Reports from across the world last week were claiming that we are no longer facing a gender gap but rather a gender chasm. Drawing on a new ‘gender gap’report these articles claim that even though a number of countries see more young women going to university than young men, it is men who tend to end up faring better in employment (rising to higher levels of seniority and earning more than their female counterparts). Continue reading “Girls, Graduate Jobs and the Gender Chasm”
Has research on Gender and Education come of age as a properly scientific field or is something else happening?
I was recently invited by the University of Luxembourg as a keynote speaker at an International Conference, ‘Gender Variations in Educational Success: Searching for Causes’. It quickly became apparent that boys’ achievement with respect to girls’ is an international, hot topic. National and political concerns in Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg have created a mass of research dominated by multivariate analysis and structural equation modelling. Scholars from these countries drew heavily on data available from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to search for the ‘causes’ of boys’ underachievement. Alongside PISA data they used national public examination and test scores, psycho metric measures of cognitive competencies in, for example, reading, mathematics and problem solving, scales of well-being and data gathered from questionnaires designed by researchers to capture, for example young people’s motivations to learn. Continue reading “Has research on Gender and Education come of age as a properly scientific field or is something else happening?”
Missing men: back to school- same old story?
On Thursday 1 September, Michael Gove made a speech about how students behave in schools. One of his ideas for getting students to stop misbehaving in class included a plea for more men to take up the job of teaching. In his speech the Education Secretary said:
“We need more male teachers – especially in primary schools – to provide children who often lack male role models at home – with male authority figures who can display both strength and sensitivity.”
Well, I agree with the Education Secretary but I suspect for different reasons. Continue reading “Missing men: back to school- same old story?”
A ‘Worrying’ Trend or a Cause for Celebration? Girls’ Exam Success at 16
Once more the gap between girls’ and boys’ GCSE results (taken at 16) has been in the UK news (the results in Scotland were announced earlier in the year and did not attract the same kind of attention). Although it cannot be said that this has been the usual slow news Summer – we have had so far the Norwegian killings, riots and their aftermath in England, uprisings in Libya and Syria, stock market turbulence etc. etc. – this is generally the time of the year when journalists are looking for a story and try to make one up with the publication of the GCSE results. It is also the time of year when straw dogs are set up to be knocked down. In my last post I noted how lone mothers and women teachers were being blamed for the riots. Well they are also being blamed for boys’ relative lower performance compared with girls, although other factors mentioned include over-use of course-work and grade inflation. Continue reading “A ‘Worrying’ Trend or a Cause for Celebration? Girls’ Exam Success at 16”
The e-word now at the heart of English (higher) education
The Third Gender and Education Association Policy Report (July 2011) Continue reading “The e-word now at the heart of English (higher) education”
‘Study reveals extent of the Oxbridge divide’: Whatever happened to gender equality?
It is most remarkable that neither the Sutton Trust nor the media have noticed changing forms of inequality in access to elite universities over the last 30 years. Whilst it is true that access to Oxbridge remains highly privileged as the recent Guardian article suggests, there is a major change that has been overlooked. 2 of the 5 schools mentioned in your report have co-educational sixth forms, and a third is a girls’ school. Only two schools are single sex boys’ schools (Eton and St Pauls). Relatively equal numbers of boys and girls now access higher education, including Oxbridge and indeed girls slightly outperform boys in degree results overall. It is strange indeed that changing forms of gender equality in education are not celebrated in the rush to try to get poor or disadvantaged students into the elite universities. This is being encouraged in last week’s white paper: HE: putting students at the heart of the system. What a pity attention is not focused on trying to change the culture of the political elites who still maintain their male privilege, and continue to exclude not only the poor and disadvantaged but their middle class sisters in the higher echelons, despite their academic achievements.
Miriam David, GEA Executive
Conference 2011 Keynote Address: Gender and Education, History and Progress (Carol Dyhouse)
Carol’s keynote opened the conference by taking stock of girls and women’s position in education for “without the past we can’t understand the present”. She began by troubling the idea of progress for in the history of girls education, things do not only get better. Continue reading “Conference 2011 Keynote Address: Gender and Education, History and Progress (Carol Dyhouse)”
Conference 2011 Keynote Address: Gender and Education in the Twenty-first Century, Engendering Debate? (Becky Francis)
Becky Francis’ keynote took on the task of exploring the current place of gender in the education system. She reflected on our current place as researchers in gender and education, on the theoretical challenges of our work and on our relationship to practice. Continue reading “Conference 2011 Keynote Address: Gender and Education in the Twenty-first Century, Engendering Debate? (Becky Francis)”
Do we need International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day has come around again. We know this because each year at the beginning of March, you’d think that the topic of women and their rights had been newly discovered. For a few days prior to the actual day, 8th March, the media seem suddenly to be fascinated by everything about women – what has happened to them over the previous year, reflections on various gender incidents and examples of sexism etc. with article after article taking the opportunity to comment on the condition of women (whether pro- or anti-). Here in Scotland the huge increase in domestic violence reported after a bad-tempered match between Celtic and Rangers, led to heightened discussion and (I hope) awareness of the damage that certain forms of masculinity are capable of. Continue reading “Do we need International Women’s Day?”
YWCA (England & Wales) becomes Platform 51
After 155 years The YWCA in England & Wales has recently re-launched itself as Platform 51. The 51 is intended to indicate that women and girls make up 51% of the UK population. Continue reading “YWCA (England & Wales) becomes Platform 51”