Gender differences in teacher feedback and students’ self-regulated learning

ABSTRACT

This study examined gender differences in teacher feedback, students’ self-regulated learning (SRL), and their relationships. A total of 444 tenth graders participated in this study, with 218 male and 226 female students. According to the results of MANOVA, male students perceived that their teachers provided more criticism but less directive feedback to them than female students did. Unexpectedly, it was found that male and female students reported generally similar levels of SRL. Two-group structural equation modelling suggested that female students’ SRL was best predicted by verification and scaffolding feedback, and criticism. Scaffolding feedback had strong positive correlations with both male and female students’ SRL, and unexpectedly, directive feedback and praise had limited correlations with all students’ SRL. We discussed some findings and suggestions for teachers to improve male and female students’ SRL via feedback.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher feedback
• self-regulated learning
• gender differences

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wenjuan Guo

Wenjuan Guo is an assistant professor at the School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Her intersts include self-regulated learning (SRL), teachers' feedback, and students' learning anxiety and emotional regulation. Her work appears in Language Teaching Research, Studies in Educational Evaluation, Applied Linguistics Review, and Reading and Writing Quarterly.