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Student Participation and Social Difference 195

of gendered participation, with Class #8 having the highest asymmetry in favor of
men, and Class #6 (along with Class #3) having the best for women. As noted ear-

lier, these two classes spend the highest amounts of time in the study using unfo-
cused, shorter dialogues between professor and student (46% and 42%). But when

we compare the two classes in terms of voluntary participation, we see that women
in Class #8 volunteer 70% less than do men, whereas women in Class #6 volunteer
20%more than do men. This could have particularly significant impact in light of
how much time is spent in shorter, often voluntary exchanges in these classes. In-
terestingly, during their interviews students from Class #6 commented with ap-
proval on the degree to which their professor kept control of the exchanges in the
classroom.^92 Thus, although there was an equivalent amount of shorter, volunteered
discussion in the two classes, it may be that the degree of professorial control of
those exchanges differed.^93 A number of issues for further study are thus suggested
by the comparison between these two classes: in asking about possible connections
between pedagogical style and gendered participation, we need to investigate the
effects of professor gender, particularly in relation to different kinds of law school
settings; the distribution of volunteered versus called-on turns; and aspects of pro-
fessorial control even in relatively informal classrooms. In addition, although we
were unable to track students’ ages in the study, there is anecdotal information
suggesting that the two schools in which women spoke more may have had more
older students.^94 Thus, we might also ask about the differences between older and
younger women in terms of their assertiveness in less structured dialogues.^95

table 8.7

Comparison of Called-on and Volunteered Participation Rates, by Gender

Ratio of Total Ratio of Total Shift in Women’s Participation
Class Called-on Turns Volunteered Turns from Called-on to Volunteer Turns

Elite/Prestige

2 0.90 1.20 -.30

8 1.50 1.70 -.20

5 1.30 2.30 -1.00

Regional

4 1.40 1.30 +.10

7 0.90 1.10 -.30

Local

1 1.00 1.10 -.10
6 1.10 0.80 +.30
3 1.00 1.00 0
Average change in female-taught classes +.03
Average change in male-taught classes -.32
Ratios are calculated by dividing the men’s participation rate by the women’s participa-
tion rate. 1.0 is the figure that would represent equal participation by women and men.
Figures over 1.0 represent an imbalance toward male participation; figures under 1.0
represent an imbalance toward female participation.