Survey Results:
Teaching the Psychology of Men

Results of the Nationwide Survey of Professors Teaching the Psychology of Men

This section of the web page reports the result of the nationwide survey of professors teaching the psychology of men in the following categories: a) curricula and strategies used, class dynamics/dilemmas, and personal reactions to teaching, b) media, experiential activities, and assignments used, c) syllabi, texts and content areas taught, d) qualitative data on what professors enjoyed and disliked about their courses and advice on how to prepare a course.

Curricula and Strategies Used, Class Dynamics/Dilemmas, and Personal Reactions to Teaching

Table 1 summarizes what the faculty reported about their teaching across four pedagogical areas. Below is a summary of the results.

Note: Table 1 "Percentage Agreement of Professors’ Responses to Teaching the Psychology of Men Survey" is a multi page table. Scroll or open the pdf on a new page to view all.

Summary

 One of the central questions in our survey was what content is being taught in the psychology of men. Over 90% of the faculty reported that research on men, the dark side of masculinity, and positive/healthy aspects of masculinity were discussed in their courses. Nearly 90% of the faculty reported that multiculturalism/diversity, information on sexual minorities, and men’s oppression were part of their courses. An interdisciplinary approach to teaching was found with 89% of the professors. Almost 70% of the professors indicated that biological bases of masculinity were part of their courses and 74% included course content on women’s issues.

Professors reported that both academic content and personal processes drive their courses. When asked about content versus process, almost 40% indicated their course is process driven, whereas over 60% reported their course to be content driven. One of the hallmarks of teaching the psychology of gender has been using psychoeducation in the classroom (O’Neil, 2001).  Almost 70% of the professors reported using psychoeducational techniques in their classes.  One important outcome of psychoeducation is empowering students. Eighty five percent of the faculty indicated that empowering students is a class goal. One way to do psychoeducation is through self-disclosure (O’Neil, 1995, 2001). Almost 90% of the professors reported using self-disclosure to make important points. In terms of active class processes, 98 % of the faculty use media and over 70% use groups or gather information on students. Sixty-nine percent use self-assessment exercises, checklists, or other activities in class. Almost 90% of students psychology of men classes have at least one writing activity that promotes self-exploration.

  Professors have reported that teaching the psychology of men is complex and sometimes problematic (See Crapser & Elder; Kilmartin, Addis, Mahalik, O’Neil; Mahalik, Addis, Kilmartin, & O’Neil).  Over 50% of the professors in this study reported that classroom dynamics are difficult or challenging. Only 20% of the professors reported that women have difficulty with their classes but 50% reported that men have problems.  Defensiveness of students in classes was reported by 63% of faculty and over 30% report tensions in the classroom when teaching.  Almost a third of the professors reported institutional resistance to developing their courses. This suggests that teaching the psychology of men may be unpopular on some campuses and bias may exist against teaching the psychology of men. One hundred percent of the faculty reported enjoyment when teaching the psychology of men, 70% percent indicated that the teaching was challenging, 39% reported feeling  isolated when teaching, and 40% desired further training to teach their classes.

Media, Experiential Activities, and Assignments Used

Table 2 reports the different kind of activities used when teaching the psychology of men. Eighty five percent of the professors use experiential activities in their classes and 56% use some kind of media (films, music video, and music). The different experiential exercises, activities, assignments, and media (movies and music) that have been used and their frequencies are enumerated in Table 2. The results show a wide variety of media used, experiential exercises, and assignments.

Note: Table 2 "Media and Experimental Exercises, Assignments, and Activities Used in Teaching the Psychology of Men Courses"" is a multi page table. Scroll or open the pdf on a new page to view all.

Syllabi, Texts, and  Content Areas Taught

    Fifty-seven percent of the courses were reported as undergraduate courses and 43% as graduate level offerings.  Only three course syllabi were submitted from outside the United States. Five of the courses specifically focused on counseling men and three other courses focused on health, relationships, fathering, and leadership. The rest of the courses (89%) had generic titles like “The Psychology of Men and Masculinity”.  

      The most used text in the psychology of men is The Masculine Self (Smiler & Kilmartin, 2019). Fifty percent of the courses use this book and a majority of the courses include selected readings. All the courses reviewed state specific goals and objectives and used class participation as evaluative criteria. Over three quarters of the syllabi specified self-reflection as a class goal and 53% of the courses mentioned personal development as a possible outcome of the class. Only one course was taught online and the SPSMM web site was mentioned in only one course..

Content Analyses of Syllabi  

     Course dimensions analysis. The analysis of the course dimensions provided important information on how the psychology of men is being taught.  This analysis was conducted on the 44 syllabi and included a simple counting or listing of the following course dimensions: books used, sex of instructor, methods of course evaluation, experiential activities, media used, mention of Division 51’s web site, course goals, opportunity for personal development, and opportunity for verbal or written reflection. A frequency and percentage analysis was conducted on each of the course dimensions to determine the prevalence of each.

           Thematic content analysis of syllabi.  In the second analysis, the weekly core content topics were analyzed. The weekly core content topics are the general areas of study listed in a syllabus that convey the primary themes discussed each week. These core topics are printed in the syllabus, lectured on in class, and usually relate to the readings and assignments.  A listing of the core content topics contain the major themes of the course and represent the most effective way to assess what is being taught in each psychology of men course. We were interested in whether a topic was taught, but also how often each week. Therefore, if a topic was taught multiple weeks, then it was counted more than once so the degree of emphasis could be determined. 

The axial coding process from the inductive analysis process resulted in 20 overall core content topics that were each named. Additionally, the frequencies of the 140 subtopics were calculated for the 44 syllabi. Tables 3 and 4 were developed to display the core content areas and subtopics in the psychology of men courses. 

    The analysis of the syllabi’s core content areas provides a global indicator of what is being taught in psychology of men courses. Table 3 shows the 20 content areas derived from the different topical sorts of the 44 syllabi examined. On the left are listed the 20 content areas and on the right are the frequency and percentage of occurrence of that area for the 44 syllabi. The percentage represents the number of times the topic was listed compared to all other topic entries. These 20 content areas represent the general topics being taught in the psychology of men courses based on a thematic analysis of the syllabi. 

      Eighty percent of the thematic content in the 44 syllabi are from the first ten content areas listed in Table 3. The top ten  most endorsed content areas are: (a) theoretical, conceptual information about men and masculinity, (b) introduction to the psychology of men and course overview and expectancies, (c) relationships and friendships, (d) men’s problems: mental health, (e) diversity of men and multicultural aspects of masculinity, (f) men’s problems: physical health, (g) violence, anger, and aggression,  (h) sex and sexuality, (i) counseling  men, and (j) random topics.

    Table 4 enumerates the subtopics (n=140) within the 20 clusters mentioned in Table 3. The frequency is the number of times the subtopics were listed in the syllabi. The subtopics expand the array of topics currently being taught in the psychology of men and represent the depth and breadth of the profession. 

Qualitative Data On what Professors Reported

     The qualitative questions asked professors what they enjoyed and disliked the most about their courses, how their courses could be improved, and what advice they would give someone starting a new course. For what faculty enjoyed the most, there was almost universal agreement that it was how students were altered and changed by the course. The following words and phrases described what the professors reported across the four qualitative  areas :

1. Student Learning Processes and Outcomes

Faculty reported the following class processes and outcomes with student.

                     “increased student awareness,
      student breakthroughs,
      self-discovery,
      openings in student’s minds,
      enthusiasm,  developing wisdom,
      growth and change,
      being altered and transformed,
      going to the next level,
      personal and professional impact,
      the course mattering,
      awakening,
      high level thinking,
      the invisible becoming visible,
      increased clinical competence, 
      men being humanized”.  

2. Faculty Enjoyment & Satisfaction

The second kind of pleasure mentioned by the faculty was their own personal enjoyment and satisfaction in teaching. The following words or phrases described what was personally satisfying for faculty: 

                 “ an opportunity to discuss my research and personal experiences,
    expressing my passion for what I believe in,
    my own personal growth,
    opportunity to do creativity in the classroom,
    and advances in my own gender role journey”.

3.  What Professors Disliked    

Faculty reported what they disliked the most when teaching the psychology of men using words and phrases like: 

                “student with divisive and rude opinions,
  lack of textbooks, 
  student narcissism,
  student stuck in their rigid thoughts, 
  too few male students, 
  toxic students,
  struggles balancing men’s problems with men’s potentials,
  value based and discriminatory discussions on sexual orientation,
  infrequency of offering my course, 
  students who over generalize,
  limited participation and engagement by some students,
  student generalizations about sex differences”.

4. Faculty Course Improvements   

  Faculty mentioned the following topics for course  improvement:  

               “integrating empirical research more,
more content on biological bases of male behavior,
managing difficult class dialogues and confrontations,
more theoretical diversity,
how to get students to think critically,
more media and videos,
how to do psychoeducation around male privilege,
balancing men’s dark side with the positive aspects of being male,
more and better teaching materials,
increasing the breadth and depth of my course,
more integration of multicultural issues,
more experiential exercises,
more self-reflection activities,
balancing class process with content better,
using online technology more, 
transforming my entire course to an online format”.

5. Advice & Recommendations

  Faculty advice for anyone starting a psychology of men course was charged with many positive comments like: 

                “Go for it!, 

                 Do it, you won’t regret it!  

                 Enjoy the process, 

                Welcome aboard, we need you!” 

Additionally:

              “enjoy the process,
make it fun,
include process oriented activities,
be real with students,
tell stories,
consult with others who have taught,
go to the teaching the psychology of men resource web page for ideas,
include content on women,
include the word “boys”   in your course title,
use media and small groups,
incorporate research into the class,
do not overemphasis deficits models and use positive masculinity,
be patient with students,
bring your personality into the classroom,
find out what students want and where they are coming from and build on it”. 

Note: Table 4 "Subtopics and Frequencies from the Twenty Core Content Areas from the Psychology of Men Syllabi" is a multi page table. Scroll or open the pdf on a new page to view all.

All tables taken from: 

O’Neil, J.M. & Renzulli, S. (2013). Teaching the psychology of men: A national survey of professor’s attitudes and content analysis of their courses - A Call to Action. Psychology of Men and Masculinity. 14, 230-239.