Reference no: EM133723348

Assignment: Gender Schema Theory Case Study

Prompt

Mr. Ng is a teacher who is starting the school year with a new class of grade 1 students. On the first day, Mr. Ng asks his students to create large name tags to put on their desks, so that everyone can become acquainted. Students are also able to decorate their name tags in any way they wish. As Mr. Ng reviews the name tags, he makes careful note of which students use short-forms of their names (using Bex instead of Rebecka) or use alternative names (using Aaron instead of Joseph Aaron), so that he can add a note to his roster of student names. One of his students, identified as Alexander on the roster, first wrote Alexander and then wrote the name Ally underneath on the name tag. Mr. Ng decides to quickly speak with this student, to clarify which name is preferred. The student answers, "Even though my parents named me Alexander and everyone used to call me Alexander in kindergarten, I like the name Ally. It's a nice name, and my friends at summer camp called me Ally. I would like if you called me Ally."

Mr. Ng makes a note to use the name Ally instead of Alexander.

As the school year progresses, Mr. Ng makes several observations. During one of the recess breaks, Mr. Ng notices that while most of his students are playing in same-gender groups, Ally spends most of the time playing with a group of girls. Together, they play house and Ally often asks to play the role of the mother, even though the girls want Ally to play the father. Ally resolves this by proposing that they all take turns playing the father, so it is fair. One time, a group of boys ask Ally to come and play with them in the sandbox, but Ally refuses, saying that it wouldn't feel right to do and that it involves too much "yucky dirt". Another time, when Mr. Ng talks to his class about their favourite characters from media, Ally declares, "I love Anna from Frozen because she's so funny! When my big sister and I play with dolls, she always gets to play with the Elsa doll because I want to be Anna." The following day, after a recess break, Ally comes to Mr. Ng crying with a bleeding nose. When Mr. Ng asks what happened, Ally replies, "Two boys from class said that I need to ‘man up' and start playing with stuff for boys instead of stuff for girls, like Frozen. That's not me though. I tried to be like them before, but I'm not like them! They started hitting me!"

Mr. Ng walks with Ally down to the nurse to get looked at and then disciplines the boys who were involved in the incident. After returning to class, Ally brings a note from the nurse. The note reads that Ally expressed feeling more like a girl and would like to be treated like a girl from now on. The nurse also invites Mr. Ng to drop by, if he would like any resources for supporting students who are transgender.

Task

Answer the following three questions with a maximum of 800 words (not including title page and references). All questions are weighted equally.

A. How can gender schema theory be applied to understand the situation with Ally?

B. What can Mr. Ng do to support Ally and prevent her from being targeted by classroom bullies?

C. What stage of Piaget's cognitive development do you believe that Ally is in? Explain your answer.

Tips for Successfully Completing Your Case Study:

A. Ensure your responses are articulate and adhere to scholarly writing standards. Points will be deducted for responses with poor grammar, spelling errors, or unclear sentence structures.

B. High-quality, scholarly writing is crucial for achieving a favorable grade.

C. Focus directly on the questions; planning your answers ahead (consider drafting them) and including only relevant information is recommended.

D. Effective answers are concise and precise; avoid using bullet points.

E. Use primary sources to substantiate your arguments; a minimum of two empirical sources is required. Relying solely on the textbook and modules is insufficient.

F. Avoid relying heavily on secondary sources, which are considered less robust. If you must use a secondary source, ensure proper APA 7th edition citation.

G. Quoting from sources is discouraged; if quoting from the textbook, cite it appropriately at the end of your responses, noting it as a secondary source.