There has always been the misconception that males and females are polar opposites, that there are typically 'male and masculine' traits as well as typically 'female and feminine' traits. This common idea has been so out-stretched that these traits make men and women come from different planets; “Men are from mars, and Women are from Venus.” However, this misconception about stereotypes should not continue when considering teaching and the education curriculum.
“The Australian Government has identified gender equality as a critical cross cutting theme of Australia's aid program, and is committed to remain a persistent advocate and radical supporter of gender equality-especially within the equal rights of education. Half of the overall aid program is invested in activities that have either a principle or significant objective of promoting gender equity and empowering women.”(Gender equality- Australian Government, AusAID) There is particular evidence however that the gender divide within Australia has begun to favour girls in their achievements in literacy and typically 'feminine' arts subjects, while boys are falling behind and leaving school before completing the HSC; in 2011 the percentage of girls that completed year 12 was 84.3% while the boys sat at 74.6%. This may not seem like a big difference when looking at these year 12 completion rates, however it is important to take into account the reasons why this may be. The fact is, that many boys are leaving school before completing year 12 is due to the fact that majority of them have been offered a trade apprenticeship, which will allow them to start in the working world and become an 'adult', as well as the fact that they might not feel like continuing onto higher education would be beneficial to them, so they go and pursue other career paths, whereas girls don't have a lot of full-time job opportunities available to them, like apprenticeships, and so they feel the need to continue on to higher education in order to create a solid career foundation for themselves.
In 1997, the Ministeral Council on Education, Employment, Training and youth Affairs had created guidelines in order to create a more balanced environment regarding gender equality in schools across Australia. This had come into being due to the clearly 'male dominated' subjects which constituted almost all subjects like maths, science and sports to benefit males. The Gender Equity: A framework for Australian proposes “broad areas for action which will be taken up, in partnership with parents, by the system and sectors in the states and territories in ways which are consistent with their authority and responsibility for school education.” There were 5 strategic directions for action: 1. Understanding the process of construction of gender, 2. Curriculum, teaching and learning 3. Violence and school culture, 4. Post-school pathways and 5. Supporting change. And in using this framework, the Australian education system has shaped the teaching curriculum to include aspects within subjects in which would both interest and include female students within these subjects.
Although this gender divide is still present within schools today, is it really what needs to be focused on? There has been a major change
in the curriculum of schools which HAS allowed for a more gender balanced school experience for students, but in the 21st century, there are more important educational issues that need to be addressed in order to improve our student's results. Students of low SES, of Indigenous and Aboriginal decent, refugees and overseas born students- these are the students we need to be focusing on, and fixing our education system to support and help both boys and girls within these groups instead of focusing on them individually.
Reference list:
Australian Government- AusAID, Commonwealth of Australia. Web. 28/09/13, http://www.ausaid.gov.au/aidissues/gender/Pages/home.aspx
Bletsas.A, Charleworth S, 2013, Gender Equality and Decent work in Australia, Routledge, London UK
Gender Equity: A framework for Australian Schools. Part A- Framework for Action on Gender Equity in Schooling, 2011, Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA)
A really eye-catching post Jessica :) You really covered the theme of gender inequality in schools well. In my own research for my blogs, I've found that the traditional instructional strategies and classroom activities used in the majority of Australian schools are more 'girl-centered', which is an interesting fact to find considering gender inequality is always addressed in regard to females as the victims. I do also believe that when it comes down to it, males do find themselves faced with more practical opportunities, like apprenticeships in the trade industry, which is a huge reason why girls are perceived as "doing better" at school. Your point on the fact that there are more important educational issues to focus on is spot on - as future educators, I think more focus should be placed on other social and cultural issues of our day.
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