Can computer supported collaborative Learning (CSCL) promote counter-stereotypical gender communication styles in male e female university students?

Problem Statement: Recent developments in the era of globalization have shown that to solve complex problems we need persons able to compete as well to cooperate, to be creative but also good team workers. Educational institutions must be able to help female and male students to overcome the gender-stereotyped behavior, favoring the integration of their best characteristics traditionally attributed to males and females. This work support the idea that online education can play an important role in promoting these integration. Purpose of Study: Our study examined if university educational settings with specific characteristics (small group, CSCL, asynchronous communication), separately associated with counterstereotypical behaviors, could promote counterstereotypical communication styles both in male and female students. Methods: Fifty-five psychology students, attending the same University (Sapienza, Rome) were divided into three groups: only male, only female and mixed. The same teacher, designed small group learning activities based on collaborative learning. For the content analyses of the communication styles Bales' IPA’s group observation grid was used. To investigate the communication style of three small groups we used Chi-square test. Findings and Results: Our results confirm hypothesis that online education with certain specific characteristics can promote the expression of counter-stereotypical behaviors in communication styles, in both male and female students. Conclusions: online education can support development of crucially needed metaskills, including promoting counter-stereotypical communication patterns, if offered with specific characteristics grouped together. These different features can create a positive learning climate able to promote integration of best males and females’ characteristics.