It is a fact that boys struggle more academically than girls. Educational statistics support this statement. The mystery is why this is happening.
What Is Going On?
Boys are struggling in the U.S. and now research from Australia show boys are also struggling there. Melinda Houston, www.theage.com.au, writes that across Australia, girls not only outperform boys but also graduate at a higher percentage. Girls graduate at 80% and boys at 70%. Houston gathers information from several sources to try and unravel this mystery.
Choices
Professor Johanna Wyn, director of the youth research centre at Melbourne University, has noticed that boys make different choices in academics. Girls select classes they enjoy and the ones they know they can handle. Boys feel pressure to go into the hardest maths and sciences. This sets them up for a challenge and possible failure. The girls that select the most challenging math and sciences are those that are good in these areas. This is a very interesting observation.
Uncertain Future
Wyn states that girls view the world as their oyster. Anything is possible. While, boys are clinging to the traditional view that they are the breadwinners of the family. But, more and more women are becoming the breadwinners leaving boys unsure of what their roles will be in the future. In the workplace, more and more traditional male careers are being replaced by machines. Cowboys and macho images in television and movies have been replaced by Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Male teachers are disappearing from the classrooms because of poor wages for teachers. Just what are the role models for today's boys?
Outmoded Educational Model
Professor Wyn also states that today's model of education is an antique that no longer serves our society. "I think our education system is completely outmoded now. It was designed to meet the needs of a mid-20th-century industrial society. The model hasn't changed, but the world has. It worked once but it's not that helpful now."
Boys are more literal, linear and pragmatic about their future, writes Houston. There are also those that state learning styles play a factor in boys success in school. Girls have less problems with literacy than boys. Since literacy is such a large factor in education, boys are one step behind from the beginning. Boys need more activity than girls but this need is often ignored. Single-sex classrooms are now being promoted and same gender schools are popping up in cities. Economist Thomas S. Dee states that male teachers reach boys more effectively in the classroom. Research indicates that some change is necessary.
Gender Differences
Dr. Peter Cox of La Trobe University's school of education has studied gender differences in high school maths and science. Interesting data came from this study.
- Both boys and girls felt girls put more effort into studying.
- Boys pretend to study less than they really do.
- Boys get teased more about doing well in school than girls.
- If boys take more "feminine" classes, they get called "gay."
- Boys feel they can always go to a trade school and don't need to excel in high school.
Cox states that because boys don't get as broad an education as girls, they have fewer options. Girls can freely go into male fields but it just doesn't seem acceptable for boys to go into traditional female careers.
Set Up?
Are boys being set up to fail by a system that doesn't work for them? Our society is changing but if we look at the typical high school curriculum, has it changed much over the past 50 years? Eventually, education will change to meet the needs of society. But, change is difficult and usually slow.
Read previous articles on Educational Issues.
Copyright article 2006 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
