Abdoul Galiou Dabre Institutional Artifact Project

Social institutions are areas having people with similar goals or are serving the same purpose. These institutions are part of a larger dynamic social order, which governs how people conduct their activities. Some conventional social institutions include education systems, families, religious institutions, and places of work. In these places, both men and women interact freely, causing some gender-related issues. In most cases, members of one gender are oppressed by fellow workers, or the law put forward by the social institution. All education facilities from the lowest to the highest are social institutions that human beings go through. Many gender-related issues arise, affecting both boys and girls in the learning institutions. In the lower stages of the education systems, many gender-related cases are not reported. Still, as students grow, they understand how society runs, making it easy to identify gender bias in the institution.

Some artifacts in the education system that may cause gender-related issues include specific school curriculum, anti-bullying policies, university guidelines on athletics, textbooks, healthcare advice, parent-child communication, and policies on sexual harassment. These artifacts in the education system have created gender bias against boys or girls. Anti-bullying policies are common in almost all American schools to protect students from harming each other. These laws have been beneficial in maintaining safety and order in schools since bullies are caught and punished according to the school’s rules and regulations. However, these laws are not just since they oppress male students. When a boy bullying a girl is presented before the school’s administration, studies have shown that the judges are likely to be biased against male students. This is because male students are masculine than girls, making everybody assume that a boy is the most likely to be the bully. However, many cases have shown girls who are aggressive bullies in schools.

Textbooks used in the school curriculum have shown to have issues of gender bias in the examples used in explaining various concepts. Gender bias is demonstrated in how they assign distinct gender roles to girls and boys. Commonly, girls have to deal with house chores such as cooking, cleaning, and looking after children. Girls are shown not only washing their clothes, but also the whole family’s clothes, mostly with male siblings. In contrast, boys do not perform any chores in the house, since cleanness and beauty are duties of women. Indeed, some textbooks in the curriculum present a gender stereotype in the occupations men and women engage in. Men engage in more professional jobs, while most women are housewives with no career or income source. This shows how the male child has been empowered to dominate over women, while the female sex is submissive to men (Blumberg, 355).

In educational institutions, policies of sexual harassment have presented many cases of gender bias in passing judgment over many instances. Universities and colleges are educational institutions that report numerous sexual harassment cases such as rape, sodomy, and body shaming. Most rape cases biased against girls since most boys argue by claiming they had consent from the girl. Almost all girls in universities are eighteen years and above, making them responsible for their actions, and this makes it easy for male suspects to evade jail time. Many universities have recorded many cases of students sleeping with the lectures to get good grades or to avoid harsh punishments such as expulsion. Many of the girls who suffer from this abuse hardly report it to the authorities because it is shameful or because of the leverage the lecture has against the student. The laws that protect girls from such forms of abuse are not followed in many cases making it hard for girls to get justice (McDonald, 5).

Another artifact in education is the university guidelines on athletics. In most cases, girl’s athletics are poorly funded by schools while the male athletics team is adequately funded. This is a clear indication that the school administration is biased towards girls. It shows how women are underrated in sports activities, and there have been many women who have made it in the world of athletics. Communication between parents and children is an education artifact since it affects the academic performance of students. As children slowly become adults, the nature of their interaction with their parents changes. Fathers tend to be hard on their sons while showering their daughters with love. Male children feel neglected, and this causes a huge communication barrier between the children and their fathers. These create an academic decline since boys lack male role models to guide them as they grow.

From the artifacts’ analysis, it’s clear that the education system and its objects cause significant gender case issues. The study changed my view on gender-related topics since it is difficult to have a permanent solution. Most of the people who promulgate gender bias do it unintentionally, but people misunderstand the message. However, education institutions should be at the frontline in fighting gender issues and promoting both male and female genders in school activities. This will play a significant role in promoting equality among men and women and creating equal chances for women and men in society.