As stated in Item A, Madsen Pirie of the New Right Adam Smith Institute also believes that the current education system does favour girls, but because of a slightly different reason. Madsen Pirie identifies that within schooling today there is continuous assessment of knowledge through modular exams, which all children sit throughout the year with their results from each one equating to their final grade. This is as opposed to other systems that require just one, or possibly two big exams to be sat at the end of the academic year. Madsen Pirie states that the modules are part of a more systematic approach to examinations, which favours girls. While boys seem to prefer the final revise just before the end of year exams, but since these have been changed to modular exams throughout the year; this disadvantages boys.
A further possibility in explaining the differences in educational achievement in regard to educational system changes could be the phasing out of more practical subjects that have historically been advantageous for boys, the majority of whom are kinaesthetic learners and do better with this type of examination. In the past where subjects such as woodwork or design technology consisted of largely practical assessments (making or designing things); they now consist more of exams which probably do not suit boy as much as the practical, kinaesthetic way of learning and being assessed. This can be said for many other traditional subjects, such as the sciences, which used to contain more actual experimentation that students would be graded on, but has now become more exam based. Girls on the other hand learn better either through visualising or listening which could favour them in exams. This could be the reason why girls, when these sorts of subjects were more practical didn’t do as well as boys, but since the changes, have enabled them to do better than the boys.
Arguing against Madsen Pirie on this matter are feminists that believe Madsen Pirie and other theorists that believe the gender differences are down to the factors mentioned above are just trying to find any reason to explain why boys are disadvantaged in the education system instead of just accepting that girls are doing better in education for other reasons as possibly more effort on preparation and laddish subcultures; they would believe that boys are ‘shooting themselves in the foot’ so-to-speak and this is what is causing their underachievement, not the fact there have been what can be seen as minor changes to the education system.
In conclusion, it is fair to say that there are many competing theories on the reasons behind the differences between the genders, mostly between those that believe the difference is natural, and those that believe that the conditions in the education system have changed to cause this result. It would however be an unlikely coincidence that as soon as changes in the education system happen; soon after girls starts doing better than boys. Then again, this could just be a natural change and could see fluctuation in years to come. This debate could last for as long as the ‘problem’ persists, but if successes change again and boys start outperforming girls again, the argument is likely to switch to answering why boys are now outperforming girls. But at this moment, we can only reference to the figures showing that there is a difference in gender achievement, as there is no concrete way of finding out whether there are un-natural factors that could be to blame. Everyone will always have a theory, whether they are correct or not is another matter.
by
dazza1801 (student)
