In recent years there have been a number of articles posted both in all forms of media in regards to women out performing men in school. "Women are almost 60 percent of the annual university graduates and more than 70 percent of 2012 high school valedictorians. Women account for 60 percent of master's degrees and 52 percent of doctorates being awarded in the USA."(Camie) There is no question that women are indeed outperforming men, the question is why? A number of these articles claim that this can be attributed to a change in the education system that now favors women's learning techniques and disfavors men's. The fact of the matter is that the teaching methods really haven't changed that significantly, the only thing thats really has changed is that women are now in a better position to go to school and get degrees than they ever have been in the past. So is it that men are inherently less capable of doing well in school, or could it be a form of socialization that makes men less capable, or women more capable?
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| Number of Master's Degrees conferred by Gender 1969-2010 |
A study conducted by Martin Seligman and Angela Lee Duckworth in 2006 "found that middle-school girls edge out boys in overall self-discipline."(Gnaulatin) They also found that even in kindergarten, the difference between self-regulation in boys is a year behind than that of the girls. As school- especially higher education- requires adequate self-regulation and discipline, one could attribute women's surpassing of men academically to the fact that they are simply better at disciplining themselves than men. " Girls succeed over boys in school because they are more apt to plan ahead, set academic goals, and put effort into achieving those goals."(Gnaulati). A New York Times article stated that "...boys are far more likely than girls to be suspended or expelled, or have a learning disability or emotional problem diagnosed... more likely to drop out of high school, commit suicide or be incarcerated...such difficulties can have echoes even in college men."(Lewin) It suggested that men seem to actually be inherently less apt for school than women because of negative traits that more often affect men. But these traits aren't necessarily inherent, they are actually more likely attributed to a socialization created by a distinct narrative of masculinity and femininity.
Digging deeper into the socialization of men and how that affects their performance in school, William Pollack, the director of the Centers for Men and Young Men at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, stated that men "have a sense of lassitude, a lack of focus..." that women do not, and this affects them academically (Lewin) But it's not that this is an inherent flaw, it is taught. We could look at the social aspect of it, and the hegemonic views of masculinity, and consider (how a male Dickson's College student put it): "it's like some cultural A.D.D. for boys, I think — like Bart Simpson. For men, it's just not cool to study.”(Lewin) Claudia Butchman, a sociology professor at Ohio State University attributed this to an "out-dated view of masculinity—that it’s more about physical strength”(Flannery) Even from a very young age boys are usually allowed more leeway in their actions because "boys will be boys," where as women to this day at a young age are being taught to be "young ladies" and to sit still and behave. Furthering this point, "U.C.L.A.'s Higher Education Research Institute annual studies... found that men were more likely than women to skip classes, not complete their homework and not turn it in on time."(Lewin) So there is an apparent trend of men not striving to do well in school as much as their fellow female classmate and a plausible explanation for this is the fact that it's simply not part of their narrative. But women out performing men can't be explained through just looking at men. One of my initial and primary theories was that women have more motivation to do well in school because they know that they are at a disadvantage compared to men in the workforce. It is commonly known that women make less money than men in general- and this is still prominent regardless of their educational gains. "Despite these educational gains, women continue to lag behind men in employment, income, business ownership, research and politics"(Chamie) Because our society prescribes women with a narrative that limits them to lower paying jobs, or simply lower wages, women may feel the need to do exceptionally well in their education to overcome said narrative. In regards to how this could help women actually do better than men, we can consider the idea that"boys, on the other hand, are more likely to say that they’re going to make a lot of money even without education. They’re overly optimistic."(Flannery). That being said women have a motivational drive that men are lacking in their academic life, because women need to work harder to achieve what men take for granted. And the men don't feel the pressure or need to achieve as much in school because they think they can just "sit back and relax and when they graduate, they'll still get a good job.... that if they have a firm handshake and speak properly, they'll be fine."(Lewin)
Sources:
Lewin, Tamar. "At Colleges, Women Are Leaving Men in the Dust." The New York Times. The New York Times, 8 July 2006. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
Flannery, Mary. "Why Girls Are Outperforming Boys in School - NEA Today." NEA Today. National Education Association, 5 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Camie, Joseph. "Women More Educated Than Men But Still Paid Less." Women More Educated Than Men But Still Paid Less. Yale Global. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Gnaulati, Enrico. "Why Girls Tend to Get Better Grades Than Boys Do." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
