Education experts say boys' underperformance needs to be addressed, writes John Downes
A laddish culture among boys who tend to ignore homework and who study in short bursts may contribute to their underperformance in the Leaving Certificate, according to leading education experts. A breakdown of this year's results shows that a significant gender gap remains in the main subjects.
According to Mr John Mac Gabhann of the Teachers Union of Ireland, girls tend to work more consistently and from an earlier age. By comparison, boys tend to work in "fits and starts".
"There is a greater element of peer pressure where boys are concerned, a perception that being in any way seriously interested in study is not the done thing," he said. "There is some evidence that boys, in terms of risk-taking, just have the edge on girls. Girls will retain consistency, but part of risk- taking is to leave things to the last moment."
Anecdotal evidence suggested that girls tended to be neater and more consistent than their male counterparts.
"They tend to have patterns of work and study in a more programmatic way," said Mr Mac Gabhann. "We shouldn't be surprised that in a formal written exam, where recall of material attracts premium marks, girls perform better." The way in which boys learn needed to be considered when new curriculums were being devised.
"If girls tend to be better at discursive or extended essay- style answers which dominate terminal exams, then we need a more mixed method of assessment for boys. For example, a greater emphasis on portfolio assessment.
"We need to identify what boys' strengths are and then look at ways of assessing this. In general, schools pay less attention than they should to the development of study skills. If they do, it is often too late, in transition year for example. The way they study is already established"
According to Dr Mark Morgan, head of education at St Patrick's College of Education, gender differences are "incredibly fluid".
This year's figures however showed the continuation of a trend over the past five years which had seen girls overtake boys in results and points. Girls are now outperforming in mathematics, where boys have traditionally been seen as having an advantage.
Dr Morgan said ability tests suggested there was not a biological reason for this, but rather that results were socially dependent. "What we are talking about is the social/emotional side. It is part of a phase," he said. "It is something to do with adolescence and adjustment at that point . . . whatever happened, it seems girls have adjusted to that much better."
One significant factor might be the perceived predictability of the Leaving Certificate, Dr Morgan said.
"When we look at the Leaving Certificate, what is remarkable is the consistency with which girls do better. There is not necessarily a huge gap, but it is consistent," he said.
"It seems the paper is predict- able. If you study it, you can predict what is likely to come up, whereas a male student of equal ability mightn't have studied the paper with the same degree of consistency."
Planned changes to the Leaving Certificate may help to address the gender gap by increasing the emphasis on other forms of assessment, he said.
Ms Eleanor Petrie of the National Parents Council (post-primary) said that while the council would have concerns, it was also aware that similar situations existed in Britain and most of Europe.
Some teaching methods favoured the way in which girls tend to learn, she said. One possible solution could be to focus on a "team teaching" approach, involving cross- collaboration by teachers and among subjects.