“Why is there all this fuss about boys when girls were allowed to underachieve for decades? Why should we be bothered when it seems to most observers that boys are the authors of their own misfortune?” (Noble, Brown & Murphy, 2001, p.1). The answer is ‘every underachieving boy is a small tragedy for the individual; but a cohort of underachieving men will be a huge problem for any society” (Noble, Brown & Murphy, 2001, p.1). We now have to ask ourselves, what is the root of the problem?
Motivation
“Research indicates that there are differences in achievement of male and females at the secondary level (Spense & Lewis, 1986). Girls had higher overall levels of motivation than boys (Kozeki & Entwistle (1984, 1985). Gender was also seen as a factor relating to continuing motivation: girls responded to competence, boys to challenge (Story & Sullivan, 1986).
Robbins and Decenzo (2001) define motivation as the willingness to exert high levels of effort to reach goals. “Entwistle (1987) saw motivation as a concept used by educationists and psychologists to explain the differences among learners in the amount of effort they put into their learning” (Subnaik-Deyal, 1991, p.19) Brewer, Dunn & Olszweki (1998) went on to state that psychological factors such as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation affect students’ performance. “Intrinsic motivation denoted the personal aspects of motivation that originate within the individual and which are subject to the individual’s volitional control. Extrinsic motivation denotes the external aspects of motivation which originate outside the individual and which are not subject to the individual’s volitional control” (Subnaik-Deyal, 1991, p. 20). “Individuals engage in intrinsically motivated behaviors for the pleasure of doing the act. Extrinsically motivated actions are not performed out of curiosity, but in order to receive some sort of outside reward.” Students who are highly intrinsically motivated are those who are academically curious, and may pursue their curiosity outside of the classroom. Those who are extrinsically motivated are pressured by outside figures to excel, but have little motivation other than to please others. It seems that there might be a direct relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and academic performance (Johnson, p. 5). However, Ames (1990) advised that it might not be that students lacked motivation but that they are not motivated by what is presented to them (Subnaik-Deyal, 1991).
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is conceptualized as a global evaluation of self that can range from positive to negative (Kling Hyde, Showers & Buswell, 1999). Men and women have different concerns when it comes to success in non-traditional fields even their own self-esteem and confidence in their abilities shows the differences. Men have higher self-esteem than women and men do not make lower estimates of their performance as women do. But as a result of women valuing other peoples opinion in relation to the work or task that they do they are more willing to accept others evaluation and try to change for the better while men on the other hand ignore any evaluation of their performance. Although ignoring the evaluations presented to them by others, men allow themselves to feel higher self-esteem but this ignorance and resistance of advice from others tends to impair their performance (Brannon, 2005).
Methodology
In order to conduct this study both primary and secondary data was gathered.
Primary Data
The instrument used for collecting the primary data was a survey in the form of a questionnaire (See Appendix I). The sample consisted of 40 persons, male and female, from the general population. The sample was chosen based on the fact that male underperformance is an observable fact which impacts on the entire society and we wanted to gather the public’s opinion on this phenomenon. The questionnaire was designed to gather information on persons’ beliefs as to the factors, including motivation and self esteem, which affect the academic performance of males in secondary school. The questionnaire was also used to determine the specific subject areas where persons’ believe males are underperforming and to gather their opinions on what can be done to motivate males in secondary schools.
Secondary Data
Secondary information was gathered from the Ministry of Education as well as a number of theses and books sourced from the library at the University of the West Indies. The information gathered from the Ministry contains results on the CXC performance of both males and females for the years 2000-2005 at several secondary schools (See Appendices II-VII). Attempts were made to access information from schools which are perceived according to the rankings of the public and the educational system as ‘high ranking’ secondary schools, ‘middle ranking’ secondary schools and ‘low ranking’ secondary schools. The information gathered was used to gain insight into the performance of males in the CXC examinations in comparison to females. Results from the analysis of this information assisted in determining if in fact males are underperforming in these examinations and to what extent. The performance in CXC examinations was chosen as the measure for male academic performance in secondary school because these are the final set of examinations which are taken in secondary schools. The results gained in these examinations, to a great extent, determine the success of males in society. Passing grades in these exams allow access to higher education and entrance into the workforce.
Limitations
In trying to gather information for this paper some limitations were met. To begin the application to receive information from the Ministry of Education took a relatively long time to reach the relevant persons. This limitation resulted in work having to be done at a later date than planned. Also, on going to the Ministry to collect the information there was a minor setback in that the statistician who was to assist with the gathering of the information had a previous appointment which he had to attend. This did not hinder progress greatly though, as assistance was received after some time.
Other limitations were in the form of answers that were obtained from the questionnaires because some of the people who were selected to answer the questionnaires had not thought on the question at hand and did not have much opinion in the areas of what was needed to motivate male students.
Analysis of Data
To analyze the data from the questionnaires the statistical program SPSS Student Version was used. The respondents’ answers were entered into this program and then used to produce several frequencies and cross-tabulations.
The information on the CXC examinations were entered into Microsoft Excel where percentages were calculated to determine what percentage of persons taking the examinations were males and what percentage were females. The information was also used to calculate what percentage of persons who took the examinations and passed were males and what percentage were females. See Appendices II-VII.
Results, Analysis and Findings
Motivation is a very important factor in terms of male underachievement in secondary schools but self-esteem also plays its part. Motivation is needed to improve performance so when there is a lack of motivation or anything which can be considered as a drive to help males perform well, the results of underperformance are shown. Motivation is very important in helping boys to excel in the classroom; unlike the other areas where males are constantly pushed to perform well the classroom is one area that lacks that type of determination. Especially since co-education was introduced most of the emphasis of male performance in school has been limited. Although self-esteem may not be an important factor in educational achievement it still presents itself as an issue to be considered in terms of male underachievement. Males usually have a high value of self-esteem which does not allow them to accept criticism and comments well which are aimed at improving their performance in the areas that they are lacking. Thus this continued air that their high self-esteem does not play a part in their underperformance can be disproved. Their self-esteem seems to cloud their judgment on what must be done to improve their performance, they do not believe that the evaluations and recommendations by others are aimed at improving their performance and thus do not pay special attention to them. Self-esteem is one of the major factors in the hindrance of male academic achievement.
Survey
Results from the survey indicated that 60% of individuals surveyed believed that males are being greatly outperformed by females in academics and the great majority believed that this underperformance is occurring specifically in secondary school. The results also show that 57.5% of the respondents believe that lack of attention de-motivates males in secondary school; however, they did not believe that the lack of attention was a result of teachers spending too much time reprimanding. An interesting finding from the survey was that 85% of the respondents believed that the curriculum affects the performance of males in secondary school, 85% of the respondents also believed that a change to the curriculum would give males the opportunity to improve their performance greatly. Respondents believed that males tend to perform well in subjects such as mathematics, physics, technical drawing and wood work.
The majority of the respondents suggested that in order to deal with male academic under performance in secondary schools efforts should be made to find out the subject areas where males perform well in and tailor their curriculum to include more of these subject areas. Also suggested was that good efforts put forward by males should be rewarded and males should be taught the importance of education and high academic achievement. Other suggestions include the use of mentorship programs and increased parental involvement.
CXC Examinations
An analysis of the statistics gathered from the Ministry of Education on CXC performance during the May/June examinations for the years 2000-2005 correlate with the results from the survey. These statistics show that during these years under assessment males have been performing well in subjects such as technical drawing, wood work, physics, visual arts, mathematics and information technology. However, their performance in subjects such as English Language and Spanish has been below that of females.
Findings
Considering Victor Vroom’s theory of expectancy it has been found that underperformance of males in the CXC examinations occurs due to the fact that males do not see the importance and attractiveness of good results in these examinations therefore they do not give the necessary effort which is required to have a noteworthy performance in the examinations. It has been assumed that the needs and goals of males differ from the needs and goals which could be satisfied by good academic performance. It was deduced from the results of the survey that males see subjects such as technical drawing and mechanics as worthwhile however they are not always given the opportunity to take these subjects. Taking McClelland needs theory into consideration it can also be assumed that males are being outperformed by females due to the fact that they do not have a high drive to excel in the majority of the subjects which are offered at the CXC level. Their need to achieve lies in the subject areas previously discussed as technical but there are not that many technical subjects offered by the CXC. It may be assumed male underperformance in secondary schools does not depend on co-educational schools or single sex schools. Male underperformance is based more on the performance of males in the classroom with special attention focused on the type of curriculum that is being offered. The type of subjects being offered along with the motivation that male pupils received also reflects on their performance. Male underachievement is prominent because males are placed into subject areas which do not necessarily cater to their interest and therefore they do not see the need for performing well. Also the fact that males were always thought to be intelligent and not to need too much encouragement or help in school also helps to impair their performance. So those males who are not that highly intelligent or may have trouble with certain areas with some subjects who need help and guidance in the right direction will not be able to have access to that help.
Conclusion and Recommendations
To conclude the phenomenon of male underperformance is affected by two very important factors: motivation and the curriculum. It has been suggested by the results that changes to the curriculum offered to males would greatly improve their academic performance. Currently, males seem to be at a disadvantage in regards to the curriculum because the subjects offered cater more to females who have better verbal skills and are better at humanities. This fact serves to de-motivate males in secondary school and negatively affects their performance Given the opportunity to take subjects which are more technical and take advantage of their visual spatial skills it is believed that the academic performance of males can be greatly improved.
It is recommended that males be placed into areas which peak their interest and also to carry out some research so as to find areas which interest them and thus help them by creating a curriculum which both males and females can be comfortable with. Also in the areas of motivation males need positive encouragement both at home and school, they also should be rewarded for good performance. Rewarding males for their performance or creating an incentive type program which would ensure that males make conscious efforts to improve their performance. Help is also required in areas where males are not able to efficiently understand the requirements of the subject of program, so in this instance lessons and positive groups like study groups and also the implementation of group work can help them improve their performance. Group projects should be also implemented and the group selection should include both sexes with students at different levels of intelligence so that they will all be able to assist each other in their respective ‘weak’ areas. Other recommendations to control this phenomenon include:
-
Rather than lowering the performance standards for males deal with the problems such as language usage which affect males (Common Entrance Exams).
- Encourage males to take interest in subject areas regarded as feminine by emphasizing the rewards one may achieve by studying these subjects.
- Action need not only be taken in the school but also in the home, through the media and the churches.
References
Robbins, S. P. & Decenzo, D. A. (2001). Fundamentals of Management: Essential Concepts and Applications. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Brannon, L. (2005). Gender: Psychological Perspectives. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Noble, C., Brown, J. & Murphy, J. (2001). How to Raise Boys’ Achievement. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd.
Morris, C. G & Maisto, A. A (2002). Psychology: An Introduction. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Subnaik-Deyal, E (1991). The Relationship between Perceived Student Motivation and Academic Achievement in English. The University of the West Indies: St. Augustine, Faculty of Education.
Carrington, Hazel. V (2003). Sex, Gender and Academic Achievement: Marginal Boys in a Secondary School in Barbados. Cave Hill: School of Continuing Education, Faculty of Humanities and Education.
Parry, Odette (2000). Male Underachievement in High School Education: In Jamaica, Barbados, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Kingston, Jamaica: Canoe Press University of the West Indies
Bailey, Barbara (2000) School Failure and Success: A Gender Analysis of the 1997 General Proficiency Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Examinations for Jamaica. Journal of Education and Development in the Caribbean Vol. 4 No. 1, 2000. Centre for Gender and Development Studies, University of the West Indies, Kingston Jamaica.
Johnson, K. R. (2007). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations Predict Academic Performance of College Students. Retrieved March 12, 2007, from Plattsburg State University of New York Web Site: http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/alan.marks/Exp%20205/Poster2.htm
Marginalized or privileged? Why boys underachieve in Caribbean schools. Retrieved March 12, 2007, from http://www.id21.org/education/6amf1.html
Appendix
Appendix I
This survey is being conducted as part of the requirement for the course PSYC 2017: Gender and Psychology. The focus of this survey is on male academic underperformance in secondary schools. Your cooperation in the completion of this survey would be greatly appreciated. All responses will be kept confidential and used only for the intended purposes.
- Male ____ Female ____
- Do you believe that the males in our society are being greatly outperformed by our females?
Yes ___ No ___
- Do you believe that males are underperforming academically in primary, secondary or tertiary school?
Primary Secondary Tertiary
-
\List the areas where you believe they are being outperformed by females?
- Do you believe this underperformance greatly affects our society?
Yes ___ No ___ To Some Extent ___
- Do you believe male underperformance can be attributed to the fact that males are sometimes placed in forms with a curriculum in which they are not interested?
Yes ___ No ___
- If so, do you believe that the curriculum of secondary schools should offer subjects which males as well as females are interested in, thus giving males the opportunity to improve their performance greatly?
Yes __ No ___
- List the subject areas which you believe that males tend to perform well in.
- Do you believe coeducation affects the academic performance of males in our schools?
Yes ___ No ___ To Some Extent ___
- If so, do you believe that giving males the opportunity to go to school in an environment which is void of females will improve their performance greatly?
Yes __ No ___
- Do you perceive parental involvement to be a crucial factor in the success of males in secondary schools?
Yes ___ No ___ To Some Extent ___
- If, so do you believe that parents should try to get information on theirs child’s performance and then try to help them improve by exposing them to lessons in the areas that they are weak in?
Yes ___ No ___ To Some Extent ___
- Do you believe peer groups can affect the performance of males in secondary schools?
Yes ___ No ___ To Some Extent ___
- If so, do you believe that peer groups would negatively or positively affect their performance? Negatively ____ Positively _____
- Do you believe the teaching methods employed at secondary schools help to contribute to male underperformance?
Yes ___ No ___ To Some Extent ___
- It has been said that teachers do not give the same attention to boys in the classroom as they do to girls, that most of their attention to boys is spent reprimanding them. Do you believe this is a true statement?
Yes ___ No ___
- If so, do you believe that this lack of attention de-motivates males in secondary school?
Definitely ___ Not at all ___ To Some Extent ___
- Do you believe that more devotion to their education could improve the academic performance of males in secondary schools?
Definitely ___ Not at all ___ To Some Extent ___
- Do you believe that self-esteem contributes greatly to the academic performance of males in secondary schools?
Yes ___ No ___ To Some Extent ___
- What do you believe could be done to boost the self-esteem of males in secondary schools?
- What measures would you suggest to deal with male academic under-performance in secondary schools in our society?
Frequencies
Frequency Table
Are males being greatly outperformed?
Does male underperformance greatly affect society?
Are males underperforming in Primary, Secondary or Tertiary school?
Lack of attention de-motivates males?
Does self esteem contribute to underperformance?
Crosstabs
Are males being greatly outperformed? * In Primary, Secondary or Tertiary school?
Does cooeducation affect performance? * Environment void of females?