Alexandra de Gendre and colleagues attempt to answer this question in their working paper, which combines a meta-analysis and a new study. The meta-analysis described in the document focuses on the effects of same-sex teachers on students’ performance, using data from 24 studies and a variety of contexts.
This inquiry is significant for educational policies related to gender equity and affirmative action. For instance, if female teachers are particularly effective in teaching girls STEM subjects, hiring more female teachers could help reduce gender gaps in STEM fields.
The meta-analysis summarized 538 estimates from 24 studies on same-sex teacher effects, primarily in primary and secondary education. The average effect was tiny, at around 0.030 standard deviations regarding test scores and grades. While this provides a useful summary, it also highlights key challenges. For one, estimates vary significantly depending on how publication bias is corrected. In some cases, estimates show positive effects, while others indicate adverse effects. Moreover, the variability in methodologies across studies makes it difficult to determine the true generalizability of these effects.
To overcome these limitations, the authors conducted their own multi-country study, using consistent methods and data from 90 countries, ensuring that the estimates were not affected by publication bias. This new analysis revealed interesting patterns: in primary education, same-sex teacher effects were highly variable across countries, while in secondary education, the effects were nearly universally positive. The overall effects remained small, especially on test scores (around 0.015 standard deviations). Still, there were more significant positive effects on non-academic outcomes, such as students’ job preferences, confidence, and enjoyment in subjects.
One of this paper’s key contributions is its ability to use multi-country data to explore how context affects the size and direction of same-sex teacher effects. For instance, it was found that richer and more gender-equal countries tend to show stronger positive effects, particularly in terms of shaping students’ career preferences.
The paper also delves into the generalizability of these effects, asking whether same-sex teacher effects can be considered stable and general across different educational systems. The findings suggest that while same-sex teacher effects are often positive in secondary education, they are not a universal phenomenon in primary education, where the results were more mixed.
In conclusion, this meta-analysis and accompanying study provide valuable insights for policymakers. As the authors write themselves:
We have shown that same-sex teacher effects on performance are, on average, small, whereas average effects on job preferences, subject confidence, and subject enjoyment are larger.
….In primary education, same-sex teacher effects vary widely between countries and outcomes. For example, our results suggest that effects on test scores are negative in half of the countries. These results show that hiring more male primary school teachers to stop boys from falling behind may not be effective or may even backfire. In secondary education, same-sex teacher effects appear to be near universally positive. Effects on performance are positive and tiny for all countries. Effects on non–test score outcomes are generally positive, on average larger, and show more variation. For example, we see that same-sex teacher effects on job preferences are particularly large in rich and gender-equal countries. These results suggest that hiring more female STEM teachers may help to reduce occupational segregation—especially in rich and gender-equal countries.
Abstract of the working paper:
The idea that students benefit from same-sex teachers has motivated policies around the world aimed at reducing gender inequalities. However, we do not know the size or generalizability of such same-sex teacher effects. We fill this gap by conducting a meta-analysis and our own study using data from 90 countries. Our meta-analysis summarizes the literature, highlights that estimates are difficult to compare because of differences in methods, and shows evidence of publication bias. Our multi-country study overcomes these shortcomings by providing many comparable estimates which are free of publication bias. Those estimates are ideal for learning about the generalizability of an effect. Our results reveal an interesting pattern. In primary education, effects vary substantially by country and outcome. In secondary education, same-sex teacher effects are near-universally positive for all countries and outcomes. Our paper showcases how we can use multi-country studies to learn about the generalizability of an effect.