Success of Boys and Girls in the Australian Schools - Report Example

Research Arguments on the Success of Boys and Girls in the Australian Schools Student's Name Institution of Learning Introduction There are many study messages that young children receive concerning gender roles and identity. These roles pressurise students to conform to certain tasks that may cause limitations to their full potential development. In most cases, students who fail to conform to traditional roles they end up being targeted for bullying and harassment. This acts as a challenge to many young people and aspects such as joining school are not as a result of self-motivation, but, as a result of punishment worries in case one fails to join or perform in school (Kenway, 1998). Gender in schooling is all about getting an understanding on the differing aspects mainly in education outcomes and experiences for both boys and girls. Effects in gender effects arise from gender interests, expectation and behaviour of both sexes. In order to adequately address the issues behind education experiences of girls and boys, it is important to admit that gender is a significant factor in the lives of both for boys and girls. It is clear that there are needs that boys have, however, they are so far not being met in an effectual way by the schools. Constricting aspects of absolute men views and masculinity, as well as, women's roles result in boy’s restrictions in connection with their social, educational growth, occupation experiences in their subsequent life chances. It has been admitted that girls have disadvantages in respect with school experiences and that there are markedly different outcomes that are achieved by both boys and girls from their schooling. Initially, boy’s performance has been seen to be ahead of girls, although not on all grounds. However, this trend is no longer in existence and girls are now taking longer to school than boys (Kenway, 1998). Nonetheless, despite this fact they are not getting similar post-school benefits from schooling either. This acts as a discouraging aspect that needs to be addressed adequately. The schooling rewards received by different groups of boys and girls are also different. Arguments and research that has been conducted in this area has admitted that addressing issues and inequalities that girls undergo will help boost their school performance even to higher levels more that the ones being observed so far. It is also important to look keenly at inequalities that boys education is undergoing as well. These supportive views come from a closer examination of the outcomes and experiences of schooling in particular as they apply to diverse groups of boys and girls (Bock, 2010). Some of these differences include subject choices, skill development, life experiences and other effects that are evident in the lives of boys and girls. There are numerous arguments that have been raised about gender and schooling. Some of these arguments have been backed up by numerous research outcomes in this area. This paper primary aim is to analyse on what research has argued on the success of boys and girls in the Australian schools. Educational Attainment In education institutions in Australia before 1980's there were favourable learning outcomes for boys than girls. A larger number of boys dominated with the results and had increased participation in graduation and even post-compulsory education. However, the participation levels and achievement in education are at an increased rate for boys than girls in vocational, schools and education training in the universities. This argument can be compared to the traditional point of view where the dominating areas among girls have been in English and subjects related to humanities (Cresswell etal 2002). This can be compared to boys dominance in subjects related to science. Nevertheless, a major change has been seen in this area in a span of past 10 to 15 years (Cresswell etal 2002). In the past decade girls lead has extended to the subjects that they had dominance over previously and have started performing better than boys in certain areas of mathematics and science as well (Cresswell etal 2002). This has raised a growing concern over the significance of this shift in education achievement of boys compared to girls needs. There is a raising acknowledgement recognition for programs need that can assist in the enhancement of the involvement and execution of boys as well as girls. These arguments can be backed up by research conducted by the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) in the year 1996.The aim of this study was to identify the literacy level between boys and girls. Boys and girls literacy levels in school Literacy, in this case, comprises of both reading and writing skills in an individual. According to research by ACER in 1960 on children below ten years old for both boys and girls, it was observed that girls had consistently increased marks compared to boys under the test. The greatest differences that were recorded among boys and girls was in writing skills where girls had a high score (Masters, & Forster,1997). Differences of this nature were also evident in older children. In order to emphasis on this results ACER assessed earlier results and arguments on the same and realised that boys still had lower scores compared to girls especially in reading and comprehension tests. A good example is on the issue to identify whether boys perform better than boys in mathematics in Australian schools. However, there are limitations in this case due to a compounded fact that girls over time have tended to study courses that have reduced intense in mathematics. According to a study of trends in NSW, higher schools for certificates courses managed to find out that girls general preference was for courses that are less difficult where the difficult ones were boys most favourite(Masters, & Forster,1997). However, it is clear that the girls willingness to take part in challenging courses has been on the increase. On the other hand, the likelihood of boys to study difficult courses than girls is still in preference. According to numerous research on the test results in high school students, in general, have identified that there is little differing aspects in the results obtained by girls and boys. In addition, there were minor differences that were obtained in these subjects have not always favoured boys. All these results were concluded that girls achieved superior results in geography and English where results in chemistry had mixed opinions. Changes over time were also assessed by the TE scores study in NSW where the mean TE score for girls showed a slight increase in girls than that of boys where it also gradually increased as years passed. Initially, his study was done in 1991 and by 1992 there were observable changes (NSW Board of Studies 1996). The growing gap in these scores was not attributed to girls improvement in traditional subjects only; however, there was a relative improvement in their performance in numerous dissimilar courses. According to NSW, in 1994 research the boys representation in TE score were lower compared to that that had been recorded earlier in a similar research study. As a result of these changes there are several explanations that have been laid down in regard to these changes some of these include: changes in curriculum scaling and assessment procedures, TE score changes retention rates as well as the effects of different subject choices patterns. It is possible that a certain number of these observed changes may have favoured girls than boys to learning their preferable assessment mode and their increasingly broad based subject selection (Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia, 1993). There is the suggestion from most of these factors that they ought to account for prevailing differences because still there is no clear statement of the relevant boys performance has been going down over the late years. This is following the fact that boys have been seen to under perform within a broad spectrum of measures in education achievement, as well as early literacy achievement. The aspects of numeracy tasks, reading and writing and it are crucial that students develop these features from an old age in their life. These skills help in the prediction of longer education results on the economy and individual well-being (Marks, & Ainley, 1997). A large number of students succeed in developing their literacy skills, however, research shows that those who never manage to achieve them end up quitting school and leading a miserable working, education and society outcomes. The literacy skills in Australia are assessed on a regular basis during children schooling life. According to an assessment in 2004, a big number of students in year 7 were attaining benchmark stages in writing, reading, and numeracy. In both year 3 and 7 in 2004 it is only a few number of boys who managed to achieve the benchmark compared to a high number of girls who achieved it (Marks, & Ainley, 1997). These evident gaps in the performance of boys and girls in writing and reading have remained the same to that in the prefatory three years. In the case of attaining the numeracy benchmark, there is no big difference between boys and girls. It is clear that in reading and writing as well as numeracy benchmark girls are always ahead of boys in the assessment years Boys schooling in particular Most of the arguments and research in this paper have tried to justify that girls are continuing to outperform boys in writing and reading. However, there are no differences in the boys and girls proportions in numeracy benchmark achievement. Training and education are crucial ways where human beings can be able to improve their well-being. Choices in education can contain long lasting implications to necessary to young people only, but for governments, health, society welfare as well as national production effects. Gender concerns in Australia education patterns have been an existing interest especially on performance aspects. Many boys do well in schools, but on average they do not achieve well compared to girls over a range of educational measures (MacCann, 1995). Over the year 2006 and 2007 the Australian government set aside a certain amount of money as an initiative to fund schools with an aim of improving the performance of boys. This clearly indicates that the performance of boys in Australian schools is alarming, and the government joins hand with other stakeholders to try and improve on it. The primary focus of the initiative is on information and literacy as well as a communication technology. Adolescent students In many Australian territories and or rather Australian states, a big number of students finishes their compulsory schooling between age 15 and even 16 years. In most of these students, this period corresponds with year ten old schooling. According to an assessment program at this period of life, is mandated to compare how well the students are prepared at this age of 15 years. The aim is to learn how well they are ready as their end their compulsory year of study in terms of facing the life challenges out of school life (National Centre for Vocational Education Research Ltd, 1997,). According to PISA those students at this age who took part in a survey conducted in 2003, most of them or overall students showed excellent performance where males and females in most Australia schools scored more compared to their respective OECD average scores in reading literacy among others. The men score attained by both female and male students did not show a lot of o differences especially in mathematics literacy. The performance of students in a school in many cases is attributed to by many aspects. These includes; schooling environment, family background, teaching personnel such as teachers among others. The performance of a student will in most cases determines how well prepared and settled his or her mind. In this paper, the performance of girls compared to those of boys is seen to improve and bypass that from boys in the recent years. Teachers play a major role in the preparation of students for both school life and on the other end of the life after school. In Australia, the number of male teachers has been seen to decrease steadily. For instance, in 2005,the number of full-time equivalent teachers was high all over Australia in the 1985”s, however this proportion has been reducing with time from around 42% to 32%. In this decline, the most affected area was in primary level teachers where the males teachers to females one dropped to 10% by the year 2005. Male and females teachers have an equal chance and likelihood of being good teachers for both boys and girls, therefore, maintain an equal balance between both genders is of great interest(Cresswell, Rowe, Withers, & Australian Council for Educational Research. 2002). The house of representative in Australia recently raised concerns about the number of males teachers dropping significantly over a number of years. The house pointed out that this number is needed because as seen in this paper the education capability of boys compared to girls is going down. In their argument, these teachers are required in order to determine the boys education in the country where they act as boys role models. Which matters a lot in their life both in school and after. Subject Choice Pattern The performance levels for both boys and girls were differing in different subjects. Girls are believed to perform better in certain subjects compared to boys and vis versa. However, according to evidence provided by numerous research institutions into this issue, this trend has been seen to change steadily where the overall level of performance among students has been seen to improve. Although this the prevailing aspect, the choice of subjects in school determines the performance capability of either a boy or a girl. In Australia decisions made on subjects that are taught in senior secondary schools have an influence on the students ability to have access to higher institutions of learning (Mulcahy, 2002). The influence is also extended to labour markets and education in vocational training institutions. The choice of subjects that are vital and which are perceived as complex should be lest to the one hand ling them and in this case the student. This sis very critical moment and can affect the overall performance of either a girl student. There are differing aspects in the subject’s enrolment for both boys and girls in senior schools. For instance there may be a high number of girl students enrolling for English subjects than boys. On the other hand, greater number of students and in these case boys would eventually enrol for mathematics in high levels of learning. This is the same case in subjects related to computer studies, physical sciences, technical areas of study and other areas that are perceived to be complex (Mulcahy, 2002). Similarly, female’s likelihood choice of subjects was mainly in humanity subjects, English, languages, and even arts. This was due to the perception that this is a simple area, and the chances of doing extremely well are high. In most part of the community there is a growing concern and perception that once boys take part in subject areas that are narrow vocationally oriented they are likely to miss great opportunities in life to get knowledge and skills, for instance in interpersonal and civic skills. In addition, this deficit is likely to impact on their ability to foster their social and cultural skills. Nonetheless, this does not imply that they are at a disadvantage when it comes to securing employment opportunities. In Australia there is a compulsory level of education that any boy or girl is supposed to go through. Some of these positive measures are to make sure that at least there is a minimum level of education that is attained by each and every individual in the country. As a result of this compulsory education, young boys and girls are surrounded with an array of work to train in and education pathways (Australian Council for Educational Research. 2002). This means that in case one is not able to continue with studies up to an individual level completing the compulsory level it is possible to a remain active in life after school. Taking part in the formal training sessions or even being employed is a crucial aspect because one can avoid risks of remaining unemployed marginalised underemployed and attached to non-paying Labor force. All these aspects can be linked to making better choices in school in terms of subjects to study and those not to. The main driver should not be the arguments raised that boys can perform better in certain areas while girls as well. The driving factor should be based on ability and commitment of an individual. Guidelines for the key players such as parents teachers and the community as a whole should assist both boys and girls in their career choices. Conclusion It is clear that girls are relatively performing a better than boys even in the subjects that were believed to be boys dominance. A research conducted on literacy aspects girls literacy rates have an overall upper hand to that of boys. In the society, not only in Australia girls have numerous stabling blocks towards their education, however, with an increased support they can do better in schools. Probably some of the changes like these may have favoured girls in their learning assessment mode in increasingly broad areas. Suggestion from aspects of this nature that ought to account for prevailing deviation because still there is no clear account of the relevant boys performance that has been going down over the late years. The Australian government has managed to introduce an initiative and set aside some amount of funds to support schools improve the boys education. This indicates that the performance of boys in Australian schools is alarming. The paper has also touched on male teachers whose number has dropped significantly. This can be a long-term effect on the continued deteriorating boys performance. As a result, there are no enough boys role models in schools to motivate them in their studies. Therefore, the performance of girls in Australian schools is relatively improving and is slightly higher compared to that of boys. References Bock, B. (2010). Schooling in Australia. Sunnybank Hills, Qld.: Book Pal. Cresswell, J., Rowe, K. J., Withers, G., & Australian Council for Educational Research. (2002). Boys in school and society. Cumberwell, Victoria: ACER Kehily, M. J. (2002). Sexuality, gender and schooling: Shifting agendas in social learning. London: Routledge. Kenway, J. (1998).Answering back: Girls, boys and feminism in schools. London: Routledge. Koch, J., & Irby, B. J. (2005). Gender and schooling in the early years. Greenwich, CT: IAP. Masters, G. N. & Forster, M. 1997, Mapping Literacy Achievement, Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne. Marks, G. & Ainley, J. 1997, Reading comprehension and numeracy among junior secondary school students in Australia, Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne. MacCann, R. 1995, A longitudinal study of sex differences at the HSC and SC: trends over the last decade, NSW Board of Studies, Nth Sydney. Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia, 1993, Gender equity in senior secondary school assessment (ESSSA) project cited in R. MacCann, 1995, A longitudinal study of sex differences at the HSC and SC: trends over the last decade, NSW Board of Studies, Nth Sydney. NSW Board of Studies 1996, The report of the Gender Project Steering Committee, NSW Board of Studies, Nth Sydney. National Centre for Vocational Education Research Ltd, 1997, Australian Vocational Education and Training Statistics 1996: in detail, (unpublished data), NCVER Ltd, Leabrook S.A. Mulcahy, D. G. (2002) Knowledge, gender, and schooling: The feminist educational thought of Jane Roland Martin. Westport, Conn: Bergin & Garvey. Read More