SoTL as Women's Work: What Do Existing Data Tell Us?

Abstract

In this essay on the field of SoTL, we report on an exploratory, descriptive study of the levels of participation of men and women in various types of scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) activities. Drawing on 25 national and international sources of existing data on sex and involvement in SoTL, we find the following patterns: women are over- represented, relative to the numbers of men and women faculty/academic staff in higher education, in both ‘self-selected’ SoTL activities and in ‘primarily self-selected with other approval or confirmation’ activities. The involvement of women and men was more representative to their numbers for activities in the ‘primarily invited, awarded, or selected by others’ SoTL category. We discuss possible explanations for and implications of these findings.