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Educational Inequality

Gender
Throughout the world, educational achievement varies by gender. The exact relationship differs across cultural and national contexts.

History In the United States
Before 1771, women were expected to be homemakers, raising the children, cleaning the home, and cooking for their families (Monaghan, 1988). During this time, women did not hold jobs and their education was limited to reading and sewing (Monaghan, 1988). Despite their inability to learn, women were often viewed as a burden to society without basic arithmetic and writing skills (Monaghan, 1988). In the 1800s, common schools were created to better educate the public and to periodically act as a daycare (Reef, 2009). It was believed that women would better serve their spouses and educate their children if they too possessed a more in-depth education (Reef, 2009).

In 1833, Oberlin College became the first form of higher education to include women in a coeducation-based classroom (Reef, 2009). Eight years later in 1941, three women graduated with Bachelor of Arts degrees (Reef, 2009), making them the first women to receive a higher education. In 1855, The University of Iowa became the first college to admit men and women on an equal basis (Iowa). As women’s interest and desire to learn grew, women began to question the equality of the educational system. In July 1848, a gathering of men and women formed to discuss equality for women, known as The Seneca Falls Convention (Osborn, 2000). Of the many spoken topics at The Seneca Falls Convention, equality and access of education was among them and is believed to have fueled the feminist movement (Osborn, 2000).

During the Civil War in the 1860s, women were becoming a necessity to replace men in their fields as the men were shipped off to war (Reef, 2009). To become successful teachers and workers, women had to be educated. The Civil War offered a unique opportunity to women as it was the first time they could demonstrate their ability to fill and succeed in roles that had been previously only offered to men. This trend continued as the United States entered both World War I, July 1914-November 1918, and World War II, September 1939-September 1945, and women assumed new roles of war production and agriculture (“Women in WWI,” 2020).

For the next 27 years women would continue to fight for their equality in education. Throughout the 20th century, women were required to take home economics and literature classes while men could study mathematics and science (Galles, 2004). Physical education for women was limited to cheerleading and calisthenics while men could participate in a variety of team sports (Galles, 2004). For the women with comparable educations and resumes as men, they were often prohibited from entering male dominated fields such as law and medicine (Galles, 2004). It wasn’t until June 23, 1972, that congress passed Title IX stating, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance” (“Equal access to education,” 2012).

Obstacles
Obstacles preventing females' ability to receive a quality education include traditional attitudes towards gender roles, poverty, geographical isolation, gender-based violence, and early marriage and pregnancy. Throughout the world, there is an estimated 7 million more girls than boys out of school. This "girls gap" is concentrated in several countries including Somalia, Afghanistan, Togo, the Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, girls are outnumbered two to one.

Socialized gender roles affect females' access to education. For example, in Nigeria, children are socialized into their specific gender roles as soon as their parents know their gender. Men are the preferred gender and are encouraged to engage in computer and scientific learning while women learn domestic skills. These gender roles are deep-rooted within the state, however, with the increase of westernized education within Nigeria, there has been a recent increase in women having the ability to receive an equal education. There is still much to be changed, though. Nigeria still needs policies that encourage educational attainment for men and women based on merit, rather than gender.

Male disadvantage
In 51 countries, girls are enrolled at higher rates than boys. Particularly in Latin America, the difference is attributed to the prominence of gangs and violence attracting male youth. The gangs pull the males in, distracting them from school and causing them to drop out.

In some countries, female high school and graduation rates are higher than for males. In the United States for example, 33% more bachelor's degrees were conferred on females than males in 2010–2011. This gap is projected to increase to 37% by 2021–2022 and is over 50% for masters and associate degrees. Dropout rates for males have also increased over the years in all racial groups, especially in African Americans. They have exceeded the number of high schools and college dropout rates than any other racial ethnicity for the past 30 years. A majority of the research found that males were primarily the most "left behind" in education because of higher graduation dropout rates, lower test scores, and failing grades. They found that as males get older, primarily from ages 9 to 17, they are less likely to be labeled "proficient" in reading and mathematics than girls were.

In general, males arrive in kindergarten much less ready and prepared for schooling than females. This creates a gap that continually increases over time into middle and high school. Nationally, there are 113 boys in 9th grade for every 100 girls, and among African American males, there are 123 boys for every 100 girls. States have discovered that 9th grade has become one of the biggest drops out years. Whitmire and Bailey continued their research and looked at the potential for any gender gap change when males and females were faced with the decision of potentially going to college. Females were more likely to go to college and receive bachelor's degrees than males were. From 1971 to about 1981, women were the less fortunate and had lower reported numbers of bachelor's degrees. However, since 1981, males have been at a larger disadvantage and the gap between males and females keeps increasing.

Boys are more likely to be disciplined than girls, and are also more likely to be classified as learning disabled. Males of color, especially African American males, experience a high rate of disciplinary actions and suspensions. In 2012, one in five African American males received an out of school suspension.

Comparisons: Male vs. Female
"The gap separating men and women in the job market remains wide in many countries, whether in the North or the South. With marginal variables between most countries, women have a lower employment rate, are unemployed longer, are paid less, and have less secure jobs." "Young women, particularly suffer double discrimination. First for being young, in the difficult phase of transition between training and working life, in an age group that has, on an average, twice the jobless rate or older workers and are at the mercy of employers who exploit them under the pretext of enabling them to acquire professional experience. Secondly, they are discriminated against for being women and are more likely to be offered low paying or low-status jobs." "Discrimination is still very much in evidence and education and training policies especially targeting young women are needed to restore a balance." "Although young women are increasingly choosing typically 'male' professions, they remain over-represented in traditionally female jobs, such as secretaries, nurses, and underrepresented in jobs with responsibility and the professions."

In early grades, boys and girls perform equally in mathematics and science, but boys score higher on advanced mathematics assessments such as the SAT college entrance examination. Girls are also less likely to participate in class discussions and more likely to be silent in the classroom. Some believe that females have a way of thinking and learning that is different than males. Belenky and colleagues (1986) conducted research that found that there was an inconsistency between the kind of knowledge appealing to women and the kind of knowledge being taught in most educational institutions. Another researcher, Gilligan (1982), found that the knowledge appealing to females was caring, interconnection, and sensitivity to the needs of others, while males found separation and individualism appealing. Females are more field-dependent, or group-oriented than males, which could explain why they may experience problems in schools that primarily teach using an individualistic learning environment. As Teresa Rees finds, the variance of women in mathematics and science fields can be explained by the lack of attention paid to the gender dimension in science.

Regarding gender differences in academic performance, Buchmann, DiPrete, and McDaniel claim that gender-based accomplishments on standardized tests show the continuation of the “growing male advantage in mathematics scores and growing female advantage in reading scores as they move through school”. Ceci, Williams and Barnett’s research about women’s underrepresentation in science reinforces this claim by saying that women experience “stereotype threat [which] impedes working memory” and as a result receive lower grades in standardized or mathematics tests. Nontheless, Buchmann, DiPrete and McDaniel claim that the decline of traditional gender roles, alongside the positive changes in the labor market that now allow women to get “better-paid positions in occupational sectors” may be the cause for a general incline in women’s educational attainment.

Males get worse grades than females do regardless of year or country examined in most subjects. In the U.S. Women are more likely to have earned a bachelor's degree than men by the age of 29. Female students graduate high school at a higher rate than male students. In the U.S. in 2003, 72 percent of female students graduated, compared with 65 percent of male students. The gender gap in graduation rates is particularly large for minority students. Men are under-represented among both graduate students and those who successfully complete masters and doctoral degrees in the U.S. Causes include boys having worse self-regulation skills than girls and being more sensitive to school-quality and home environment than girls. Boys perceiving education as feminine and lacking educated male role-models also contributes to males being less likely to complete college. In the U.S., male students perform worse on reading tests and read less than their female counterparts in part because males are more physically active, more aggressive, less compliant and because school reading curricula do not match their interests. Teacher Bias in grading accounts for 21% of the male deficit in grades. The male disadvantage in education is independent of inequality in social and economic participation.