We need to know why boys do less well in tests

Last week’s publication of this year’s Junior Cert results again draws attention to how well girls do relative to boys in this exam (and, of course, the same is true in respect of the Leaving Cert).

While various explanations are offered in respect of the above-mentioned phenomenon, one point that is rarely mentioned is the feminization of the teaching profession in recent decades (something which appears to have coincided with the development of the present academic achievement gap between boys and girls) which is illustrated by the fact that 68% of secondary teachers and 86% of primary teachers are now female, with the overall percentage of teachers who are female being 74%, which is up from 63% in 1961.

While, ideally, the gender of a teacher shouldn’t matter provided he/she has been employed on the basis of merit and doesn’t favour pupils of one gender over the other, some UK research suggests that boys’ academic performance has suffered due to the shortage of male teachers there (which is similar to here) and also suggests the existence of a preference among this mainly female teaching force for teaching girls (though this is a general point, of course, and is by no means necessarily true of all teachers, whatever their gender).

In relation to the above, the following statement can be found on a UK website (www.historylearningsite.co.uk): “Sexism has died out in schools, with teachers recognizing, and preferring to teach girls than boys.” Now, if the last part of this statement is true, that’s obviously not good news for boys.

While the above-mentioned research relates to the UK, could it be, given the similar female/male imbalance in the teaching profession here, that the findings of this research are relevant to this country as well? (Gender imbalances are not necessarily always harmful or problematical in themselves despite an apparent belief to the contrary in some circles, but it’s possible, of course, that in some circumstances they could have unintended negative consequences.) The above matter appears to be worth researching further, if only because it has implications not just for boys but for society as a whole. However, to be worth while, any such research would need to be fully open and honest and not influenced by political correctness.

Hugh Gibney

Castletown

Athboy

Co Meath