Women and Men Students in Christian Colleges: Snapshots from the Assessment Data

Kaye V. Cook, Department Chair, Psychology, Gordon College (MA)

Editor’s Note: Dr. Cook’s article is based on data collected from 4,788 CCCU students who took the CIRP as first-year students in 1996 and remained at the same institution to complete the College Senior Survey in 2000. This represents 41% of the initial group of CCCU students who took the CIRP in 1996. Her data analysis used t-tests and Chi-square analyses where appropriate, and all differences reported are statistically significant at the p<.05 level or better.

Women and men in Christian colleges participate in the same classes and walk the same quads but their experiences are somewhat different. The impact of a CCCU education upon them also appears to be different. This article will take a closer look at gender issues among a sample of CCCU students and make some preliminary suggestions about how to respond to the data.

DEMOGRAPHICS – WHO ATTENDS CCCU INSTITUTIONS?

In this sample, 64% of the students surveyed were women and 36% were men. Men are more likely than women to have transferred in to a CCCU college (14% of men,  compared to 12% of women). The sample was predominantly white middle-class Americans. Most are Caucasian (90%), native English speakers (98%), and high achievers. 90% report that their college grade point average is B or higher.

GENDER DIFFERENCES AT ENROLLMENT

1. Reasons for choosing a Christian college. Women were more likely to report they chose their college at their parents’ wish and by its size and proximity to home (although they lived no closer to their campus, on the average). Further, their reasons more often reflected traditional liberal arts values. They were more likely to choose their college in order to become a more cultured person, gain a general education, learn more about things, improve their reading and study skills. They were more likely to choose a college because it had a good academic reputation, because graduates get good jobs, and because it offers financial assistance or special educational programs.

Although men were more likely than women to say they chose their college to help prepare them for graduate school, they were also more likely to say they chose to go to college because they had “nothing better to do” and to make more money. They were more likely to be recruited by the athletic department. They applied to more colleges than women and were more likely to select a college because they were accepted there and nowhere else.

2. Level of aspiration. As first-year students, women are more likely than men to intend to complete their education with a bachelor’s degree, rather than pursuing advanced study. In this sample, 43% of the entering women students stated that they did not intend to go to graduate school, while 38% of the men students stated the same intention.

The Differential Impact of a CCCU Education on Major and Graduate School Plans

< More men major in the Humanities and the Biological Sciences than originally thought they would as first-year students.

< More women major in the Social Sciences than originally thought they would as first-year students.    

< Fewer men major in Education or the Health Sciences than originally thought they would as first-year students.

< Fewer women major in the Health Sciences than originally thought they would as first-year students.

< More women than men are likely to change their plans for graduate study during their years on a CCCU campus. While men are still more likely than women to pursue doctoral study, the greatest change in level of educational aspiration occurs among the women students.

3. Academic preparation. Men enter college better prepared for math and science courses. In the current sample, men entered college having taken more courses in math, physical science, and computer science than women; women entered college having taken more courses in foreign language and either art or music or both. However, women made higher grades overall in high school.

In high school, women achieved an average grade of B+ to A- whereas men achieved an average grade of B+. 4. Self-perceptions of competence. Despite their lower academic performance, men students rated themselves as more competent than women rated themselves in most academic areas: academic ability, artistic ability, competitiveness, leadership ability, mathematical ability, public speaking ability and intellectual self-confidence. Females rated themselves as having greater writing ability. Females rated themselves as more competent than men rated themselves in interpersonal skills, i.e., co-operativeness and understanding of others. Men however rated themselves as having greater social self-confidence.

5. Intended Majors. The most common intended majors of first-year men were business,

education and the humanities. The most common intended majors of first-year women were education, one of the health professions, business or the social sciences. The primary gender differences in these intended majors are that men are more likely than women to select a business major and women are more likely than men to major in all areas of education except physical education/ recreation.

6. Career choices. These same trends can be seen in student choices of careers. Men are choosing more diverse careers, with a preference for business. Women are choosing careers in education and the social sciences. Upon entering college, men expected to go into business (16%) or education (11%, mostly secondary education) or to become clergy (8%) or medical personnel (8%). One-quarter of women (25%) expected to become teachers. Other career choices for first-year women were to go into business (9%) or one of the medical professions (7%).

7. Expectations of their college experience. As first-year students, women expected to be elected to an academic honor society, to make at least a “B” average, and to be satisfied with their college more than men. They expected to change their major, to get a job, and to join a sorority or club more than men had these same expectations. Men expected to drop out more frequently, to fail one or more courses, to play varsity athletics, and to transfer more often than women held the same expectations.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE

1. Good citizenship in the college community. Women were more likely to participate socially at college; men were more likely to take a more independent stance. Thus, women were more likely to work on group projects whereas men were more likely to work on independent study projects. Women were more likely to discuss courses with other students, to be a guest in a professor’s home, to study with others, and to participate in student clubs and groups. They were more likely to vote in state or national elections and to have performed volunteer work. They were more likely to play a musical instrument. Men were more likely to report having challenged professors’ ideas in class, to serve in student government and to be elected to student office.

2. Reactions to stress. True to more general findings about the way in which women and men experience stress and differ in their reaction to it, men were more likely to have smoked cigarettes and to have drunk beer. Women were more likely to have been lonely or homesick, to have felt depressed, to have felt overwhelmed and to have drunk wine or liquor.

3. Academic and extracurricular experiences at college. Academically, women were more diligent students whereas men were more involved in extracurricular activities. Men  spent more time than women reading for pleasure, watching television and partying. Men were more likely not to have completed homework on time and to have felt bored in class. Men were more likely to have participated in intramural sports, in intercollegiate football or basketball or in another intercollegiate sport. Women, in contrast, spent more time in class, more time studying and more time doing homework.

4. Politics. As first-year and senior students, men were more conservative politically and

more involved in political issues than women. As first-year students, 68% of men described themselves as conservative, 25% as moderate and 7% as liberal; 62% of women described themselves as conservative, 30% as moderate and 8% as liberal. During their college years, both women and men became less conservative politically but men remained more conservative than women. By their senior year, 61% of men described themselves as conservative, 28% as moderate and 10% as liberal; 58% of women described themselves as conservative, 32% as moderate and 10% as liberal.

Reflecting their more conservative position, men were more likely to believe that married women are best at home, that abortion should not be legal and that racial discrimination is no longer a problem. Women were more likely to support expanded government powers.

Women agreed that the government doesn’t protect consumers enough, that the  government doesn’t control pollution enough, that employers can require drug testing, that the federal government should control the sale of handguns, that a national health care plan is needed, that the government should discourage energy use and that the wealthy should pay more taxes. Men were more likely to have discussed politics, to keep up-to-date with politics and to have worked in a political campaign. They were more likely to support government’s right to raise taxes to reduce the deficit. At the same time, they were more likely to believe that the individual can do little to change society.

5. Racial/ethnic concerns. Women were more likely to enroll in ethnic studies courses, to

attend a racial/cultural awareness workshop, to study with a different ethnic group, and to date a member of a different ethnic group.

6. Satisfaction. In general, women were more satisfied with their college experience. They rated their overall college experience higher than men and rated most courses more positively. They also rated the following characteristics of their college experience as more satisfactory than did men: academic advising, career counseling, student housing, job placement services, availability of faculty and interaction with other students. Men were more satisfied with science and mathematics courses and with library facilities.

7. Grades and competence perceptions. In college, women scored an average of a B+ grade, in comparison to men’s average grade of B to B+. However, just as men had significantly higher self-perceptions of competence than women did as entering students, senior men still had significantly higher selfperceptions of competence than did senior women. As was seen in entering students, senior men rated themselves significantly higher than women did in academic ability, artistic ability, competitiveness, leadership ability, mathematical ability, public speaking ability and intellectual self-confidence. Females rated themselves as having greater writing ability. Females rated themselves as more competent than men rated themselves in interpersonal skills, i.e., co-operativeness and understanding of others. Men however rated themselves as having greater social

self-confidence.

 GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE IMPACT OF A COLLEGE EDUCATION

1. Levels of aspiration. One impact of a CCCU education is that students have higher

aspirations when they leave Christian colleges than when they arrived. In this sample,

65% of students changed their goals while in college. Thus, 41% of first-year students

planned to achieve a bachelor’s degree as their highest degree. By senior year, only

21% of students planned to stop with the bachelor’s degree. 

However, women entered Christian colleges with lower aspirations than men. Attending a Christian college therefore raised their aspira- tions more than it raised the aspirations of men. Upon entering college, 38% of males and 43% of females planned to stop with a bachelor’s degree; upon leaving college, only 22% of males and 20% of females planned to stop with their current degree. But graduating women’s aspirations were still lower than those of men. 40% of men and 55% of women plan to pursue a master’s degree whereas 21% of men and 14% of women plan to pursue a doctorate. Thus, men were more likely than women to aspire to the doctorate degree, either the Ph.D. or Ed.D. degree; women were more likely to aspire to a master’s degree.

2. Changes in major and career. In this sample, 39% of students changed their major in college: 41% of males and 37% of females. Upon graduation, both women and men were more likely to major in the biological sciences, business (all areas except finance), and the social sciences (particularly psychology and social work) than they were when they entered as first-year students. The gender differences in the majors of graduating seniors are that men were more likely than women to major in the humanities (particularly theology/biblical studies), the biological sciences, and business; women were more likely than men to major in education, health sciences, the social sciences and in social work.

However, by the time they are seniors, 52% of students (51% of males and 53% of females) have changed career plans. Upon graduation, more men were pursuing a career in business and as clergymen and fewer were pursuing careers in medicine and the military. More women were pursuing careers in business, education and social work, and fewer women were pursuing careers in medicine. By the time they graduate, the career of choice for men is business, with men selecting a diversity of other options. The career of choice for women upon graduation is education, with almost 1/3 (32%) of women choosing teaching as their calling. Nineteen

percent of men expected to be businessmen, 12% expected to be clergymen and 10% expected to teach in secondary education. Among women, 32% expected to go into education; 12%, into business and 8% into social work. The primary gender differences are that almost twice as many men as women pursue business as a career and five times as many men as women see the professional ministry as their calling, while women outnumber men in the education field almost three to one and in social work four to one.

3. Graduate school plans. There are no gender differences in the percentages of women and men who plan to pursue advanced degrees, but there are differences in the types of advanced degrees students intend to pursue. For example, 78% of men and 80% of women plan to attend graduate school. However, men are more likely to pursue a doctorate or professional degree, while women are more likely to pursue a master’s degree.

4. Post-graduation plans. After graduation, although more women say they expect to go to graduate school at some point, men are more likely to plan to attend graduate school soon; women are more likely to plan to work full-time. Women’s work plans appear more altruistic than men’s. Women are more likely to work in non-profit organizations, to work in community service organizations and to perform volunteer work. Neither men nor women expect to stay home after graduation. Only 6% of women and 5% of men reported this as their plan.

5. Post-graduation goals. Men rated instrumental goals more highly; women, expressive goals. Men are more likely to desire to become an authority in their field, to obtain recognition from colleagues, to influence the political structure, to have administrative responsibility, to be well-off financially, to make theoretical contributions to science, to write original works in their field, to be successful in their own business, to be involved in environmental cleanup, to develop a meaningful philosophy of life, to keep up-to-date with politics and to become a community leader. Women are more likely to desire to influence social values, to raise a family, to help others in difficulty, to participate in community action and to promote racial understanding.

DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Although many of their experiences are shared, women and men choose colleges for different reasons, enter with different expectations, choose somewhat different majors, engage in the college experience differently and graduate with different goals and plans. Although men may have greater aptitude in math and logic and enter college with stronger backgrounds in these areas, women achieve higher grades, participate more fully in the academic and social life of the college and are more satisfied with their college experience. Men appear somewhat more disengaged from the academic life of the college and more engaged in extracurricular activities. Although they hold more leadership positions, they also spend more time in partying, sports and being “bored”. It is tempting to respond to these differences by arguing that we should not address them. After all, some might say, women and men are created distinctively by God and their differences are Biblical. Yet, it is striking that these differences are also the stereotypical ones that Americans have been taught to expect. Christians are called to be in the world and not of it, and, despite Scripture that teaches equality (e.g., Gal. 3:28), the church is far too prone to emphasize gender differences rather than recognize gender similarities.

The gender stereotypes that result can become a straitjacket, limiting student service and student responses to God’s callings. Our responsibility as Christians and as educators is to open up possibilities for students that they have never before been willing to consider. Some specific suggestions for responding to the gender issues we see reflected in the student data:

1. Recruitment. Campuses need to make concerted efforts to attract men to Christian colleges. Although it may be difficult to identify reasons for the imbalance and to address them (strong academic programs in the natural and physical sciences and strong athletic programs are expensive, for example), the gender imbalance negatively impacts the educational experiences of both women and men.

2. Preparation. Students, particularly women, need to be encouraged to take more math and natural and physical science courses in high school. In college, when students struggle in these areas, advisors need to be aware of the link between preparation and performance. They need to encourage students to attribute their weaknesses to lack of preparation, not lack of ability. In other words, rather than allowing students to avoid these courses because they see themselves as lacking an innate ability, advisors need to encourage students to take courses in these areas in order to acquire these learnable skills.

3. Self-evaluation. Women should be encouraged to bring their self-evaluations more in line with their abilities. The abilities of capable women, for example, in academics or leadership, should be remarked upon and honored. Those who honor them should be aware of double messages they may be sending. Faculty may be communicating, for example, that women with ability need to subjugate their abilities to their future family and its needs whereas men with ability do not. The reality, of course, is that both women and men need to take their responsibilities as future spouses and parents seriously.

Particularly in our heavily female-dominated campuses, women should be encouraged to

recognize their abilities for leadership and to pursue leadership positions. All of us, whatever our Biblical interpretation, believe that the church needs women leaders (however we define leadership), as well as men, and a major responsibility of Christian campuses is training their students for leader ship. Women may particularly need experiences in leadership, perhaps having had fewer opportunities for leadership in the past. Further, every campus needs to selfconsciously nurture a culture that values female leadership. Every campus needs faculty women and men who are outspokenly supportive of women in leadership.

Every campus needs a vocal and thoughtful “gender and justice” student group, to challenge Biblical interpretations that support a rigid view of male headship in the home and church and to provide a wider spectrum of perspectives and beliefs.

4. Campus involvement. Disengagement from campus activities probably contributes to men’s lower performance in class and greater dissatisfaction with their college experiences. Men need to be encouraged to participate more actively in campus activities and campuses need to consider how their structure might more effectively encourage male participation. Faculty members need to be better informed about the problems of student disengagement, particularly men’s disengagement, and to consider how to encourage engagement with course content and campus activities. Men may need encouragement to study more and help with using their time more wisely.

5. Aspirations. Women, on the other hand, need encouragement to explore a wider range of majors and to pursue doctoral study. Men graduated with a greater range of degrees (i.e., they were less likely to clump in one or two majors); women were most likely to pursue education.

The high percentage of women choosing education and the low percentage of men is striking, even more striking when one considers that female education majors are primarily in elementary education and male education majors are primarily in secondary education and physical education. Further, the large percentage of women in social work is also striking. One speculates, given the complex web of traditional and academic expectations negotiated by Christian college students (as documented on one campus by Montgomery, 20011 ), that women are continuing to choose “traditional” majors such as these for a host of reasons. One reason may be that these majors appear child-friendly. Education jobs and many social service jobs are, however, less flexible than many other kinds of jobs, including many that require a doctorate. Further, they may be lower-paying jobs than comparable jobs in other sectors of the economy. Thus, these choices are valid choices but the gendered pattern they perpetuate brings costs as well as benefits, costs that are not often acknowledged or considered.

In summary, we have much to celebrate in Christian college higher education. Our students appear engaged, competent, and thoughtful on a range of political and social issues. Nevertheless, they participate in gendered experiences that are perpetuated and reinforced in a range of ways, by faculty, staff, and students, in the Christian college world. These experiences deserve our thoughtful attention. 1L.Montgomery, “It’s just what I like”: Explaining persistent patterns of gender stratification in the life choices of college students,” Paper presented at the AAA meetings, 1997.