The Context of My Research

Sunset Elementary School is a Title I school in Coalinga, California. The population of the town is approximately 11,000 with 5000 thousand of the population being housed at the Pleasant Valley Correctional and Rehabilitation Center. The demographics of the town are 65% Hispanic, 29% European and 6 % other. The demographics of the school mirror those of the city. My classroom has 35 students, 16 boys and 19 girls. I have one SDC student who comes to me for lunch. My classroom demographics are 77% Hispanic and 23% Hispanic. Fourteen of my students are English Language Learners leveled at 3 and 4.
I began my study by surveying my students to see if they had preconceived notions about the roles men and women should play and what types of jobs they should have. I wanted to discover if their was a definite ideology of what was considered a masculine job and a feminine job. I used a questionnaire that asked the students to choose the best word to place in a blank to complete a sentence. (i.e. Dr. Martin reads x-rays. _____ helps people. (He/She) Twenty-seven students took the survey . The results were stereotypical. Most of the students felt that men should be doctors, firefighters, astronauts, gardeners, and mechanics and women should be shoppers, house cleaners, bakers, nurses, computer workers and librarians. It is clear that the children see a clear distinction between a man's job and a woman's job. This survey was used to get a glimpse into the thought patterns of my students. I have another one specifically for the boys to see how they feel about being a boy and their masculinity. I am finding that my topic is harder than I anticipated and I am struggling to get a clear concept of what direction I am going in.

The Reseach Question: Can the perceived negative behavior of boys be attributed to their masculinity and identity development.

My action research stemmed from my observation that many male students were being given referrals, sent out of class and suspended for negative behavior. As I discussed this issue with my colleagues, I heard comments that were unexpected. The comments seem to suggest that the students weren't going to amount to anything in the first place so why have them in class. This disturbed me. I wanted to find out what the cause was for the behavior and were there ways that boys could be taught that would better allow for their behavior.
Though I have many questions in regard to the behavior of boys in the classroom and whether or not they are receiving a quality education, my questions are abstract in terms of teacher perception. I have been forced to redirect my focus to trying to determine a cause for the perceived negative behavior. If in fact boys are exhibiting behavior that is common to masculinity and identity development then it is the teachers responsibility to accommodate that student in the classroom. Removing the student is not a viable option.

Questions

Are boys missing out on valuable educational experiences because of teacher perception? Do boys have to sit still and be quiet to gain the teacher's positive response? Do teachers teach boys and girls the same way? If a teacher perceives a student as a lost cause will the teacher expend his/her energy on that student?