From the BBC:
Female students are ahead of men in almost every measure of UK university achievement, according to a report from higher education researchers.
A Higher Education Policy Institute report shows that women are more likely to get places in the top universities and go on to get better grades.
Women also outnumber men in high status subjects, such as law and medicine.
The institute's director, Bahram Bekhradnia, says the cause of this gender gap remains uncertain.
Cambridge and Oxford are the exceptions. The numbers of men and women are equal.
Does this surprise you?
ReplyDeleteLapin, it does, and it doesn't. I knew that was the case here in the US, but I didn't know that other countries were experiencing the same trend.
ReplyDeleteI should have said that it shouldn't surprise (but then, I had a very able mother) but it does surprise that former inequities are being surmounted to this degree.
ReplyDeleteNow, if this carries over to the job market .....
I know!
A thought runs through my mind, but I dare not type the words - not PC at all.
ReplyDeleteOne of the problems here is that we spent so much time to encourage girls to do well that a lot of our teaching styles and the curriculum are focused on how girls learn.
ReplyDeleteThere's a huge emphasis on "playing nicely" in the playground which does nothing to get rid of little boys' energy, we expect them to sit still and concentrate according to patterns suited to girls, there is less practical work and more focus on writing and articulating, something girls learn earlier than boys.
And then we wonder why our male role models disappear and a whole generation of children grows up without a father figure they can respect and learn from.
Exaggerated to make the point, I know, but we really are not doing our society any favours.
Here, Here Erika. Re: children growing up without a father figure. It always upsets and angers me that you see so few male teachers within our primary schools. So many boys do not have a role model even here. Pity.
ReplyDeleteDoorman-Priest and TheMe are out there doing their bit as fine role models for young men. Good for them.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with two sisters, and, as my own boys were growing up, I was amazed at their energy and their need to have a physical outlet for that energy. Boys were foreign critters to me, so having two was a real eye-opener. I believe that you are correct, Erika and Petty. Much of education practices are skewed to helping girls achieve.
Lapin, as to the job market, in the African-American community, it is happening now in the US. The many unemployed and underemployed young black men commit most crimes in this country. Of course, poorly-educated boys and men of all races and colors get in more trouble, because of their lack of knowledge and skills.
The lack of role models are a problem...but we have to remember that for centuries the man was the only one who could get an education! Is it really surprising that women are surging ahead for a time as they are given the chance to thrive in an educational environment?
ReplyDeleteCiss, I could have foreseen the women catching up, but not necessarily passing the men by.
ReplyDelete