages of 11 and 16 - contributes to the underrepresentation of women in politics later in life (Arens & Watermann, 2017; Bandura, 1997; García-Albacete & Hoskins, 2024; Fraile & de Miguel Moyer, 2022; Preece, 2016). Recent research shows that classroom discussions seem to benefit boys more (Garcia-Albacete & Hoskins, 2024). Boys tend to dominate the classroom, particularly in subjects like history and politics (Francis, 2004; Leraas, 2018; Kelly, 1988 in Nielsen & Davies, 2016). The teacher’s role could explain gender differences in participation; they may unintentionally give more speaking time to boys (Gonick, 2018), provide them with more positive feedback (Garcia-Albacete & Hoskins 2024), while girls are more frequently interrupted (Nielsen & Davies, 2016).  This study aims to understand why boys benefit from classroom discussions, while girls do not, by using a case study approach based on video-observations to examine classroom interactions and gendered mechanisms in classroom discussions on social and political issues, with particular attention to the teacher’s role. The study uses video recordings of nine lessons across three classes in Flanders, with students aged 13 – 14. Preliminary results show the extensive labour of the teacher to create and maintain a classroom discussion. The boys more often dominate discussions facilitated by the teacher. The teacher creates a central place for specific boys in these classrooms by using direct feedback strategies (such as sarcasm, ‘humor’ and theatrical exaggerations) that seemed to resonate more effectively with some of the boys in these classes than with the girls. Future research should focus on creating a classroom environment where girls can equally flourish in discussions, fostering their political efficacy beliefs and helping close the gender gap in political participation.