Student Attitudes, Image and the Gender Gap

Abstract

This article, based on a 3 year study in East Anglian schools, draws on a range of evidence pointing to different attitudes of girls and boys to General Certi cate of Secondary Education (GCSE) work. Suggestions are made to account for these differences, with particular emphasis being placed on peer pressure, image and social groupings. Although these are relevant to both sexes, it was found to be more acceptable for girls to work hard and still be part of the 'in crowd', whilst boys were under greater pressure to conform to a 'cool', masculine image, and were more likely to be ridiculed for working hard. The article concludes by suggesting that one approach to closing the current gender gap may be to enable boys in school to move beyond the stereotypical image of the macho male. 8 (online)/00/030393 -15 Ó 2000 British Educationa l Research Association 394 M. Warrington et al. MethodologyThe article is based on a 3-year study of the gender gap in schools in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Lincolnshire, and we draw here mainly on focus group interviews with groups of girls and boys in four comprehensive and four selective schools, and on lesson observations and teacher interviews in four of the schools where the focus group interviews had been carried out (two selectives and two comprehensives). A full discussion of the research framework and focus group methodology can be found in Warrington & Younger (1999).Overall, 41 lessons were observed and each school was visited for a period of 3-4 days. The schools were asked to draw up a convenient timetable that included a mixture of subjects, student ability groupings and male and female teachers of varying ages. Class sizes varied, as did the gender composition of the class and the year groups. Rather than being representative, the lessons sampled maximised the potential sources of variance in terms of school type, different teachers (gender, age, experience), different subjects, different students (gender, ability) and differences in any one student over time. The female observer made both qualitative and quantitative observations (Furlong & Edwards, 1989;Kelly, 1988;Taber, 1992;Boostrom, 1994), and tried to make herself as unobtrusive as possible, although inevitably her presence did have some impact on classroom dynamics.A systematic observation schedule was designed for the observer to record the frequency of pre-speci ed types of public teacher-student interaction in year 11 classrooms. Since the focus of the research was in part to gather data on relative frequencies, a category system was used to ensure that all instances of the pre-speci ed public interaction were recorded (see Wragg, 1994). Event recording was used for the same reason and also for its advantages over other systems (Anderson & Burns, 1989;Wragg, 1994). The following variables were scored: students' responses to questions put to the class; whether the responses were called out; instances when the teacher put a question to a speci c student; teachers' public praise or reprimand of individuals; stud...

Do girls and boys perceive themselves as equally engaged in school? The results of an international study from 12 countries

“…However, there have been studies on gender differences in the many components of student engagement (e.g., intrinsic motivation and persistence in school work) (Barber, 1996;Darom & Rich, 1988;Warrington, Younger, & Williams, 2000). As intrinsic motivation and persistence constitute the first two dimensions of student engagement, these findings will have implications regarding gender differences in student engagement.…”

“…As intrinsic motivation and persistence constitute the first two dimensions of student engagement, these findings will have implications regarding gender differences in student engagement. It has been reported that boys are less motivated than girls and spend less time doing homework and that boys have lower expectations of themselves and are less enthusiastic about continuing their studies (Barber, 1996;Cox, 2000;Darom & Rich, 1988;Hatzichristou & Hopf, 1996;Warrington et al, 2000). As for the cognitive dimension of student engagement, there is also evidence showing that girls are more likely than boys to plan, monitor, and regulate their cognitions and study activities (Ablard & Lipschultz, 1998;KenneyBenson, Pomerantz, Ryan, & Patrick, 2006;Patrick, Ryan, & Pintrich, 1999;Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons, 1990).…”

Demographic and psychological predictors of grade point average (GPA) in North-Norway: a particular analysis of cognitive/school-related and literacy problems

“…Female students had a higher GPA than male students. Several reasons for this gender gap in achievement are suggested, including home and school/classroom environment, socio-economic factors, peer culture, gender differences in attitudes towards school work (Warrington, Younger, & Williams, 2000), and degree of selfdiscipline (Duckworth & Seligman, 2006). Consequences are a higher degree of special education and higher dropout rates among men (Legewie & DiPrete, 2012), which lead to a range of possible negative concerns related to work status, income, behaviour, and quality of life (Belfield & Levin, 2007).…”

Causes of Gender Differences in Accounting Performance: Students’ Perspective

“…Involvement in heavy drinking and other entertainment activities, poor class attendance, negative attitude towards studies, lack of practice, waiting until too late to study, studying only for passing examinations instead of understanding, and failure to seek assistance from lecturers and colleagues were mentioned as factors that hamper male students' performance. According to respondents of this study it appears the "macho" behaviour described by Warrington, Younger, and Williams (2000) could be associated with male accounting students at the University of Botswana. Male students' lack of seriousness towards their studies was summarized by one female student in the following words: What emerged from 176 responses which were given to this question was that academic performance is the function of an individual's commitment and determination to succeed.…”

“…Harding (1986) asserted that feminism itself was responsible for bringing about radical changes in the ways girls perceived themselves, where they could no longer perceive their identify in mainly domestic terms but rather as much as workers as homemakers. Warrington, Younger and Williams (2000) revealed that because of "macho" male culture boys were more likely than girls to be ridiculed by their peers for working hard at school, and frequently resorted to "laddish" behaviour such as challenging authority, drawing attention to themselves and pretending not to care about school work in order to gain acceptance from their peer group. Gallagher (2001) holds the view that boys and girls display different academic performance not because they differ in their physical, emotional and intellectual development but rather due to some social and cultural factors.…”