Teachers’ Perspectives on Boys’ Underperformance in Education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

This article is an attempt to explore possible causes of boys’ underperformance in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) Annual examinations of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar, KP, Pakistan. T he a im o f t he s tudy i s t o e xplore t he i ssue o f b oys’ underperformance from the perspectives of school and college teachers. Thus, the data for the study come from qualitative interviews with 30 school and college teachers (15 male and 15 female). We employed purposive sampling technique for including teachers. The findings of the study recommend that evidence-based strategies need to be adopted to improve boys’ academic performance and attitudes to learning.

Principals’ Transformative Leadership on the Performance in Science Subjects in Girls’ Public Secondary Schools in Tharaka Nithi County

“…As a result, the government has made efforts to improve science pass rates in secondary schools. Similar findings have been realised in Namibia, where the arts are considered appropriate for female students, and STEM is deemed suitable for male students (Ullah, 2020). The study reveals that the performance of girls is very low in STEM fields, not only at the middle levels but almost at all educational levels.…”

“…This enhances commitment and eventually translates to positive academic performance among students. Ullah (2020) conducted a study about girls' academic performance in science subjects in Islamabad, Pakistan. The study revealed that girls, as compared to boys, are not doing well in science subjects such as technology, engineering, and math (STEM).…”

“…Gender disparities in terms of educational performance have also been observed in Zambia. Ullah (2020) mentioned that girls' performance in science subjects is not up to par, particularly in STEM education, not only at the primary and middle school levels but also at the secondary level. The study also found that performance is worse, especially in higher education.…”

The impact of teacher and learner positioning in the writing classroom

“…International research into this situation has indicated that girls outperform boys in all subjects. This evident in the studies carried out in the Philippines Fontanos & Ocampo, 2019), Finland (Lahelma, 2021), Kenya (Muyaka, Omuse & Malenya, 2021), Pakistan (Ullah & Ullah, 2021) and Spain (Sáinz, Solé & Fàbregues, 2021). Sáinz et al (2021) state that in countries like Spain, boys are more likely to fail in school than girls and that during the last decade boys show a higher disposition to drop out of school earlier than girls.…”

Teachers Self-Efficacious, Locus of Control and Workplace Spirituality Beliefs Buffers the Effects on Elementary Students Achievement Scores

“…Bureaucrats worked in well-furnished rooms, luxurious environment, never focus on ground realities, form policies, make experiments for country existence, then poorly implement these policies that cause controversies and one of the major reasons of damaging Pakistani education system, specially for science teachers and students. Teaching of science at elementary level is still in trialling phase due to lack of uniformity (Mahmood, 2013), non-directional education system (Amir et al, 2020), poor policy implementation (Haq, 2015), teachers substandard qualification (Ahmad et al, 2014), outdated science laboratories (Nawaz, 2020), lack in science teachers professional development (Ullah et al, 2020), unsatisfactory science textbooks (Mahmood, 2010), week assessment of science learning results (Halali, 2002) and poor implementation of science curricula (Iqbal et al, 2009). Resultantly, aannual PEC results showed worst achievement scores; 45% in science subject (Punjab Examination Commission, 2019) and still declining due to stakeholders slackness.…”