Group Counclusion
After reading the AAUW report and the responses by Canadian and American organizations and individuals, a conclusion can be reached that in modern education, the notion of schools shortchanging girls is no longer valid. The trends seem to show that instead, boys are being marginalized in schools as girls take on more assertive classroom roles, are called on more favourably by teachers, and perform at a much better level on standardized tests.
The well-publicized report by the American Association of University Women “How Schools Shortchange Girls” (AAUW, 1992), presented convincing facts to conclude the girls were being shortchanged. Since then, however, there has been significant progress made by girls in the education system. Recent data from EQAO shows the girls are outperforming boys in all subjects and at all levels. In recent years, the performance of boys in school has been given much more prominence. A recent Globe and Mail report goes as far as saying that schools are “Failing Boys” (Globe and Mail). By attempting to rectify the many critiques provided in a number of research studies in the 1980s and 1990s such as Sadker (1994) and AAUW (1992), and attempting to make school a more welcoming place for girls, the education system may have alienated boys in the process.
In some cases, it also seems as though there is a kind of equity in the “shortchanging” for both boys and girls in schools. Arguments to support both sides of this issue are well sustained. Based on data from HRSDC, it is important to consider that in 2010, a higher percentage of women (71%) than men (65%) aged between 25 and 44 had completed a post-secondary education. Moreover, the proportions of both men and women participating in university education increased between 1990-1991 and 2005-2006; however, the increase of women was twice that of men. As seen in the Statistics section, the EQAO testing results over the past five years highlight a similar tendency towards equity, as the gender gap has shown to be in favor of female students in both reading and writing. Moreover, in mathematics, the percentage of female students at or above the standard is the same or slightly larger than males. Despite the picture painted above, the converse needs to be further addressed. Research compiled by Statistics Canada found that during a ten year spread from 1998 to 2008 at the undergraduate level, female numbers in mathematics, computer science, architecture, engineering and related technical fields remain markedly lower than those of their male counterparts. We see a slight improvement at the graduate level; however, this gender gap is far from equitable in this case. Furthermore, women also continue to find themselves chasing behind their male peers in terms of salaries, casting a certain doubt over the disconnect between socio-economic realities and preached etiquettes on gender equity.
Research shows that academic studies have come to conflicting conclusions with respect to who is being shortchanged in school. If public schools act as legitimators of existing social order, then they must be shortchanging girls as women are not yet equal in society. However, much of the research focusing on the situation of girls in school is becoming out-dated. There has been significant progress for women in education which today affords women many more opportunities. More women are graduating from universities and colleges and more women than ever before are enrolling in doctoral degrees. At a lower level, therefore, it is up to the teachers and the education system to find the right balance to integrate girls and boys in classroom participation, for encouragement and success. Teachers need to disengage stereotypes during the students’ formative years by focusing on expanding each student’s individual potential. A more gender-neutral curriculum would consider the implications of a sex-role socialization agenda in education. Classroom agendas should be based on academic ability, instead of on gender cues for more balanced educational system to be in place. The agenda needs to speak to the ideas presented within this course regarding the two‐way shaping of culture; that culture shapes individuals and is simultaneously shaped by them. Therefore as long as there are inequities in human culture some of these inequities will permeate into educational institutions.
The well-publicized report by the American Association of University Women “How Schools Shortchange Girls” (AAUW, 1992), presented convincing facts to conclude the girls were being shortchanged. Since then, however, there has been significant progress made by girls in the education system. Recent data from EQAO shows the girls are outperforming boys in all subjects and at all levels. In recent years, the performance of boys in school has been given much more prominence. A recent Globe and Mail report goes as far as saying that schools are “Failing Boys” (Globe and Mail). By attempting to rectify the many critiques provided in a number of research studies in the 1980s and 1990s such as Sadker (1994) and AAUW (1992), and attempting to make school a more welcoming place for girls, the education system may have alienated boys in the process.
In some cases, it also seems as though there is a kind of equity in the “shortchanging” for both boys and girls in schools. Arguments to support both sides of this issue are well sustained. Based on data from HRSDC, it is important to consider that in 2010, a higher percentage of women (71%) than men (65%) aged between 25 and 44 had completed a post-secondary education. Moreover, the proportions of both men and women participating in university education increased between 1990-1991 and 2005-2006; however, the increase of women was twice that of men. As seen in the Statistics section, the EQAO testing results over the past five years highlight a similar tendency towards equity, as the gender gap has shown to be in favor of female students in both reading and writing. Moreover, in mathematics, the percentage of female students at or above the standard is the same or slightly larger than males. Despite the picture painted above, the converse needs to be further addressed. Research compiled by Statistics Canada found that during a ten year spread from 1998 to 2008 at the undergraduate level, female numbers in mathematics, computer science, architecture, engineering and related technical fields remain markedly lower than those of their male counterparts. We see a slight improvement at the graduate level; however, this gender gap is far from equitable in this case. Furthermore, women also continue to find themselves chasing behind their male peers in terms of salaries, casting a certain doubt over the disconnect between socio-economic realities and preached etiquettes on gender equity.
Research shows that academic studies have come to conflicting conclusions with respect to who is being shortchanged in school. If public schools act as legitimators of existing social order, then they must be shortchanging girls as women are not yet equal in society. However, much of the research focusing on the situation of girls in school is becoming out-dated. There has been significant progress for women in education which today affords women many more opportunities. More women are graduating from universities and colleges and more women than ever before are enrolling in doctoral degrees. At a lower level, therefore, it is up to the teachers and the education system to find the right balance to integrate girls and boys in classroom participation, for encouragement and success. Teachers need to disengage stereotypes during the students’ formative years by focusing on expanding each student’s individual potential. A more gender-neutral curriculum would consider the implications of a sex-role socialization agenda in education. Classroom agendas should be based on academic ability, instead of on gender cues for more balanced educational system to be in place. The agenda needs to speak to the ideas presented within this course regarding the two‐way shaping of culture; that culture shapes individuals and is simultaneously shaped by them. Therefore as long as there are inequities in human culture some of these inequities will permeate into educational institutions.