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I can make a simple suggestion as to the discrepancy between girls' school results and those in 'real life': the 'modern' school system in most western countrie

I can make a simple suggestion as to the discrepancy between girls' school results and those in 'real life': the 'modern' school system in most western countries is tailored more to the way most girls/women work than it tailors to boys/men. This is not the case for the average work environment which is more competitive and generally a better fit to the way most men work - possibly because until recently it was mostly dominated by men. As to whether this will change - schools focusing more on boys and the workplace becoming more attuned to women - only time will tell. The former seems more likely than the latter as competitiveness is inherent in the desire to gain status and wealth.

thunderbong 8y ago
That's very interesting. I never looked at it that way. Can you elaborate on how schools are better suited for girls?
- Yetanfou 8y ago
  There is a host of literature on the subject from many authors but I'll surmise the problem: schools reward behaviour like being quiet and attentive in class, sitting still for longer periods, not goofing off and following instructions which is far more common in girls than it is in boys while punishing typically 'boyish' behaviour (which more or less comes down to the opposite of the former). Outdoors and practical activities - which are more aligned to the way boys learn - are limited to a minimum or even taken away completely while indoors, formal classroom-based teaching based on literacy and numeracy is the norm, an environment tailored to those aforementioned traits which are more common in girls. Boys do better when they have positive male role models but male (and here it is important to realise I'm not just talking about sex but also about behaviour, i.e. 'typically male') teachers and assistants are as rare as hen's teeth in the primary and increasingly also in the secondary school systems. Continuous assessment plays a larger role in setting final results, again favouring girls as they are essentially being rewarded for having the earlier characteristics while boys are being punished for lacking them. In some school systems - the Swedish being one of them according to the teacher's union - girls get higher test scores than boys for the same performance when the tests are scored by the pupil's teachers [1]. A study titled "Grading and gender : Equality or discrimination?" [2] arrives at similar conclusions. [1] https://lararnastidning.se/pojkar-missgynnas-i-betygsattningen/ https://lararnastidning.se/pojkar-missgynnas-i-betygsattning... [2] http://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1205359&dswid=8766 http://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1205...

thunderbong 8y ago

That's very interesting. I never looked at it that way. Can you elaborate on how schools are better suited for girls?

Yetanfou 8y ago
There is a host of literature on the subject from many authors but I'll surmise the problem: schools reward behaviour like being quiet and attentive in class, sitting still for longer periods, not goofing off and following instructions which is far more common in girls than it is in boys while punishing typically 'boyish' behaviour (which more or less comes down to the opposite of the former). Outdoors and practical activities - which are more aligned to the way boys learn - are limited to a minimum or even taken away completely while indoors, formal classroom-based teaching based on literacy and numeracy is the norm, an environment tailored to those aforementioned traits which are more common in girls. Boys do better when they have positive male role models but male (and here it is important to realise I'm not just talking about sex but also about behaviour, i.e. 'typically male') teachers and assistants are as rare as hen's teeth in the primary and increasingly also in the secondary school systems. Continuous assessment plays a larger role in setting final results, again favouring girls as they are essentially being rewarded for having the earlier characteristics while boys are being punished for lacking them. In some school systems - the Swedish being one of them according to the teacher's union - girls get higher test scores than boys for the same performance when the tests are scored by the pupil's teachers [1]. A study titled "Grading and gender : Equality or discrimination?" [2] arrives at similar conclusions. [1] https://lararnastidning.se/pojkar-missgynnas-i-betygsattningen/ https://lararnastidning.se/pojkar-missgynnas-i-betygsattning... [2] http://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1205359&dswid=8766 http://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1205...