Think back to your favourite teacher at school. Were they male or female? Which make the best teachers? There are so many issues and variables that affect teaching and learning in schools today.

To what extent does gender play a role in determining the qualities of a great teacher? Are males more controlling and less inclined to listen? Are females too gentle and forgiving? Are stereotypes false and superficial?

Does the type of school or single sex schooling influence student’s perceptions and appreciation of teachers? The teaching profession has been and still is largely a female domain, with a ratio of 2:1 males and in younger years 3:1. The teaching profession traditionally was directed to women who wanted to work and could have holidays with their families or take time to have children. Now with low pay rates it is generally still less attractive to males. So women must make better teachers I hear you say. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy as there are a range of factors contributing to quality teaching, the least important being gender.

Wisdom has it that boys learn better with male teachers and girls, better with female teachers. Some argue single sex schools employ staff in line with the gender of the students and this affects the types of learning taking place. There is conflicting research on the issues raised but more recently, I would argue, culture and race in schools play a larger part in determining the effectiveness of a good teacher.

 So which is better at educating and facilitating learning in the classroom?

If you put them up against each other on Googlefight female teachers win, 7.9 million results to 5.9 million for the guys. So women have more results on the search engine but are they better or worse than their male counterparts? Maybe we are asking the wrong questions and seeking incorrect perspectives.

Determining factors of a good or effective teacher lies in the knowledge content and the different ways they infuse learning and a variety of teaching strategies. The best teachers do not make learning hard work. More like an interested way of finding something out. They do this often with good personal skills together with professionalism that enable ease and some degree of authority in the learning environment.

In a world where we often have to choose at least we know that good educators are can be either male or female. Good students can be either also, which are you?