Girls have a built-in neurological advantage over boys when it comes to language skills, according to new research from Northwestern University and the University of Haifa. The researchers found that while girls can easily process language in the abstract, boys depend more on their senses. The upshot is that boys may need to be taught both visually and verbally, while girls can learn equally well through either means and presumably have an easier time with learning because of it.
The findings may shed some light on a question that has been puzzling Gary Becker and Richard Posner: why do boys, on average, perform worse academically than girls do, from primary school right on through college?
The underperformance of boys has contributed to a striking reversal of the gender gap in higher education over the last fifty years. Women now decisively outnumber men on the nation’s college campuses, and they graduate at a higher rate than men do. Becker thinks the reduced pressure on women to marry and have children young, matched with the increased pressure on them to compete in the labor force, partly explains why women have closed the gender gap. But why have they hurtled past men in college enrollment and graduation? What else accounts for the new gender gap, and what should be done to address it?
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“If in fact men are simply choosing not to go to college, there is literally nothing to be done.”
The comment by DJH (#4) seems a little naive. What would DJH have said when the American Association of University Women were reporting that girls were being underserved by our educational system 25 years ago – maybe they should just be satisfied being housewives? For the record, the AAUW is STILL advocating for girls in education. Who advocates for the boys?
If women continue to be over-represented in colleges and universities (that is, significantly greater than 50%), the fair option would be to begin giving males preference in the admissions process.
This has been the method colleges have used in the past to counter disproportionate representation – to the detriment of otherwise qualified males.
After teaching for 8 years its very clear to me:
Boys are lazy
Girls are not
On personality tests, women tend to score higher on both agreeableness and conscientiousness. With the de-emphasis of competition and the long-term commitment and attention to detail required of today’s students, it seems that they have personality traits which give them an advantage.
It’s not everything, but, from personal experience, it seems to be a significant factor.
The reason there is a gap is because throughout school, girls get preferential treatment from teachers/professors. They are though of as nicer, and are more likely to be given a borderline grade or to complain about their grades.
The problem with segregation is that even if were correct in principle (people learn best in an environment tailored to their particular style of learning), segregation by any basic demographic variable presumes that said learning styles correlation directly with those styles. Should a boy who is an auditory learner be forced in to an environment in which he is even less likely to excel than now?
To me, this begs for a privatization of of schooling such that different methods can be employed in different schools (or classrooms) and that parents can decide what environment is best for their child.
Oops, prior post (#14) got a bit garbled in editing it.
“…segregation by any basic demographic variable presumes that said learning styles correlation directly with those styles.” should read,
segregation by any basic demographic variables presumes that said learning styles correlate directly with those variables.
gender binary. pssshh, how passe.
but in all seriousness, just because there’s a “neurological” advantage doesn’t mean that the advantage is socialized or biological. just because it shows up doesn’t mean it’s hardwired. it could very well be socialized.
i think we need more data to make a meaningful conclusion.