Manajemen | Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji joeb.83.2.95-100

Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

Gender Differences in College of Business
Educational Experiences
Rebecca Kaenzig , Eva Hyatt & Stella Anderson
To cite this article: Rebecca Kaenzig , Eva Hyatt & Stella Anderson (2007) Gender Differences in
College of Business Educational Experiences, Journal of Education for Business, 83:2, 95-100,
DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.83.2.95-100
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.83.2.95-100

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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Gender฀Differences฀in฀College฀of฀Business฀
Educational฀Experiences
REBECCA฀KAENZIG฀
EVA฀HYATT฀
STELLA฀ANDERSON฀
APPALACHIAN฀STATE฀UNIVERSITY฀
BOONE,฀NORTH฀CAROLINA

ABSTRACT.฀In฀this฀article,฀the฀authors฀
examine฀the฀effect฀of฀gender฀on฀the฀learning฀experiences฀of฀students฀majoring฀in฀
business.฀The฀development฀of฀behaviors฀and฀

attitudes,฀which฀will฀affect฀the฀professional฀
practices฀of฀graduates,฀is฀crucial฀in฀the฀
education฀of฀business฀majors.฀Given฀that฀
the฀use฀of฀group฀work฀and฀other฀forms฀of฀
innovative฀learning฀is฀increasing฀in฀business฀
classes,฀the฀growing฀acceptance฀of฀group฀
work฀raises฀the฀question฀of฀whether฀men฀
and฀women฀experience฀these฀assignments฀
differently.฀From฀focus-group฀and฀survey฀
data,฀the฀authors฀found฀that฀the฀attitudes฀
and฀experiences฀of฀male฀and฀female฀business฀students฀were฀significantly฀different.฀
Keywords:฀business฀education,฀classroom฀
experiences,฀cooperative฀learning,฀gender,฀
groupwork,฀teamwork
฀
Copyright฀©฀2007฀Heldref฀Publications

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lassroom฀experience฀plays฀a฀crucial฀
role฀ in฀ the฀ development฀ of฀ behaviors฀and฀attitudes฀that฀will฀affect฀the฀professional฀practices฀of฀graduates.฀Employers฀look฀for฀knowledge฀and฀skills฀that฀are฀
learned฀in฀the฀university฀classroom.฀
In฀terms฀of฀skills,฀employers฀typically฀
seek฀employees฀who฀can฀work฀effectively฀
in฀teams฀and฀analyze,฀evaluate,฀and฀find฀
solutions฀to฀problems฀(Hernandez,฀2002).฀
According฀to฀Tarricone฀and฀Luca฀(2002),฀
“Employers฀ consistently฀ mention฀ collaboration฀and฀teamwork฀as฀being฀a฀critical฀ skill,฀ essential฀ in฀ almost฀ all฀ working฀
environments”฀ (p.฀ 54).฀ Business฀ schools฀
play฀an฀important฀role฀in฀the฀development฀
of฀students฀and฀the฀attitudes,฀values,฀and฀
skills฀ these฀ students฀ bring฀ to฀ the฀ workplace฀(Rosener฀&฀Pearce,฀1989;฀St.฀Clair฀
&฀Tschirhart,฀2002).
Questions฀exist฀about฀whether฀appropriate฀changes฀have฀been฀made฀in฀most฀
business฀ school฀ classrooms฀ to฀ reflect฀
the฀ increasing฀ diversity฀ present฀ in฀ the฀
student฀ body฀ (Sullivan฀ &฀ Buttner,฀
1992).฀ In฀ particular,฀ a฀ growing฀ number฀ of฀ women฀ are฀ pursuing฀ business฀

degrees;฀however,฀female฀students฀often฀
are฀ a฀ minority฀ in฀ business฀ classes.฀ In฀
addition,฀ they฀ will฀ likely฀ encounter฀ far฀
fewer฀ female฀ than฀ male฀ business฀ professors฀ (Anderson,฀ Hyatt,฀ &฀ Kaenzig,฀
2002;฀Jordan,฀Pate,฀&฀Clark,฀2006).฀It฀is฀
unclear฀whether฀male฀and฀female฀business฀ students฀ have฀ similar฀ educational฀
experiences฀and฀outcomes.฀

Our฀ purpose฀ in฀ this฀ study฀ was฀ to฀
examine฀ the฀ effect฀ of฀ gender฀ on฀ the฀
learning฀ experiences฀ of฀ business฀ students฀in฀a฀college฀of฀business.฀We฀examined฀the฀differences฀in฀male฀and฀female฀
students’฀overall฀educational฀experiences,฀with฀a฀particular฀emphasis฀on฀group฀
learning฀ experiences,฀ using฀ qualitative฀
focus฀ group฀ and฀ quantitative฀ survey฀
methodology.฀
Gender฀Differences฀in฀Learning฀
Styles
Although฀ many฀ business฀ school฀ professors฀ recognize฀ differences฀ in฀ student฀
learning฀ styles,฀ some฀ professors฀ do฀ not฀
know฀ how฀ to฀ apply฀ this฀ knowledge฀ to฀

change฀ the฀ atmosphere฀ of฀ their฀ classroom฀(Sullivan฀&฀Buttner,฀1992).฀There฀
may฀ not฀ be฀ differences฀ between฀ men฀
and฀ women฀ in฀ terms฀ of฀ cognitive฀ ability฀ or฀ academic฀ performance,฀ but฀ differences฀exist฀in฀ways฀of฀knowing฀(Belensky,฀ Clinchy,฀ Goldberger,฀ &฀ Tarule,฀
1986;฀ Gallos,฀ 1993),฀ and฀ learning฀ style฀
(Gallos,฀ 1993).฀ Gilligan฀ (1982)฀ offered฀
interview฀ research฀ supporting฀ the฀ idea฀
that฀gender฀differences฀in฀attitude฀toward฀
formal฀learning฀experiences฀are฀the฀result฀
of฀ intrinsic฀ psychological฀ differences฀
between฀ men฀ and฀ women,฀ describing฀
men฀ as฀ being฀ more฀ driven฀ by฀ issues฀ of฀
separation฀ and฀ women฀ as฀ being฀ more฀
driven฀by฀issues฀of฀connection.฀Gender-฀
role฀ stereotypes฀ basically฀ describe฀
November/December฀2007฀

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women฀ as฀ more฀ communal฀ and฀ concerned฀ with฀ the฀ welfare฀ of฀ others฀ than฀
men,฀and฀men฀as฀more฀assertive฀and฀controlling฀than฀women฀(Eagly,฀1987).
Such฀differences฀provide฀a฀foundation฀
for฀gender฀differences฀in฀learning฀style.฀
Gallos฀(1995b)฀argued฀that฀women฀and฀
men฀ do฀ not฀ have฀ parallel฀ experiences.฀ He฀ argued฀ that฀ women฀ require฀ a฀
community฀ of฀ support,฀ confirmation,฀
encouragement,฀ and฀ faculty฀ interest฀ in฀
personal฀ development฀ (Gallos,฀ 1995a).฀
In฀contrast,฀men฀need฀classroom฀activities฀that฀develop฀skills.฀Women฀tend฀to฀
have฀more฀self-doubt฀in฀the฀classroom,฀
whereas฀ men฀ are฀ more฀ likely฀ to฀ attribute฀problems฀to฀external฀causes.฀These฀
differences฀ result฀ in฀ different฀ learning฀
styles฀that฀are฀not฀equally฀supported฀by฀
the฀educational฀system.
Women฀ in฀ formal฀ learning฀ situations฀ may฀ experience฀ a฀ lack฀ of฀ confidence,฀ fear,฀ self-doubt,฀ an฀ inability฀ to฀
accommodate฀ novelty,฀ and฀ feelings฀ of฀
alienation฀ (Gallos,฀ 1995b).฀ Such฀ feelings฀ most฀ likely฀ derive฀ from฀ genderrole฀ stereotypes,฀ in฀ which฀ women฀ are฀
seen฀ as฀ soft฀ and฀ yielding,฀ in฀ combination฀ with฀ an฀ educational฀ system฀ that฀
rewards฀ behaviors฀ that฀ are฀ strong฀ and฀

assertive฀ (Scheuneman,฀ 1997).฀ As฀ a฀
result,฀women฀tend฀to฀believe฀that฀they฀
perform฀less฀well฀in฀class฀and฀learn฀less฀
than฀they฀actually฀do,฀and฀they฀feel฀less฀
confident฀than฀do฀men฀in฀their฀abilities฀
to฀ succeed฀ at฀ related฀ future฀ endeavors.฀
Brazelton฀ (1998)฀ similarly฀ found฀ that฀
male฀ students฀ in฀ accounting฀ classes฀
were฀more฀likely฀to฀participate฀in฀class฀
interactions฀and฀dominate฀class฀discussions฀ than฀ were฀ female฀ students.฀ Perhaps฀ as฀ a฀ result฀ of฀ this฀ behavior,฀ male฀
students฀received฀more฀useful฀feedback฀
from฀instructors.
Group-Project฀Learning฀
Experiences
The฀use฀of฀groups฀or฀teams฀and฀cooperative฀ or฀ experiential฀ learning฀ tasks฀
has฀ been฀ encouraged฀ in฀American฀ universities฀ and฀ particularly฀ in฀ business฀
schools.฀ The฀ Accounting฀ Education฀
Change฀ Commission฀ (1990)฀ urged฀
accounting฀ faculty฀ to฀ use฀ instructional฀ methods฀ that฀ encourage฀ students฀
to฀ become฀ actively฀ involved฀ in฀ their฀

learning.฀ Cooperative฀ learning฀ is฀ an฀
96฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

instructional฀ method฀ requiring฀ students฀
to฀work฀together฀in฀small,฀fixed฀groups฀
on฀ a฀ structured฀ learning฀ task.฀The฀ goal฀
is฀ to฀ develop฀ students’฀ communication฀
skills฀and฀their฀ability฀to฀work฀in฀groups฀
to฀solve฀problems฀or฀complete฀projects.฀
The฀central฀idea฀behind฀group฀learning฀
is฀to฀facilitate฀person-to-person฀interaction฀between฀students฀so฀they฀can฀learn฀
from฀ each฀ other฀ in฀ a฀ hospitable฀ environment฀ and฀ have฀ improved฀ learning฀
outcomes,฀ such฀ as฀ deeper฀ understanding฀ of฀ the฀ material฀ and฀ better฀ ability฀
to฀ apply฀ knowledge฀ (Hwang,฀ Lui,฀ &฀
Tong,฀ 2005).฀ Some฀ experiments฀ using฀
group฀ work฀ in฀ business฀ classes฀ have฀
indicated฀ that฀ the฀ use฀ of฀ group฀ work฀
increases฀ student฀ performance,฀ reflecting฀ increased฀ mastery฀ of฀ the฀ material฀

(Ravenscroft,฀ Buckless,฀ McComb,฀ &฀
Zuckerman,฀ 1995).฀Alternatively,฀ Kunkel฀ and฀ Shafer฀ (1997)฀ found฀ that฀ in฀ an฀
undergraduate฀ class,฀ the฀ use฀ of฀ teams฀
did฀ not฀ improve฀ student฀ performance.฀
Ashraf฀ (2004)฀ found฀ that฀ group฀ projects฀increased฀some฀negative฀behaviors,฀
such฀ as฀ free฀ riding฀ by฀ less฀ industrious฀
students.฀Although฀business฀school฀faculty฀have฀been฀placing฀students฀in฀teams฀
to฀ work฀ on฀ group฀ projects฀ for฀ many฀
years,฀ they฀ have฀ done฀ so฀ with฀ mixed฀
results฀(Hansen,฀2006).
The฀increasing฀use฀of฀groups฀for฀class฀
projects฀ in฀ business฀ classes฀ raises฀ the฀
question฀ of฀ whether฀ men฀ and฀ women฀
experience฀ these฀ assignments฀ in฀ different฀ ways.฀ Educators฀ are฀ interested฀ in฀
accommodating฀ individuals฀ with฀ varied฀learning฀styles฀(Hamer,฀2000;฀Kolb,฀
1984).฀ Differences฀ between฀ male฀ and฀
female฀ students฀ in฀ ways฀ of฀ learning฀
(Gallos฀ 1995a,฀ 1995b;฀ Gilligan,฀ Ward,฀
Taylor,฀ &฀ Bardige,฀ 1988)฀ are฀ of฀ particular฀concern฀if฀the฀learning฀styles฀are฀
not฀ equally฀ supported฀ by฀ a฀ particular฀

assignment฀or฀activity.฀
Rosener฀ and฀ Pearce฀ (1989)฀ hypothesized฀ that฀ “men฀ are฀ confused฀ and฀
uncomfortable฀ working฀ with฀ women฀ as฀
competitors฀and฀peers.฀.฀.฀.฀Men฀may฀find฀
it฀difficult฀to฀distinguish฀between฀gender฀
roles฀and฀work฀roles.”฀฀Researchers฀have฀
found฀gender-stereotypic฀sex฀differences฀
in฀ mixed-gender฀ small-group฀ interactions,฀with฀men฀tending฀to฀give฀and฀ask฀
for฀opinions฀more฀and฀women฀tending฀to฀
act฀friendly฀and฀agree฀with฀other฀group฀
members฀ more฀ (Eagly,฀ 1987);฀ that฀ is,฀

women฀ are฀ more฀ concerned฀ than฀ are฀
men฀with฀good฀interpersonal฀relations฀in฀
the฀ group.฀ Researchers฀ also฀ have฀ indicated฀ that฀ women฀ are฀ often฀ unwilling฀
to฀ participate฀ fully฀ in฀ groups฀ with฀ men฀
(Goltz฀&฀Giannantonio,฀1996).฀In฀addition,฀tasks฀are฀often฀divided฀along฀lines฀
of฀ traditional฀ male฀ or฀ female฀ gender฀
roles,฀ leaving฀ women฀ with฀ assignments฀
such฀as฀note฀taking฀or฀typing฀results.฀

One฀ type฀ of฀ group฀ project฀ that฀ is฀
increasing฀in฀use฀is฀computer-based฀simulations฀or฀games.฀It฀is฀unclear฀whether฀
men฀ and฀ women฀ react฀ to฀ or฀ evaluate฀ a฀
team-based฀simulation฀experience฀similarly.฀ Garber฀ and฀ Clopton฀ (2002)฀ indicated฀that฀male฀and฀female฀students฀differ฀in฀their฀perceptions฀of฀and฀reactions฀
to฀ a฀ marketing฀ simulation฀ game.฀ They฀
indicated฀ that฀ women฀ felt฀ more฀ distressed฀by฀the฀uncertainty฀and฀ambiguity฀
of฀ the฀ simulation฀ experience,฀ whereas฀
men฀tended฀to฀view฀the฀simulation฀experience฀as฀a฀contest฀or฀competitive฀exercise฀ to฀ be฀ won฀ or฀ lost.฀ Compared฀ with฀
women,฀ men฀ tended฀ to฀ express฀ greater฀
confidence฀ in฀ their฀ ability฀ to฀ perform฀
well฀ on฀ simulation฀ assignments.฀ Furthermore,฀women฀acknowledged฀greater฀
difficulty฀than฀did฀men฀in฀reaching฀team฀
consensus฀ on฀ the฀ decisions฀ required฀ in฀
the฀simulation.฀In฀another฀study,฀Anderson฀ and฀ Coffey฀ (2004)฀ focused฀ on฀ the฀
use฀of฀a฀team-based฀simulation฀exercise฀
in฀ which฀ male฀ students฀ evaluated฀ their฀
teams’฀ dynamics฀ more฀ positively฀ than฀
did฀ female฀ students.฀ In฀ terms฀ of฀ ฀ selfassessment฀of฀overall฀simulation฀performance,฀male฀students฀assessed฀their฀performance฀on฀the฀simulation฀more฀highly฀
than฀did฀female฀students.฀In฀the฀current฀
article,฀we฀linked฀the฀perceived฀value฀of฀
the฀simulation฀as฀a฀team-based฀learning฀
experience฀to฀the฀dynamics฀that฀occurred฀
within฀student฀teams.฀Considering฀these฀
findings฀along฀with฀research฀on฀genderbased฀ learning฀ styles,฀ we฀ hypothesize฀
that฀male฀and฀female฀students฀experience฀
team-based฀assignments฀differently.
Study฀1:฀Using฀Focus฀Groups฀to฀
Develop฀the฀Survey
To฀ explore฀ the฀ issues฀ underlying฀
potential฀gender฀differences฀in฀business฀
school฀ learning฀ experiences,฀ we฀ conducted฀ focus฀ groups฀ with฀ business฀ students.฀ The฀ focus฀ group,฀ a฀ small฀ group฀

(8–12฀members)฀of฀individuals฀brought฀
together฀to฀talk฀about฀a฀particular฀topic฀
in฀ a฀ group-discussion฀ format,฀ is฀ ideal฀
for฀ generating฀ hypotheses฀ that฀ can฀ be฀
further฀ tested฀ quantitatively฀ and฀ for฀
structuring฀questionnaires฀(Churchill฀&฀
Brown,฀2004).฀In฀particular,฀open-ended฀
questions฀ allow฀ participants฀ to฀ respond฀
in฀ a฀ way฀ they฀ feel฀ and฀ to฀ change฀ their฀
opinions฀ as฀ the฀ discussion฀ proceeds฀
(Krueger,฀1988).

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Method
Focus฀group฀respondents฀are฀generally฀
selected฀so฀that฀groups฀are฀relatively฀homogeneous.฀This฀helps฀to฀minimize฀conflict฀
between฀group฀members,฀intimidation฀of฀
some฀members฀by฀others,฀and฀differences฀
in฀perceptions฀and฀experiences฀(Churchill฀
&฀Brown,฀2004),฀all฀of฀which฀are฀critical฀
to฀ exploring฀ gender฀ differences.฀ For฀ this฀
study,฀therefore,฀male฀and฀female฀business฀
students฀ participated฀ in฀ two฀ gender-segregated฀ focus฀ groups฀ of฀ 10–12฀ members฀
each.฀ The฀ focus฀ groups฀ were฀ conducted฀
(about฀ 1฀ hr฀ each)฀ by฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ authors,฀
who฀is฀an฀experienced฀focus-group฀moderator,฀and฀were฀recorded฀on฀audiotape฀for฀
future฀reference.
We฀ designed฀ the฀ questions฀ for฀ the฀
focus฀ groups฀ to฀ investigate฀ students’฀
perceptions฀ of฀ their฀ college-learning฀
experiences฀(Krueger,฀1988).฀We฀asked฀
students฀to฀compare฀classes฀within฀and฀
outside฀ the฀ college฀ of฀ business฀ (COB)฀
in฀ terms฀ of฀ classroom฀ environment,฀
support฀ from฀ instructors,฀ and฀ teaching฀
styles฀ of฀ the฀ instructors.฀We฀ asked฀ students฀ to฀ reflect฀ on฀ how฀ the฀ philosophy฀
of฀COB฀classes฀meshed฀with฀their฀personal฀outlook฀on฀life,฀work,฀and฀society.฀
Questions฀ also฀ asked฀ whether฀ students฀
ever฀ felt฀ discouraged฀ or฀ discriminated฀ against,฀ felt฀ that฀ their฀ talents฀ and฀
viewpoints฀ were฀ appreciated,฀ and฀ felt฀
comfortable฀with฀various฀learning฀experiences.฀ Several฀ questions฀ focused฀ on฀
group฀project฀experiences฀as฀well.฀Last,฀
the฀groups฀discussed฀the฀perceived฀differences฀between฀male฀and฀female฀professors฀ regarding฀ teaching฀ approaches,฀
values฀expressed,฀and฀treatment฀of฀male฀
and฀female฀students.฀
Results฀and฀Discussion
We฀analyzed฀the฀focus-group฀responses฀and฀discussions฀for฀gender฀differenc฀

es฀and฀patterns฀regarding฀learning฀experiences฀ in฀ business฀ classes฀ (Krueger,฀
1988).฀We฀used฀the฀focus-group฀results฀
to฀provide฀insight฀into฀the฀development฀
of฀research฀questions฀and฀to฀find฀appropriate฀wording฀in฀the฀development฀of฀a฀
questionnaire฀to฀quantitatively฀measure฀
potential฀gender฀differences.฀
The฀ first฀ major฀ area฀ of฀ discussion฀
in฀ the฀ focus฀ groups฀ was฀ the฀ teaching฀ methods,฀ philosophy,฀ and฀ general฀
nature฀ of฀ COB฀ classes.฀ Both฀ male฀ and฀
female฀ respondents฀ mentioned฀ that฀
the฀ real-world฀ work฀ experience฀ that฀
COB฀ instructors฀ have฀ sets฀ them฀ apart฀
from฀ non-COB฀ faculty.฀ The฀ male-only฀
focus-group฀discussion฀centered฀on฀the฀
professionalism฀ that฀ COB฀ instructors฀
display฀ and฀ on฀ how฀ the฀ problem-solving฀ nature฀ of฀ most฀ COB฀ classes,฀ such฀
as฀accounting฀and฀finance,฀affected฀the฀
presentation฀ of฀ material.฀The฀ male฀ students฀talked฀about฀the฀special฀help฀they฀
had฀received฀from฀certain฀business฀professors.฀They฀were฀impressed฀with฀how฀
helpful฀ their฀ COB฀ professors฀ had฀ been฀
outside฀class.฀All฀male฀respondents฀said฀
they฀ felt฀ comfortable฀ expressing฀ their฀
opinions฀in฀their฀COB฀classes.
In฀ the฀ female-only฀ focus฀ group,฀ the฀
discussion฀ centered฀ on฀ how฀ serious,฀
formal,฀ and฀ distant฀ COB฀ professors฀ are฀
compared฀ to฀ non-COB฀ professors,฀ who฀
they฀described฀as฀being฀more฀laid฀back.฀
Business฀ instructors฀ were฀ characterized฀
as฀ being฀ stricter฀ and฀ as฀ wanting฀ things฀
done฀a฀certain฀way.฀The฀female฀students฀
said฀ they฀ would฀ prefer฀ more฀ flexibility฀
in฀ completing฀ assignments.฀ They฀ also฀
said฀ the฀ testing฀ in฀ COB฀ classes฀ is฀ more฀
objective฀ than฀ testing฀ in฀ other฀ classes฀
and฀does฀not฀fairly฀test฀their฀knowledge฀
of฀ the฀ material฀ or฀ their฀ ability฀ to฀ apply฀
it.฀ Female฀ respondents฀ said฀ the฀ COB฀
classes฀ are฀ more฀ competitive฀ than฀ other฀
classes฀ in฀ that฀ everyone฀ in฀ the฀ COB฀ is฀
competing฀ for฀ grades฀ and฀ for฀ the฀ same฀
jobs.฀They฀thought฀that฀overall฀there฀was฀
less฀cooperation฀between฀students฀in฀their฀
business-class฀learning฀experiences.
The฀next฀major฀issue฀addressed฀in฀the฀
focus฀ group฀ sessions฀ was฀ the฀ comparison฀ of฀ male฀ and฀ female฀ professors฀ in฀
the฀ COB.฀ Both฀ male฀ and฀ female฀ focus฀
groups฀ mentioned฀ that฀ there฀ are฀ many฀
more฀male฀than฀female฀professors.฀The฀
male฀ students฀ stated฀ that฀ their฀ male฀
business฀professors฀are฀more฀likely฀than฀

their฀female฀business฀professors฀to฀set฀a฀
tone฀in฀their฀classes฀from฀the฀beginning฀
that฀leads฀to฀a฀more฀respectful฀environment.฀ They฀ do฀ this฀ by฀ sharing฀ their฀
past฀work฀experiences,฀especially฀at฀the฀
beginning฀of฀the฀first฀class฀of฀the฀semester.฀When฀asked,฀male฀students฀said฀they฀
noticed฀ no฀ major฀ differences฀ between฀
male฀and฀female฀professors.
The฀ female฀ students฀ said฀ their฀ male฀
professors฀are฀more฀willing฀than฀female฀
professors฀to฀give฀their฀opinions฀in฀class,฀
tend฀to฀be฀more฀structured,฀and฀are฀more฀
likely฀to฀joke฀around฀with฀the฀male฀students฀ or฀ talk฀ about฀ sports฀ at฀ the฀ beginning฀ of฀ classes.฀ Some฀ female฀ students฀
said฀they฀felt฀intimidated฀and฀left฀out฀of฀
such฀conversations.฀The฀female฀students฀
said฀that฀some฀of฀their฀male฀professors฀
are฀“too฀smart”฀or฀arrogant฀and฀that฀they฀
expect฀ students฀ to฀ understand฀ material฀ that฀ is฀ briefly฀ covered.฀ In฀ contrast,฀
female฀ students฀ said฀ that฀ their฀ female฀
professors฀are฀more฀compassionate฀and฀
willing฀to฀work฀with฀students฀when฀they฀
have฀ problems฀ than฀ are฀ male฀ professors.฀They฀said฀this฀is฀probably฀because฀
female฀ professors฀ remember฀ how฀ hard฀
it฀was฀to฀get฀where฀they฀are,฀so฀they฀are฀
more฀understanding.
When฀asked฀about฀differences฀between฀
male฀ and฀ female฀ students฀ in฀ business฀
classes,฀ the฀ male฀ students฀ said฀ that฀
female฀students฀tend฀to฀be฀more฀worried฀
about฀ school฀ and฀ grades฀ and฀ to฀ work฀
harder.฀ They฀ also฀ mentioned฀ that฀ some฀
female฀ students฀ flirt฀ with฀ male฀ professors.฀Female฀students฀said฀that฀considerably฀more฀male฀than฀female฀students฀are฀
in฀ most฀ of฀ their฀ COB฀ classes,฀ so฀ they฀
were฀in฀the฀minority฀in฀most฀classes.฀The฀
female฀ students฀ said฀ the฀ male฀ students฀
are฀ likely฀ to฀ respect฀ and฀ respond฀ positively฀ to฀ male฀ professors.฀ The฀ female฀
students฀ also฀ said฀ that฀ their฀ male฀ counterparts฀ tend฀ to฀ think฀ that฀ what฀ male฀
professors฀ say฀ is฀ more฀ significant฀ than฀
what฀female฀ professors฀ say฀ and฀ tend฀to฀
laugh฀at฀their฀male฀professors’฀jokes.
Regarding฀ group฀ projects,฀ male฀ students฀ said฀ they฀ like฀ group฀ work฀ and฀
think฀it฀reflects฀duties฀from฀their฀future฀
jobs.฀ They฀ also฀ mentioned฀ that฀ sometimes฀ one฀ group฀ member฀ does฀ not฀ do฀
his฀or฀her฀part฀but฀that฀none฀of฀them฀had฀
ever฀ felt฀ taken฀ advantage฀ of.฀ In฀ major฀
contrast,฀ all฀ female฀ students฀ said฀ that฀
they฀had฀been฀taken฀advantage฀of฀in฀at฀
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least฀ one฀ group฀ project,฀ and฀ some฀ said฀
they฀ had฀ felt฀ left฀ out฀ of฀ the฀ group฀ process.฀They฀said฀there฀was฀a฀male฀slacker฀
or฀ two฀ in฀ almost฀ every฀ group.฀ Some฀ of฀
them฀ tried฀ to฀ get฀ in฀ all-female฀ groups฀
to฀avoid฀this,฀but฀in฀most฀groups,฀one฀or฀
two฀ female฀ students฀ would฀ tend฀ to฀ take฀
over฀all฀work฀for฀the฀group.฀The฀female฀
students฀ also฀ mentioned฀ that฀ they฀ did฀
not฀ like฀ having฀ their฀ grades฀ controlled฀
or฀ determined฀ by฀ others฀ and฀ that฀ their฀
groups฀always฀had฀a฀hard฀time฀scheduling฀meeting฀times฀due฀to฀work฀and฀other฀
obligations.฀Overall,฀the฀female฀students’฀
group฀experiences฀were฀negative.
Study฀2:฀Quantitative฀Study฀
of฀Gender฀Differences฀in฀
Educational฀Experiences
We฀used฀findings฀from฀the฀focus฀groups฀
and฀ key฀ findings฀ from฀ the฀ literature฀ on฀
group฀ learning฀ and฀ gender-based฀ differences฀ in฀ learning฀ styles฀ to฀ shape฀ a฀ questionnaire฀ focusing฀ on฀ several฀ issues฀ that฀
emerged฀as฀potential฀important฀differences฀
in฀male฀and฀female฀business฀students’฀educational฀ experiences,฀ especially฀ the฀ sharp฀
contrast฀between฀genders฀regarding฀group฀
learning฀experiences.฀The฀instrument฀used฀
in฀ this฀ study฀ attempts฀ to฀ quantitatively฀
measure฀ potential฀ gender-based฀ differences฀discovered฀in฀the฀focus฀groups.฀We฀
examined฀ differences฀ in฀ (a)฀ overall฀ educational฀ experience,฀ (b)฀ students’฀ assessment฀ of฀ and฀ interaction฀ with฀ professors,฀
(c)฀ group-learning฀ experiences,฀ and฀ (d)฀
classroom฀conduct.฀We฀addressed฀the฀following฀research฀questions฀in฀Study฀2:
฀1.฀ Is฀there฀a฀statistically฀significant฀relationship฀ between฀ gender฀ and฀ assessment฀
of฀quality฀of฀the฀overall฀business฀education฀
experience?
฀2.฀ Is฀ there฀ a฀ statistically฀ significant฀
relationship฀between฀gender฀and฀assessment฀of฀and฀interaction฀with฀professors?
฀3.฀ Is฀ there฀ a฀ statistically฀ significant฀
relationship฀between฀gender฀and฀evaluations฀of฀group-learning฀experiences?
฀4.฀Is฀ there฀ a฀ statistically฀ significant฀
relationship฀ between฀ gender฀ and฀ classroom฀assertiveness?
Method
We฀distributed฀questionnaires฀in฀multiple฀ sections฀ of฀ two฀ senior-level฀ business฀ courses฀ and฀ online฀ through฀ the฀
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Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

campus฀server.฀A฀total฀of฀288฀responses฀
were฀ obtained.฀ The฀ sample฀ was฀ 43%฀
female฀students฀and฀57%฀male฀students.฀
The฀mean฀and฀median฀age฀was฀22฀years฀
(SD฀=฀2.99).
Data฀Analysis
In฀the฀Appendix,฀we฀present฀questionnaire฀items฀that฀were฀used฀to฀form฀various฀ multi-item฀ scale฀ measures.฀ Scales฀
consisting฀of฀multiple฀items฀were฀formed฀
whenever฀possible฀to฀provide฀a฀superior,฀
more฀ reliable฀ measure฀ over฀ single-item฀
measures.฀ In฀ these฀ cases,฀ responses฀ to฀
individual฀items฀composing฀a฀given฀scale฀
were฀ averaged฀ to฀ form฀ the฀ scale฀ score.฀
The฀ reliability฀ coefficients฀ (Cronbach’s฀
alpha)฀ for฀ the฀ various฀ scales฀ are฀ also฀
reported฀in฀the฀Appendix.฀All฀scale฀reliabilities฀ (i.e.,฀ coefficient฀ alpha)฀ were฀
above฀ or฀ practically฀ equivalent฀ to฀ the฀
generally฀accepted฀.70฀minimum฀level.฀
To฀ address฀ the฀ research฀ questions฀
regarding฀ gender฀ differences,฀ we฀ performed฀ t฀ tests฀ for฀ mean฀ differences฀
between฀ male฀ and฀ female฀ students฀ on฀
each฀of฀the฀scale฀measures.฀
Results฀and฀Discussion
In฀ terms฀ of฀ Research฀ Question฀ 1฀
regarding฀ students’฀ perceptions฀ of฀
the฀ overall฀ value฀ of฀ their฀ educational฀
experience,฀ there฀ were฀ no฀ significant฀
differences฀ between฀ female฀ and฀ male฀
students,฀ t(284)฀ =฀ 1.14,฀ p฀ =฀ .25.฀ Both฀
groups฀ indicated฀ that฀ their฀ experience฀
overall฀ was฀ positive฀ (i.e.,฀ they฀ were฀
satisfied฀ with฀ their฀ instructors,฀ they฀
received฀quality฀instruction,฀they฀felt฀as฀
though฀ their฀ education฀ prepared฀ them฀
for฀a฀successful฀career,฀and฀they฀felt฀that฀
their฀business฀degree฀was฀valuable).฀
Regarding฀ Research฀ Question฀ 2,฀
there฀ were฀ no฀ significant฀ differences฀
between฀ male฀ and฀ female฀ students฀ in฀
terms฀of฀their฀attitudes฀toward฀their฀professors.฀Neither฀gender฀was฀more฀likely฀
to฀(a)฀report฀having฀a฀favorite฀professor,฀
t(285)฀ =฀ 0.87,฀ p฀ =฀ .38;฀ (b)฀ think฀ that฀
female฀ professors฀ are฀ easier฀ to฀ work฀
with,฀t(284)฀=฀0.30,฀p฀=฀.76;฀or฀(c)฀think฀
that฀ female฀ professors฀ foster฀ a฀ more฀
competitive฀ classroom฀ environment,฀
t(285)฀=฀0.08,฀p฀=฀.94.
For฀Research฀Question฀3,฀there฀were฀
significant฀ differences฀ between฀ male฀
and฀ female฀ students฀ in฀ their฀ evaluation฀

of฀their฀experiences฀working฀in฀groups.฀
This฀ was฀ true฀ for฀ their฀ general฀ experiences฀working฀in฀groups฀and฀their฀experiences฀working฀in฀teams฀on฀a฀business฀
simulation.฀ Female฀ students฀ reported฀
more฀ negative฀ experiences฀ working฀ in฀
groups฀ (i.e.,฀ they฀ feel฀ taken฀ advantage฀
of฀ by฀ group฀ members,฀ end฀ up฀ doing฀
secretarial฀ and฀ organizational฀ work฀ for฀
group฀ projects,฀ and฀ feel฀ pressured฀ by฀
group฀ members฀ to฀ favorably฀ evaluate฀
members฀who฀did฀not฀contribute฀to฀the฀
group’s฀ work;฀ M฀ =฀ 3.20฀ (SD฀ =฀ 0.74)฀
vs.฀2.83฀(SD฀=฀0.67);฀t(283)฀=฀4.34,฀p฀