Gender Inequalities in Educational Achievement Gender inequality is evident in many aspects of life. Some believe that men are predominantly better equipped for executive level positions in business, in religious leadership roles and industrial management operations while others believe that only women can be effective in the nursing field, as educational professionals and fashion industry leaders. These preconceived notions about gender superiority and inferiority begin even earlier than one might think. Gender inequality is evident among school age children’s achievement levels, beginning in kindergarten and continuing through their high school years. Research suggests that there are many contributing factors for gender inequality in school
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Reading scores alone spurred the notion that boys are being “short-changed” by schools in academics. (Robinson & Lubienski, 2011) The fact that boys are falling behind in reading and spelling should prompt teachers to identify and focus attention on those who are falling behind to bring them up to speed. The implementation of tutoring and extended studies could potentially close this gap between boys and girls in those areas. As a teaching professional it is an absolute necessity to be able to identify those boys whose reading skills may be falling behind or are lacking in competent reading skills. Likewise, it has been suggested that gender differences among the highest achievers influence career choices later in life and thus efforts have been made to increase girls’ interest in Math by introducing special programs. (Robinson & Lubienski, 2011) This study also suggests that the possibility of any student, male or female, being “short-changed” is dependent upon the grade level of the student and the subject being …show more content…
Because teachers are with their students for long periods of time each week, they are very aware of each student’s skills and abilities. This awareness can and does cause the teacher to form an opinion about the student’s achievement potential, and that in turn can affect how much time and effort the teacher is willing to devote to educating the child. Praise and criticism from the teacher can also directly impact the student’s response to the subject being studied. For instance, if a male student who is in the gender gap for reading, receives praise for each of his reading efforts, he would be more likely to score higher on assessments than if criticism were displayed. It is already known that boys tend to score lower than girls in reading and therefore praise has the potential to produce a more positive response in the boy, and the same for girls with mathematics. In the study mentioned above, one purpose of the study was to evaluate the possibility of a “perceptual bias” in mathematics. The study revealed that because teachers are aware that boys typically score higher in mathematics than girls and therefore perceptual bias was likely to occur. (Helwig, Anderson, & Tindal,
Reading scores alone spurred the notion that boys are being “short-changed” by schools in academics. (Robinson & Lubienski, 2011) The fact that boys are falling behind in reading and spelling should prompt teachers to identify and focus attention on those who are falling behind to bring them up to speed. The implementation of tutoring and extended studies could potentially close this gap between boys and girls in those areas. As a teaching professional it is an absolute necessity to be able to identify those boys whose reading skills may be falling behind or are lacking in competent reading skills. Likewise, it has been suggested that gender differences among the highest achievers influence career choices later in life and thus efforts have been made to increase girls’ interest in Math by introducing special programs. (Robinson & Lubienski, 2011) This study also suggests that the possibility of any student, male or female, being “short-changed” is dependent upon the grade level of the student and the subject being …show more content…
Because teachers are with their students for long periods of time each week, they are very aware of each student’s skills and abilities. This awareness can and does cause the teacher to form an opinion about the student’s achievement potential, and that in turn can affect how much time and effort the teacher is willing to devote to educating the child. Praise and criticism from the teacher can also directly impact the student’s response to the subject being studied. For instance, if a male student who is in the gender gap for reading, receives praise for each of his reading efforts, he would be more likely to score higher on assessments than if criticism were displayed. It is already known that boys tend to score lower than girls in reading and therefore praise has the potential to produce a more positive response in the boy, and the same for girls with mathematics. In the study mentioned above, one purpose of the study was to evaluate the possibility of a “perceptual bias” in mathematics. The study revealed that because teachers are aware that boys typically score higher in mathematics than girls and therefore perceptual bias was likely to occur. (Helwig, Anderson, & Tindal,