AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATION 2000
ALTHOUGH boys are generally less academically successful than girls they actually benefit more from schooling, Israeli researchers believe.
Researchers who tested 11,000 pupils in 61 of Jerusalem’s Hebrew-language schools found that school had a greater effect on boys’ cognitive development. By contrast, girls’ performance in 12 tests of general ability was more dependent on their age.
“Such differences are to be expected in view of the significant differences between the schooling experience of boys and girls documented in many studies,” the researchers say.
“On the ne hand, girls adapt better to their school environment as ‘students’ and ‘passive learners’ ... On the other hand, boys experience higher quality schooling - teachers tend to attribute higher intellectual abilities to boys and expect superior performance from them. They devote considerably more time to boys, interact with them more frequently and provide them with more evaluative responses.”
“Gender differences in the effect of schooling on intelligence development, by Nora Cohen, Chief Scientist’s Office, Israel Ministry of Education, and Sorel Cahan, the Hebrew Univertsity of Jerusalem. Contact sorel@vms.huji.ac.il