Mens & Maatschappij - Volume 97, Issue 2, 2022

The effect of teacher expectations on boys’ underperformance in reading

Prior research indicates a gender gap in reading performance among primary school students in which boys underperform compared to girls. Based on theories on gender differences in teacher expectations and how low teacher expectations lead to low student reading performance, we, firstly, examined to what extent teacher expectations can explain this gender gap in reading performance. Secondly, by including theories on gender stereotype threat and stigmatization, we studied the possible ‘buffering’ effect of high teacher expectations against boys’ underperformance in reading. The 2016 Dutch PIRLS data were used to examine the mediating and moderating effect of teacher expectations on the effect of student gender on students’ actual reading performance. The conducted multilevel analyses show that, although the gender gap in reading performance indeed exists, teacher expectations do not significantly explain or buffer it. Limitations of the current research and implications for future research are discussed.

A key principle in Dutch society is that everyone should and can participate equally. However, Muslim citizens do not participate as much in society as other Dutch citizens. This paper explores when Dutch Muslims’ religious practices increase or decrease the likelihood to participate in formal and informal citizen initiatives by exploring the role of experienced discrimination and political trust as moderators on the individual level. Using MI-ID survey data, logistic regression analyses test hypotheses based on socialization and social identity theory. Results show that the individual context is key. Practicing collective religiosity is positively related to participation in an informal citizens’ initiative, and this effect is stronger when more discrimination is perceived. We moreover find that experiencing more political trust brings about a negative association between practicing individual religiosity and participation in an informal citizens’ initiative. With respect to formal citizens’ initiatives, we conclude that those who more often practice individual religiosity are more likely to participate, and that this association is stronger when more political trust and discrimination is perceived. As such, we conclude that insights in these conditions on the individual level offer insight in mixed findings in previous research.

Why the higher educated oppose the political system. A study on the motives of higher educated citizens to vote for populist radical right parties.

The majority of the voting electorate of Populist Radical Right Parties (PRRPs) generally consists of lower educated citizens. However, Forum for Democracy and JA21 have succeeded in attracting higher educated voters to their electorate. Little scientific research has been performed on the motives of higher educated citizens to vote for these parties, as traditional explanations often focus on the lower educated. The focus of this inquiry will, therefore, be on understanding the deliberations of higher educated citizens and how these have incentivised them to vote for Populist Radical Right Parties. 12 semi-structured interviews were held with higher educated PRRP voters. The results show that cultural factors and political distrust were most relevant in higher educated citizens’ choice to vote for these parties. Especially political distrust seems important, which is shaped by the perceived political knowledge and sophistication of the higher educated. This research shows that the underlying motives of the higher educated to vote for these parties may differ from existing explanations that focus on lower educated voters.

The intervention ‘Gay in the class’ and religious pupils – an effect?

We investigate the effect of the teaching method Homo in de klas (‘Gay in the class’) among pupils in Reformed secondary education on their religious perceptions of sexual diversity. The quantitative survey shows a limited increase in pupils’ knowledge of the distinction that ‘according to the Bible someone may be gay, but should not act on it.’ The in-depth interviews with pupils and teachers suggest that the teaching method makes pupils more aware of their own convictions about sexual diversity and those are more tolerant than their religious environment. What seems to play a role in this is that pupils are outraged by biblical texts that reject sexual diversity, and that they experience contradictions between different biblical texts and churches in dealing with their LHBT-members.