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Psychology 320: Psychology of Gender and Sex Differences

February 3

Lecture 44

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Office Hour InvitationsFebruary 7, 11:30-2:30, Kenny 3102

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Reminder

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The peer mentors (Derek, Natalie) will hold a tutorial tomorrow:

When? 5:00-6:00Where? Kenny 2510

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From last class ….

• What are some criticisms of Baumeister’s theory?

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Education

2. What factors contribute to sex differences in educational attainment?

1. Do males and females perform similarly in school? (continued)

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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

3. review factors that may account for sex differences in educational attainment.

2. discuss the debate regarding the “boy crisis” in education.

1. describe contemporary trends in educational attainment for the sexes.

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Do males and females perform similarly in school? (continued)

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Percentage of 25-29 Year Olds with a University Degree by Sex and Ethnicity, 1971-2006

(US Department of Education, 2007)

Per

cent

age

with

Uni

vers

ity D

egre

e

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Major Field of Study Number of Females (Thousands)

Number of Males(Thousands)

Education, recreational and counselling services 528 233

Fine and applied arts 77 41

Humanities 285 201

Social sciences 394 336

Agricultural, biological, nutritional and food sciences

107 97

Health professions 281 135

Commerce, management and business administration

321 427

Applied science technologies and trades 3 9

Engineering and applied sciences 71 394

Mathematics, computer and physical sciences 109 229

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Major Field of Study, Age 15 and Older, by Sex (Statistics Canada, 2011)

Faculty Percent Female Percent Male

Arts 64 36

Dentistry 75 25

Education 68 32

Land and Food Systems 79 21

Medicine 56 44

Pharmaceutical Sciences 56 44

Applied Science 24 76

Forestry 44 56

Law 51 49

Sauder School of Business 47 53

Science 52 48

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Evidence of Sex Segregation at UBC (UBC Annual Report, 2011)

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• The finding that females outperform males in school has led many to argue that there is a “boy crisis” in the school system:

Kindlon & Thompson (1999): Raising cain: Protecting the emotional life of boys.

Lewin (1998): How boys lost out to girl power.

Basow (2008): Gender socialization, or how long a way has baby come?

Sommers (2000): The war against boys.

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“The real story is not bad news about boys doing worse; it’s good news about girls doing better” (Mead, 2006).

• In response to this view, others have argued that male performance has not decreased over the years; rather, female performance has increased more dramatically than male performance.

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What factors contribute to sex differences in educational attainment?

• Among the factors that advocates of the boy crisis have implicated in the relatively low educational

attainment of males are the following:

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The relatively large number of programs designed to improve the academic performance of females as opposed to males.

Major Field of Study Number of Females (Thousands)

Number of Males(Thousands)

Education, recreational and counselling services 528 233

Fine and applied arts 77 41

Humanities 285 201

Social sciences 394 336

Agricultural, biological, nutritional and food sciences

107 97

Health professions 281 135

Commerce, management and business administration

321 427

Applied science technologies and trades 3 9

Engineering and applied sciences 71 394

Mathematics, computer and physical sciences 109 229

Major Field of Study, Age 15 and Older, by Sex (Statistics Canada, 2011)

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Gender role expectations that foster “better” student skills (e.g., obedience, delay of gratification) among girls than boys.

The preponderance of female teachers, particularly in early-education settings.

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School environments that reward characteristics associated with the female gender role and punish characteristics associated with the male gender role.

More boys than girls receive referrals to special education services:

Percent Boys

Teacher referral to learning disabled program (Mirkin, 1982) 80

Learning-disabled students (Lerner, 1993) 72

Enrolled in learning-disabled program (K-12; Mellard & Byrne, 1993) 75

Teacher referral to learning disabled program (Flynn & Rahbar, 1994) 66

Diagnosed with reading disorder (APA, 1995) 60-80

“Eligible for special education” (Skarbrevik, 2002) 70

Enrollment in special education classes (Benjamin, 2003) 60-70

Diagnosed with attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Berry, 1985; Abraham, 2010)

75-86

Percent of Students Described as Needing Special Education Services Across Diverse Studies

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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

3. review factors that may account for sex differences in educational attainment.

2. discuss the debate regarding the “boy crisis” in education.

1. describe contemporary trends in educational attainment for the sexes.