Equally prepared for life? [electronic resource] : how 15-year-old boys and girls perform in school

2009·3.3 MB·English

by  Programme for International Student Assessment

Equally
Prepared
for Life?
HOW15-YEAR-OLDBOYS
ANDGIRLSPERFORM
INSCHOOL
ProgrammeforInternational StudentAssessment
«•
OECD
Copyrohledr

Equally Prepared for Life?
HOW15-YEAR-OLDBOYSANDGIRLSPERFORM
INSCHOOL
ProgrammeforInternationalStudentAssessment
«•
OECD
Copyrightedr
ORGANISATIONFORECONOMICCO-OPERATION
ANDDEVELOPMENT
TheOECDisauniqueforumwherethegovernmentsof30democraciesworktogetherto
addresstheeconomic,socialandenvironmentalchallengesofglobalisation.TheOECDisalsoat
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experiences,seekanswerstocommonproblems,identifygoodpracticeandworktoco-ordinate
domesticandinternationalpolicies.
TheOECDmembercountriesare:Australia,Austria,Belgium,Canada,theCzechRepublic,
Denmark,Finland,France,Germany,Greece,Hungary,Iceland,Ireland,Italy,Japan,Korea,
Luxembourg,Mexico,theNetherlands,NewZealand,Norway,Poland,Portugal,theSlovakRepublic,
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ISBN978-92-64-06394-5(print)
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©OECD2009
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Foreword
Inthepastfewdecadestherehasbeenanincreasinginterestinthedifferenteducationalexperiences,success
andeventualoutcomesthatprevailformalesandfemales.Womenoftenexcelatschool,howevermen
oftenearnmoreandaremorelikelytoholdpositionsofpowerinpoliticalandeconomiclife.Lookingat
theseinequalities,governmentpoliciescannotaffordtobeRender-blind'andmustaimtodeveloppolicies
forparity.Ifgovernmentswishtocreategrowth,employmentandabetterstandardofliving,policyadvice
reflectinggenderdifferencesisneeded,andeducationcouldplayamajorroleinthis.
Intheeducationalarea,thereareatleastthreereasonsforstudyinggenderdifferences.Theseincludeidentifying
thesourceofinequalities,fosteringaverageperformanceandimprovingourunderstandingofhowstudents
learn.
Genderdifferencespointtoareaswherestudentbackground,attitudesandcharacteristicssignificantlyaffect
studentperformance.Understandingwhatcaninfluencedifferencesinstudentperformancecanhelppolicy
makersaddressqualityandequityconcerns.UsingdatafromtheOECD'sProgrammeforInternationalStudent
Assessment(PISA),thisreportaddressesthefollowingquestions:
Whydofemaleandmalestudentsperformdifferently?
Whatdrivesgenderdifferences?
Isthereaneedforgender-specificpolicies?
Aretherespecificpoliciesthatwouldimprovemaleorfemalestudentperformance?
PISAexplorestheeducationalperformanceandattitudesofadolescentmalesandfemales.Thisreportbeginswith
ageneralsummaryofgenderdifferencesmeasuredindependentlyfromPISA.Itthenconsiderstheknowledge
gainedaboutgender-relatedissuesthroughthePISA2000,PISA2003andPISA2006assessments.
Somekeyfindingsinclude:
InreadinginPISA2000,femalessignificantlyoutscoredmalesinallcountries.
InmathematicsinPISA2003,malesoftenoutscoredfemales.
InscienceoverallinPISA2006,therewasnosignificantdifferencebetweenmalesandfemalesinthe
levelofperformance.However,whenexaminingthedifferentsciencecompetencies,femaleswerebetter
thanmalesatidentifyingscientificissues,whilemaleswerebetteratexplainingphenomenascientifically.
Malesandfemalesdidnothavesignificantlydifferentattitudestotoschoolscience,butlookingattheir
futureaspirations,thereweremarkeddifferencesintheirexpectationsofhavingacareerinscienceat
theageof30.
ThereportistheproductofacollaborativeeffortbetweenthecountriesparticipatinginPISA,theexpertsand
institutionsworkingwithintheframeworkofthePISAConsortium,andtheOECD.Thereportwasdraftedby
JohnCresswell,MiyakoIkeda,MaciejJakubowski,AndreasSchleicher,SophieVayssettesandPabloZoido.
ThedevelopmentofthereportwassteeredbythePISAGoverningBoard,whichischairedbyRyoWatanabe
(Japan).ThereportispublishedontheresponsibilityoftheSecretary-GeneraloftheOECD.
RyoWatanabe BarbaraIschinger
ChairofthePISAGoverningBoard DirectorforEducation,OECD
EQUALLYPREPAREDFORLIFE?HOW15-YEAR-OLDBOYSANDGIRLSPERFORMINSCHOOL-ISBN978-92-64-06394-5-©OECD2009
Table ofContents
FOREWORD 3
READER'SGUIDE 6
GENDERMATTERS? 8
Whystudygenderdifferences? 8
Overview 9
WHATDOESTHELITERATURESAYABOUTGENDERDIFFERENCES
FROMEARLYCHILDHOODTOTHELABOURMARKET? 9
Thestructureofthebrain 9
Primaryeducation 9
-Readingatgrade4(PIRLS) 9
-MathematicsandScienceatgrade4(TIMSS) 10
Secondaryeducation 10
-Mathematicsandscienceatgrade8(TIMSS) 10
-Secondarylevelattainment 10
Tertiaryeducation 12
-Entranceintotertiaryeducation 12
-Graduationfromtertiaryeducation 13
Labourmarket 15
WHATCANPISASAYABOUTGENDERDIFFERENCES? 15
WHATDIDPISA2000TELLUSABOUT
GENDERDIFFERENCESINREADING? 16
Studentperformance 16
TrendsingenderdifferencesinreadingbetweenPISA2000
andPISA2006 17
Studentinterestandengagementinreading 17
OthergenderdifferencesfoundinPISA2000 18
WHATDIDPISA2003TELLUSABOUTGENDER
DIFFERENCESINMATHEMATICS? 19
Studentperformance 19
TrendsingenderdifferencesinmathematicsbetweenPISA2003
andPISA2006 20
Studentattitudes 20
WHATDIDPISA2003TELLUSABOUTGENDER
DIFFERENCESINPROBLEMSOLVING? 21
4
EQUALLYPREPAREDFORLIFE?HOW15-YEAR-OLDBOYSANDGIRLSPERFORMINSCHOOL-ISBN978-92-64-06394-5-©OECD2009
Copyrightedmaterial
WHATDIDPISA2006TELLUSABOUTGENDERDIFFERENCESINSCIENCE?..22
ThePISAscienceframework 22
Studentperformance 23
-Overallperformanceinscience 23
-Performanceinthecompetencyidentifyingscientificissues 24
-Performanceinthecompetencyexplainingphenomenascientifically 27
-Performanceinknowledgeaboutscience 32
-Performanceinthe"Physicalsystems"areaofknowledgeofscience 32
-Performanceinthe"Livingsystems"areaofknowledgeofscience 33
-Performanceinthe"Earthandspacesystems"areaofknowledgeofscience..33
Genderdifferenceswithinschools 33
Atypologyofgenderdifferencesinscience 34
Computer-basedassessmentofscience(CBAS)inPISA2006 34
Studentattitudes 36
-Scienceperformanceandattitudestowardsscience 37
Studentbackground 38
-Socio-economicbackground 38
-Immigrantstatus 39
-Parentalinvolvement 41
Futurecareerorientation 41
-Informationonscience-relatedcareersandpreparationforthefuture 41
-Dostudentsexpecttopursueascientificcareer? 43
Schoolorganisation 44
-Singlesex-schooling 44
-FHomework 47
CONCLUSION 47
REFERENCES 50
APPENDIXA-BACKGROUNDOFPISA 52
ThedevelopmentofPISAsurveys 52
ThePISAstudentpopulation 52
KeyfeaturesofPISA2006 52
ThePISA2006scienceassessmentframework 54
DevelopmentofthescienceitemsinPISA2006 55
APPENDIXB-DATATABLES 56
EQUALLYPREPAREDFORLIFE?HOW15-YEAR-OLDBOYSANDGIRLSPERFORMINSCHOOL-ISBN978-92-64-06394-5-©OECD2009
Reader's Guide
Dataunderlyingthefigures
ThedatareferredtointhisreportarepresentedinAppendixBand,withadditionaldetail,onthePISA
website(www.pisa.oecd.org).Fivesymbolsareusedtodenotemissingdata:
a Thecategorydoesnotapplyinthecountryconcerned.Dataarethereforemissing.
c Therearetoofewobservationstoprovidereliableestimates(i.e.therearefewerthan30students
orlessthan3%ofstudentsforthiscell,ortoofewschoolsforvalidinferences).
mDataarenotavailableorhavebeenremovedfortechnicalreasons.
wDatahavebeenwithdrawnattherequestofthecountryconcerned.
x Dataareincludedinanothercategoryorcolumnofthetable.
CalculationoftheOECDaverage
AnOECDaveragewascalculatedformostindicatorspresentedinthisreport.TheOECDaverage
correspondstothearithmeticmeanoftherespectivecountryestimates.
Roundingoffigures
Becauseofrounding,somefiguresintablesmaynotexactlyadduptothetotals.Totals,differences
andaveragesarealwayscalculatedonthebasisofexactnumbersandareroundedonlyafter
calculation.
Allstandarderrorsinthispublicationhavebeenroundedtotwodecimalplaces.Wherethevalue
0.00isshown,thisdoesnotimplythatthestandarderroriszero,butthatitissmallerthan0.005.
Reportingofstudentdata
Thereportuses"15-year-olds"asshorthandforthePISAtargetpopulation.PISAcoversstudentswho
areagedbetween15years3monthsand16years2monthsatthetimeofassessmentandwhohave
completedatleast6yearsofformalschooling,regardlessofthetypeofinstitutioninwhichtheyare
enrolledandofwhethertheyareinfull-timeorpart-timeeducation,ofwhethertheyattendacademic
orvocationalprogrammes,andofwhethertheyattendpublicorprivateschoolsorforeignschools
withinthecountry.
Reportingofschooldata
Theprincipalsoftheschoolsinwhichstudentswereassessedprovidedinformationontheirschools'
characteristicsbycompletingaschoolquestionnaire.Whereresponsesfromschoolprincipalsare
presentedinthispublication,theyareweightedsothattheyareproportionatetothenumberof15-
year-oldsenrolledintheschool.
EQUALLYPREPAREDFORLIFE?HOW15-YEAR-OLDBOYSANDGIRLSPERFORMINSCHOOL-ISBN978-92-64-06394-5-©OECD2009
Reportingofparentdata
Theparentsofthestudentswhowereassessedprovidedinformationontheirperceptionoftheirson's
ordaughter'sschoolsandontheactivitiesundertakenbytheirchildrenattheageof10,bycompleting
aparentquestionnaire.
Abbreviationsusedinthisreport
Thefollowingabbreviationsareusedinthisreport:
ISCED InternationalStandardClassificationofEducation
ISCO InternationalStandardClassificationofOccupations
S.D. Standarddeviation
S.E. Standarderror
Significancetestsandsubgroupcomparisons
Thesignificantstatisticsinthisreporthavebeenhighlightedinthefiguresandtables,usingdarker
toneandboldprintrespectively.Forfurtherinformation,seetheAnnexA3inPISA2006:Science
CompetenciesforTomorrow'sWorld(OECD,2007a).
Furtherdocumentation
ForfurtherinformationonthePISAassessmentinstrumentsandthemethodsusedinPISA,seethe
PISA2006TechnicalReport(OECD,2009b)andthePISAwebsite(www.pisa.oecd.org).
EQUALLYPREPAREDFORLIFE?HOW15-YEAR-OLDBOYSANDGIRLSPERFORMINSCHOOL-ISBN978-92-64-06394-5-©OECD2009
GENDERMATTERS?
Forthepastfewdecadestherehasbeenanincreasinginterestinthedifferenteducationalexperiences,
successandeventualoutcomesthatprevailformalesandforfemales.Theinterestinthisareawasfuelled
inpartbyaperceivedlackofinterestandsuccessoffemalesinanumberofareasofschooling-notably
mathematicsandthephysicalsciences.Inmorerecenttimestherehasalsobeenafocusonthelackof
engagementandsuccessofmales,especiallyintheareaofreading.
Educationalpolicyhastotakeintoaccounttheexistenceofgenderdifferencesinperformancetobeeffective
inpromotingqualitystudentoutcomesandequity.ThisreportdrawsheavilyontheOECD'sProgrammefor
InternationalAssessment(PISA)whereithasbeenfoundthatfemalestudentsdobetterinreading(OECD,
2001)andmalestudentsdosomewhatbetterinmathematics(OECD,2004).Inscience,thepictureismore
complex.Ithasbeenfoundthatstudentattitudesandengagementexplain,inpart,genderdifferencein
mathematicsandreading,afindingthat,byitself,canfosterabetterunderstandingofhowstudentslearn
andtherebyhelpdesignmoreeffectiveeducationalpolicies(OECD,2007a).
Thisreportwilllookatthedevelopmentofgenderrelatedissuesduringtheyearsofchildhoodand
adolescence.Thereportwill:
considerbrieflygenderdifferencesmeasuredoutsidethePISAassessmentprogramme;
reviewtheknowledgegainedaboutgenderrelatedissuesfromPISA2000andPISA2003whenreading
andmathematicsrespectivelywerethemajordomainsofassessment,withattentionalsopaidtothe
relationshipbetweenstudentperformanceandstudentattitudes;
considerinmoredetailtheresultsfromthemostrecentPISAsurvey,PISA2006,whensciencewasthe
majorassessmentdomain,consideringalsostudentattitudestoscienceandtheenvironment.
Whystudygenderdifferences?
Thereareatleastthreereasonstostudygenderdifferences:i)tounderstandthesourceofanyinequalities;
ii)toimproveaverageperformance;andiii)toimproveourunderstandingofhowstudentslearn.Gender
differencespointtoareaswherestudentbackgroundandcharacteristicssignificantlyaffectstudent
performance.Understandingwhatdrivesdifferentialstudentperformancecanfosterthedesignofeffective
educationalpoliciestoaddressqualityandequityconcerns.Whydofemaleandmalestudentsperform
differently?Whatdrivesgenderdifferences?Isthereaneedforgenderspecificpolicies?Aretherespecific
policiesthatwouldimprovemaleorfemalestudentperformance?Thesearesomeofthequestionsthatcan
beanalysedbylookingintogenderdifferences.
Theimperativeforgenderequitycanbeseeninanumberoflights.Firstlythereisamoralreasontoensure
thatoneofthesexesisnotdisadvantagedcomparedtotheother.Thedisadvantagemaybetheendresult
ofmanyyearsoftreatmentbasedonculture,religionandtradition.Thesecondimperativetoraisingthe
performanceofoneofthesexestobesimilartotheotheristheconcomitantincreaseineconomicand
socialbenefitsthatthiswillbring.BelfieldandLevin(2007)calculatedthecostsandbenefitsassociated
withanincreaseineducationlevel(asmeasuredbyhighschoolgraduation).Theyfoundthatthereare
bothprivatebenefitstotheindividualwhograduatesandfiscalbenefitstothetaxpayerthroughhighertax
revenuesbecauseofincreasedearningsandlowergovernmentexpendituresonhealth,crime,welfare,
remedialeducationandotherpublicservices.
Thecountrieswiththesmallestnumberofgenderdifferencesinperformancesandattitudes(Table3.21,
OECD,2007a)includePortugal,Poland,Belgium,Switzerland,Ireland,Mexico,theSlovakRepublicand
EQUALLYPREPAREDFORLIFE?HOW15-YEAR-OLDBOYSANDGIRLSPERFORMINSCHOOL-ISBN978-92-64-06394-5-©OECD2009