1st Edition

Most College Students Are Women Implications for Teaching, Learning, and Policy

Edited By Jeanie K. Allen, Diane R. Dean, Susan J. Bracken Copyright 2008

    * Reveals continuing barriers to success for women students* Offers remedies that will benefit all studentsWhat are the realities behind recent press reports suggesting that women students have taken over higher education, both outnumbering males and academically outperforming them? Does women’s development during college diverge from the commonly accepted model of cognitive growth? Does pedagogy in higher education take into account their different ways of knowing? Are there still barriers to women’s educational achievement? In answering these questions, this book’s overarching message is that the application of research on women’s college experiences has enriched teaching and learning for all students. It describes the broad benefits of new pedagogical models, and how feminist education aligns with the new call for civic education for all students. The book also examines conditions and disciplines that remain barriers for women’s educational success, particularly in quantitative and scientific fields. It explores problems that arise at the intersection of race and gender and offers some transformative approaches. It considers the impact of the campus environment—such as the rise of binge drinking, sexual assault, and homophobic behaviors—on women students’ progress, and suggests means for improving the peer culture for all students. It concludes with an auto-narrative analysis of teaching women's studies to undergraduates that offers insights into the practicalities and joys of teaching. At a time when women constitute the majority of students on most campuses, this book offers insights for all teachers, male and female, into how to help them to excel; and at the same time how to engage all their students, in all their diversity, through the application of feminist pedagogy.

    Acknowledgements; Foreword—David Sadker; Introduction. Women Learners on Campus. What Do We Know and What Have We Done?—Jeanie K. Allen, Diane R. Dean and Susan J. Bracken; 1. Feminist and Civic Education. Bridging Parallel Approaches to Teaching and Learning—Becky Ropers-Huilman, Louisiana State University, and Betsy Palmer, Montana State University; 2. Learning Partnerships. A Gender-Inclusive Model for Undergraduate Teaching—Marcia B. Baxter Magolda, Miami University of Ohio; 3. Effective practices in fostering developmental growth in women learners. A view from neurophysiology—Kathleen Taylor, St. Mary’s of California, and Catherine Marienau, The New School, DePaul University; 4. Women in Technology Careers—Teri Sosa, St. Joseph’s University; 5. Helping Women Improve Statistics Learning Online through Authentic Learning and Emotional Intelligence—Marilyn K. Simon, Walden University; 6. Examining the Baggage. First Steps Towards Transforming Habits of Mind around Race in Higher Education—Crystal Gafford Muhammad, East Carolina University, and Adrienne Dixson, The Ohio State University; 7. Is Mona Lisa Still Smiling? Women and the out of class experience—Jeanie K. Allen, Drury University; 8. Submerged Feminism(s)? Perceptions of Adult Education Student Experiences with Women’s Studies Scholarship—Susan J. Bracken, North Carolina State University; Conclusion. Back(lash. to the Future—Jeanie K. Allen, Diane R. Dean and Susan J. Bracken; Index.

    Biography

    Jeanie K. Allen is Visiting Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies, Drury University. Diane R. Dean is Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration and Policy, Illinois State University. Susan J. Bracken is Assistant Professor of Adult Education, North Carolina State University. David Sadker

    "Overall, Most College Students are Women is a good primer for those unfamiliar with scholarship about transformative pedagogy (including feminist pedagogy), adult learning and development, and the current status of women students in the academy. The text is well written and well organized... I applaud the editors' efforsts to include authors at a variety of points in their academic careers. Opportunities are rare for newer scholars to contribute to a volume of this nature, one that is likely to be used in diversity and social justice courses in higher education."

    The Review of Higher Education

    "One of the real strengths underlying most of the articles in this volume is the reliance on women’s reflections upon and perceptions of the learning environment. By providing women learners’ own perspectives on their classroom experiences within the context of educational research and theory, the contributors present a powerful look at the impact of pedagogical strategy with relation to multiple disciplines. As an educator and a learner, I appreciate the real-life experiences provided in this book. Practitioners in higher education have a great deal to learn about their students and their learning experiences. All things considered, this is a great collection for both feminists and those who don’t identify as such. I am excited to share this text with my co-workers in women’s studies and my fellow students and professors in adult education. I look forward to implementing some of the suggested practices next semester."

    Feminist Teacher

    "The thesis is a common one: we must design new systems that integrate in- and out-of-class learning and unite student- and academic-affairs professionals. Not a how-to guide by any means, the editors use this text to prescribe steps for advisors, advising administrators, and curriculum design committees interested in building more integrative coursework and academic support. Meanwhile, this volume’s rich value comes from exposing readers to the research, practice, and praxis in the education of women. An academic advisor would benefit from fluency with this text’s language (disciplinary and interdisciplinary, in and out of feminist studies), its perspectives, trends over time, and recommendations for future practice, since most college students are women."

    NACADA Journal

    "The edited collection Most College Students are Women take on an even more ambitious task, making the analysis of gender more complex by acknowledging the significance of multiple sites and sources of identity. Throughout the book, its contributors theorize from different standpoints, consistently challenging the reader to consider the myriad of challenges - and related opportunities - to improving students' overall learning."

    Academic Matters

    "Most College Students Are Women [is] filled with thought provoking perspectives on how we can do better for women students and, by extension, for all students with their diverse needs and learning styles. [It] offers a collection of essays by a variety of women, each bringing a different angle and voice. They invite readers to join a scintillating conversation among a dozen leading experts on student development and feminist pedagogy. For centuries higher education was designed around men, even when women are added. These chapters suggest that today, models of teaching and guidance designed around women can best serve the varied needs of all our students."

    Women in Higher Education

    "All I had to read was the introduction to know that I would gain a lot from this book...All in all, a fine collection for both feminists and non-feminists in academia."

    Feminist Review

    "Most College Students are Women's overarching message is that the application of research on women's college experiences has enriched teaching and learning for all students. The book describes the broad benefits of new pedagogical models, and how feminist education aligns with the new call for civic education for all students. The book provides a snapshot of the issues facing women students in higher educatio. At a time when women constitute the majority of students on most campuses, the book offers insights for all teachers, male and female, into how to help them excel; and at the same time how to engage all their students, in all their diversity, through the application of feminist pedagogy."

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