Girls outperforming boys—at school and university—a continuing trend     048

Most parents probably have a suspicion that girls are doing better at school than boys based on their own experience with children and on talking to friends. Well I am afraid to tell you that this sneaking suspicion is a devastating reality and has been for decades. It is a trend which is not just continuing, but broadening and accelerating. And it’s international.

There have been a number of research studies, as you might imagine. One such was an OECD report in 2003, which found that across 43 developed nations, girls were doing better at school and university, and were more confident, and this was after taking into account factors such as class and income. The Commonwealth Department of Education in Australia surveyed some 7000 students in Years 11 and 12 and found that “boys showed less commitment towards school and were less likely to see higher education as relevant… females tend to experience a far more supportive interpersonal environment” (from G. Maslen, Women’s winning ways, Australian Financial Review, 16 Jun 2007, pp. 28, 29, an article all parents should read). This same article points out that within Australia’s universities 56 per cent of students are women, and they have far higher completion rates. Research reports actually go back a long way and can be accessed online from government websites. But I don’t think you want to do that. We can get depressed enough just here.

Academics consider the causes to be complex but two factors are most often mentioned: the low proportion of male teachers in schools and the teaching and learning style generally used in classrooms. In some NSW primary schools it is not uncommon for there to be only one male teacher, or no male teachers, apart from the principal or deputy principal. The literature provides a variety of statistics but in general the proportion of male teachers in primary schools, discounting teachers in executive positions, would be definitely below 20 per cent. There is also a shortage of male teachers within high schools, although not as bad. Unfortunately, over the past few decades, there seems to have been little concern. Federal education Minister Brendan Nelson in 2003 initiated a $7 million scheme to encourage schools to develop education programs to assist boys (see Maslen 2007, above).

Today I want a focus on a number of common methods by which high school boys could be disadvantaged. During Year 11 and 12 school-based assessment tasks are regularly implemented, so that perhaps on average every six to eight weeks students face a test which contributes to their total marks for the year. Anecdotal evidence suggests that girls may be more adaptable to this type of testing regime. Certainly students should be given a choice. Some boys for example might prefer to have a more university style of assessment with more weight given to fewer tests.

The senior curriculum, places emphasis on student engagement with and response to texts, but in a way which may prejudice some boys. Half of the present HSC English course deals with an ‘area of study’ called ‘discovery’. According to the syllabus, discovery can take place in the area of relationships, human interaction and can even be spiritual. Discovery outcomes can include new understandings of the individual and the transformation of the individual. This whole process can be affected by personal factors, and student outcomes can include understanding how discovery works through representations of people, and how the concept of discovery can improve self understanding. Well among the boys that I teach no-one has expressed any desire for self-understanding, transformation or personal spiritual outcomes.

It is not only how boys are required to interact with texts it is the selection of texts themselves. I will take two extreme examples which illustrate the problem. I have known teachers select, for younger boys to study, the text, Melina Marchetta, Looking for Alibrandi (1992), a work awarded ‘Book of the Year’ by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Well, it must be good. According to the back cover this book is about a 17 year old Year 12 student at a private school. She falls in love “discovers the secrets of her family’s past… and sets herself free”. For boys, this is riveting stuff. One boy I taught said it was the most boring book he had ever read and the only possible interesting part was when one character committed suicide. Hmm.

Now let’s consider the School Certificate English examination which used to be conducted in Year 10. This examination was set for all students, boys and girls, so we might expect, for examination conditions, the choice of test material to be reasonably gender neutral. So what was selected by the NSW Board of Studies for inclusion in the 2002 School Certificate? An article taken from Dolly magazine, “Making Mascara”, reproduced on pages 20 and 21 of the examination booklet. I asked the boys I was teaching at the time but they said they were not reading the Dolly magazine and they weren’t sure what mascara was. Question 44 in the School Certificate test, concerning this informative article, asks boys to consider the correct answer to four statements: “Girls need to be empowered; Girls are victims of social pressures; Girls should be ambitious individuals; and Girls are to blame for their lack of power”. Suppose for example the Board of Studies had chosen an extract from a James Bond novel with questions to match. We would probably still be hearing about it 14 years later.

Do you want more from this School Certificate? In the interests of education, I will force myself to continue. Another text, a song lyric apparently, is entitled “Utopia”. It suggests that utopia or nirvana can be associated with forgiving, opening our arms, being “propelled by passion”, being “gentle… humble” and feeling “safe”. Further texts, on page 26, talk about “spread[ing] love around” and “find[ing] it in our hearts to meet together”. Again, I’m not sure that the boys I teach want to be gentle, humble, meet with people and spread love around.

Indeed these days, in my experience, I have noticed that boys seem less energised. One thing they don’t want to do is to get their driving licence. No, it’s the girls who can’t wait to get behind the wheel, and many take the test on their 17th birthday. It’s also the girls—and I will say nearly always the girls—who apply for, and succeed in obtaining, university scholarships, special trainee programs and the like. It’s the girls who have an up-to-date comprehensive resume written, and it’s the girls who have real work experience. It is also the girls who can organise themselves to go to career exhibitions on the weekend while the boys have to be dragged in by their mothers. And, I suspect, it is also the boys who will not be able to attend enrolment day at university without their mothers.

So, parents, do something to rescue your sons. Every time the school selects this type of text or experience complain about it. Say that it could disadvantage boys. Ensure that you son spends time with men. Perhaps they could find some work experience with dad? In the United States there are a number of organisations which review texts to assess their family suitability. Perhaps we should start doing something like that here. In the meantime it is over to you, the parents—as always it seems.

All content copyright—Mark Thackray—Australian Educational Services