Is It Really Just A Boy Thing?

Evidence suggests that girls are more likely to spend their leisure time in ways which compliment their education and contribute to educational achievements. Mitsos and Browne place considerable emphasis on reading. Women are more likely to read than men, and mothers are more likely than fathers to read to their children. Therefore girls are more likely to have same-sex role models to encourage them to read. Poor language and literacy skills are likely to affect boys' performance across a wide range of subjects.

Historically boys were top of the class. Today that is no longer the case. A recent article in The Economist discusses a 2009 study by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) that examined how 15-year-old boys and girls performed in reading, mathematics and science. They found that girls are performing better than their male classmates. This gender gap is worldwide. Girls score higher than boys on tests measuring reading ability in every country in the world (Loveless).

There are multiple reasons why Kelley King, Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens are on the pro side. For one reason, they believe that the differences exist due to boys being more interactive with certain topics and methods that don’t usually interest girls or vice versa. For example, the Wamsley Elementary School in Rifle, Colorado has both boy and girl students. However, in the past, the girl students over accomplished the boy students due to the school staff being more experienced in understanding how to teach girls than understanding how to teach boys. So, the school focused on teaching the boys with their own learning styles that are also girl friendly such as online courses. The result of this was successful as boys became more accomplished than they were from before. (Pages 147 – 148).

Society’s understanding of gender roles debate about gender equity and have always been connected to the social roles that men and women we assigned to shape Americans views of education for girls and boys. What has also been affected is race and social class between females and males who attend schools. Ideas of what women and men are suppose to be and do have cut across different classifications. Ending unfairness in schools has rested on change to gender roles mainly women.

In the past females have achieved less well than boys at higher levels in the education system, then during the 1990', the girls over took boys at all levels in the education system. The percentage of females in the UK achieving two or more A-levels or equivalent has increased from 20% in 1990 to 42% in 2006. Over the same time period, the percentage of males achieving the same level increased from 18% to 33%. On the other hand, there still continues to be a large difference in the choice of subjects by males and females. Even with the national curriculum being restrictive in the lower levels, meaning both male and females do the same subjects, when they get to a-levels and degree level, both male and females still tend to choose different

Gender differences in achievement can be explained best by changes that have occurred in factors outside of school, known as external factors. A DfES (2007) bar chart showed that throughout the years (1985 – 2007), there has been a higher percentage of females that achieved five or more A*-C grades at GCSE. The percentage has been constantly increasing at a faster rate than the male percentage. This proves that changes in wider society have affected both genders differently, but girl’s achievement has benefited from this more.

An ever changing, yet common issue, in today's generation revolves around how society views gender. The general consensus dictates that gender, as a whole, is a spectrum, rather than a standard set for each individual male and female to follow throughout everyday life. However, there are those individuals who wish to remain reluctant in changing their view of society. Some believe it is better to allow the education system to be segregated by gender, in order to provide more resources to both girls and boys. One person in favor of this public education reform is David Brooks, a neuroscientist who published the article titled “The Gender Gap at School.” A thorough analysis of the effects of literature on men and women, biological factors

Schlosser. She carried out the study while on a post-doctoral fellowship at Princeton University, and will study the effects of gender in higher education lecture halls next. This is one of few studies of its kind to use scientific data to address the question of gender effects in school. Boys with more female peers in their classes show higher enrollment rates in both advanced math and science classes, but overall benefits were found in all grades for both sexes. Prof. Schlosser found that primary-school classrooms with a female majority showed increased academic success for both boys and girls, along with a notable improvement in subjects like science and math. In the middle schools, girls were found to have better academic achievement in English, languages and math. And in high school, the classrooms which had the best academic achievements overall were consistently those that had a higher proportion of girls enrolled. A higher percentage of girls lowers the amount of classroom disruption and fosters a better relationship between pupils and their teacher, a study of the data suggests. Teachers are less tired in classrooms with more girls, and pupils overall seem to be more satisfied when a high female-to-male ratio persists. Prof. Schlosser was inspired to the study by a “renewed interest on the effects of classroom gender composition on students’ learning, since a new amendment to America’s Title IX

There is a lot of compelling evidence to support the view that changes in the education system has resulted in differences in educational achievement between males and females. There is no denying that the statistics show girls are outperforming boys at every level in education, but the question is whether this is largely related to changes in the assessment process and the way each of the genders is educated or whether there are other factors causing the differences.

The evidence in Husband’s study provided is supportive because it points out how gender differences affect the achievement of reading based on the standards, expectations, reading selections, disciplinary actions and learning styles that emphasize resistance towards African American males (Husband 2-3). The author inserted maps within the article displaying the neurological differences (Husband 5) boys have with more testosterone on the brain and are less likely to sit still in a class. “Husband proclaims boys have to be taught to participate in reading verses most girls naturally do not. boys tend to be drawn toward reading newspapers, how-to manuals, and other short informational texts more often than girls” (Husband 4).Boys perhaps would be better off learning through story telling based on the feeling of disempowering in reading circles (Husband 5). This investigation presented the classroom text included is not male preference and because it doesn’t reflect their culture or life experiences males withdraw. Husband’s

Another factor that plays into the role of inequalities in the American education system is stereotypes. One body of research suggests that the result of African Americans underperforming is having internalized negative stereotypes. If anyone of us is told that we’re lazy, ignorant, or stupid long enough, and treated accordingly, we would believe it. Once you start to believe it, these characteristics start to describe you and it effects your whole life, including education. Not only does money and race play a role in the inequalities in education, but sex does as well. According to the author, in recent years, journalists, psychologists and educators have brought attention to what is known as the “boy crisis.” Basically, the crisis is described as girls outperforming boys in their educational outcomes. Consequently, the idea of “girl power” mantras and the feminist movement have made their mark. In recent years, girls outperformed boys nationally in reading and writing tests. Also, they attend college in higher numbers and are more likely to

Browne have also come up with a range of reasons of why boys are not

Why do these gender gaps exist? Researchers believe that cultural and social factors, as well as educational, and attitudinal factors contribute to this gap. Cultural beliefs that boys excel in math and science and that girls excel in the arts can be passed down through generations and adults who may not even realize it are acting on these beliefs (Sanders, 1997). “Subtle and unintended messages can create the idea among girls and boys that there are fields

Gender differences occur in many aspects of a person’s life whether it is culture, politics, occupation, family and relationships, or the economy (just to name a few). One major difference in gender occurs in learning and education in the elementary and secondary levels. Research has found that males and females learn differently in many aspects of education. First of all, female and male brains are constructed differently affecting the way they learn; this leads to basic differences in learning and also gives an introduction into why the way one learns differs according to gender and how males and females learn subjects and tasks differently. Second, males and females are treated differently, sometimes unconsciously, in educational

Gender equity in terms of education is about the socialization of men and women and the results of this process on the life outcomes of the two genders (Husen & Postlethwaite, 1994). In the United States, the education system is required to treat males and females equally. There has been much research done to compare the genders in all areas. In the past, research has found that women fall far behind men in many areas such as math, and science, but men lag behind women in certain areas as well. Over the years, many provisions have been made with the goal of equalizing the treatment of girls and boys in public education. These improvements are proven successful as women, as well as men, are advancing in areas where they tend to lag