Gender Gap In Educational Outcomes Research Articles

Teacher value-added and gender gaps in educational outcomes

This paper uses rich administrative data from Chile to estimate teacher value added (TVA) on test scores and on an educational attainment index. We allow each teacher to have a different TVA for male and female students and show that differences in TVA explain an important part of the gender gaps we observe in test scores and postsecondary education trajectories. The gaps in gender-specific teaching effectiveness are especially pronounced in mathematics. Indeed, eliminating within-teacher differences in math test score VA would reduce the gender gap in math performance by 67%. We explore what could be behind these gaps in gender-specific TVA and find no significant differences in what makes teachers effective for male and female students. We do find, however, significant associations between teacher characteristics—e.g., gender and performance in the college admission exam—and practices—e.g., paying attention to low-performing students, congratulating students who improve, and having a good relationship with students—with teacher effectiveness. Finally, we also show that math teachers tend to be biased in favor of male students and that teachers with smaller gender biases are more effective for both, male and female students.

GENDER GAPS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND EDUCATION LEVELS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CLUSTERS OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

In European countries, the gender gap in entrepreneurship is persistently observed because females make up on average 30 percent of entrepreneurs. The aim of the paper is to investigate the impact of gender gaps in education at different levels (youth, higher education, adult learning and STEM education) on the gender gap in entrepreneurship, both in all analyzed European countries and in identified clusters of countries. The research is based on the cluster analysis and regression modelling of yearly panel data for 31 European countries for the period 2013–2018. Generally speaking, to the same extent, the gender gap in entrepreneurship can be explained by the gender gap in educational outcomes at different levels, mostly in early leavers and in STEM education. However, European countries are not monolithic in these aspects, as four clusters of countries are identified. Relationships between the gender gaps strongly depend on the country’s characteristics. In countries with a relatively lower level of female entrepreneurship and their education outcomes, the gender gap in entrepreneurship is affected the most significant in comparison to other clusters, by gender gaps in early leavers, higher education and STEM education. However, in clusters of countries with relatively moderate or high levels of female entrepreneurship and education outcomes, their relationships are rather limited.

Gender inequality in educational performance over the school career: The role of tracking

Previous studies have shown an association between the tracking age and gender inequality in educational performance and attainment, but it remains unclear when and how tracking affects the gender gap in educational outcomes. As differences between boys and girls are not constant across the school-career, tracking early or later in the school career might have different consequences. We examine how gender gaps develop over the school career and how this development differs between early- and late-tracking countries. Microdata on educational achievement and attainment from several cross-national surveys (PIRLS, TIMSS, PISA, PIAAC and ESS), are combined with country-level information on the tracking age. Using a differences-in-differences design, we find that differentiation between educational tracks, irrespective of the age at which it occurs, is beneficial for girls. However, this positive effect is larger when educational systems track late than when they track early, suggesting that compared to early tracking, tracking later is more favourable for female students.

Teacher Value-Added and Gender Gaps in Educational Outcomes

Teacher Value-Added and Gender Gaps in Educational Outcomes

Girls Do Better

abstractIn this article we analyse gender gaps in educational outcomes in South Africa using four nationally-representative datasets - Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study (PIRLS), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Southern and Eastern African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) and Matriculation – over the period 1995-2018. We show that girls outperform boys at the mean in all subjects and all grades, including in Mathematics and Physical Science, as well as in the school-leaving exam, Matric. Pro-girl gaps at the primary-school level are large and statistically significant with Grade 4 girls an entire year ahead of Grade 4 boys in reading outcomes. Similarly, large differences can be found in the most recent (2018) Matric microdata. We show that the received wisdom in South Africa, that males outperform females in Mathematics and Physical Science in Matric, is partly a function of higher rates of male dropout in high school, leaving a stronger cohort of males to write matric. In 2018, for every 100 females in matric there were only 80 males. If one compares an equal number of males and females in matric, girls do unequivocally better in all 13 subjects when looking at average performance. When looking at higher levels of achievement (60%+) girls do better in nine subjects and boys do better in two subjects (Mathematics and Physical Science). However, girls are still less likely to fail these two subjects when compared to their male counterparts. Given these results and the theory that human capital contributes to employment and earnings, we see the need for further research in the South African context for why the female advantage in education does not translate into a female advantage in the labour market. What are the general, and specific, constraints for why women experience inferior labour outcomes in the world of work?

Gender bias in standardized tests: evidence from a centralized college admissions system

This paper aims to analyze the gender gap in educational outcomes from different student assessment methods. I exploit a college application setting in which the centralized admission system allocates students based on a composite score, which is a weighted average of high school grade point average and a standardized test score. Using administrative data, I find that females significantly outperform males in high school grade point average in every subject, and not only on average but also at all quantiles. Yet the situation is reversed when it comes to standardized test scores: males outperform females in all subjects and almost all quantiles, with the largest magnitude of the difference in quantitative subjects and highest quantiles. Based on these findings, I argue that the gender gap is affected by the student assessment method used in a centralized system of college admissions.

Gender bias in households’ educational expenditures: Does the stage of schooling matter?

Gender gaps in educational outcomes still exist, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. This incidence could be attributed to an uneven allocation of household resources towards the schooling of boys and girls. Utilising the household level data from the latest wave of the Ghana Living Standards Survey, the paper sheds light on gender bias in households’ educational expenditures using a ‘Hurdle or Two-Part Model’ estimation strategy. The two-part model unpacks the key sources of gender bias in household’s expenditure allocations. A number of interesting findings emerge: The study established a significant pro-male bias in both the enrollment decision and the conditional expenditure decision among the cohort of individuals in the post-secondary schooling age while only the former source of bias is present in the senior-secondary schooling age cohort. Strikingly, however, no gender bias is found in the positive expenditure decision for boys and girls belonging to the basic education school-going age cohort, even though a pro-male bias operates in the conditional educational expenditure decision for children in the primary school-going age group. Contrary to earlier findings, we find a pro-female bias in a household’s decision of how much to spend conditional upon enrolling boys and girls for the cohort of children in the junior secondary schooling age. These findings have important implications for policy action.

The Timing of Puberty and Gender Differences in Educational Achievement

In this paper, we study the effect of the timing of puberty on educational achievement and examine to what extent the gender differences in the timing of puberty can explain gender differences in achievement. We use British cohort data that combine information on pubertal development with test scores, behavioral outcomes as well as final educational attainment and earnings. Controlling for age 7 cognitive skills and family background, we show that late pubertal development is associated with a slower rate of cognitive skill growth during adolescence. This disadvantage in cognitive development is also reflected in lower levels of educational attainment and earnings for late developed individuals. The number of late developing boys is however too small to explain more than a fraction of the gender gap in educational outcomes. Furthermore, we find no effects on self-discipline or other behavioral outcomes in adolescence, suggesting a mechanism wholly separate from other causes of the gender gap.

School Quality and the Gender Gap in Educational Achievement

Recent evidence indicates that boys and girls are differently affected by the quantity and quality of family inputs received in childhood. We assess whether this is also true for schooling inputs. Using matched Florida birth and school administrative records, we estimate the causal effect of school quality on the gender gap in educational outcomes by contrasting opposite-sex siblings who attend the same sets of schools--thereby purging family heterogeneity--and leveraging within-family variation in school quality arising from family moves. Investigating middle school test scores, absences and suspensions, we find that boys benefit more than girls from cumulative exposure to higher quality schools.

Gender Gaps in Educational Outcomes Among Children of New Migrants: The Role of Social Integration from a Comparative Perspective

AbstractThis article reviews current research on gender gaps in educational outcomes among children of new migrants (first, 1.5, and second generations) from a comparative cross‐national perspective. The article examines potential explanations for why gendered differences in educational outcomes among immigrants (vis‐à‐vis non‐migrants) continue to occur, focusing on individual, schooling, and institutional factors. For example, while gender gaps in expectations and aspirations as well as some cognitive outcomes are increasing (reading ability is considerably higher among females) and shrinking in specific subjects (e.g. math and science ability is slightly higher among boys), that process often has been less explored within and across immigrant vis‐à‐vis non‐immigrant students. We show that in some countries, gender gaps among disadvantaged ethnic minorities (in relation to other groups) continue to persist and are exacerbated by institutional factors. These disadvantages vary not only across different educational systems and at different rates over time but also are based on students' social background. Overall, we argue that these educational inequalities are key to understanding not only the socioeconomic and future political adaptation of migrants and their children but also future social policy developments in the European Union context.

Closing the gender gap: STEM

In the third and final part of his series on the gender gaps in educational outcomes, Matt Bromley asks why boys outperform girls in maths and science and looks at how we can close the gap

Closing the gender gap: Literacy

Continuing our focus on the gender gaps in educational outcomes, Matt Bromley asks why boys often underperform in reading and writing when compared to girls – and considers what schools can do to close this gender gap

Gender Differences in Education

This paper surveys the trends in gender gaps in education, their causes and potential policy implications. I show that female educational attainment has surpassed, or is about to surpass, male educational attainment in most industrialized countries. These gaps reflect male overrepresentation among secondary school drop-outs and female overrepresentation among tertiary education students and graduates. Existing evidence suggests that this pattern is a result of a combination of increasing returns to education and lower female effort costs of education. Widening gender gap in education combined with recent wage and employment polarization will likely lead to widening inequalities and is linked to declining male labor force participation. The paper discusses evidence on educational policies that both widen and reduce gender gaps in educational outcomes.

Gender and household education expenditure in Pakistan

Pakistan has very large gender gaps in educational outcomes. One explanation could be that girls receive lower educational expenditure allocations than boys within the household, but this has never convincingly been tested. This article investigates whether the intra-household allocation of educational expenditure in Pakistan favours males over females. It also explores two different explanations for the failure of the extant ‘Engel curve’ studies to detect gender-differentiated treatment in education even where gender bias is strongly expected. Using individual level data from the latest household survey from Pakistan, we posit two potential channels of gender bias: bias in the decision whether to enrol/keep sons and daughters in school, and bias in the decision of education expenditure conditional on enrolling both sons and daughters in school. In middle and secondary school ages, evidence points to significant pro-male biases in both the enrolment decision as well as the decision of how much to spend conditional on enrolment. However, in the primary school age-group, only the former channel of bias applies. Results suggest that the observed strong gender difference in education expenditure is a within rather than an across household phenomenon.

Examining the Gender Gap in Educational Outcomes in Public Education: Involving Pre-Service School Counsellors and Teachers in Cross-Cultural and Interdisciplinary Research

International educational statistics have reported a gender gap in educational outcomes, with boys falling behind girls in regard to grades, high school graduation and university enrollment and retention. This study involved pre-service teachers and school counsellors in Colleges of Education at three universities on three continents carrying out focus groups with public school students, interviews with educators, and examining national and international quantitative data to investigate this issue from a local and a cross cultural perspective. Common themes were found in each country and implications for addressing the problem considered.

BADGERING OR BANTERING?

This study uses the American Association of University Women 1993 survey on sexual harassment in America's schools, a national sample of high school students, to examine gender differences in the behavioral, emotional, and educational consequences of sexual harassment. Previous research indicates that a high percentage of both boys and girls experience sexual harassment and that the negative consequences are greater for girls. The authors use a feminist theoretical framework to show that girls' and boys' qualitatively different experiences account for part of this gender gap. Girls are far more likely to perceive harassment as harmful than boys and to experience a far greater frequency and severity of harassment. This article documents that girls are more likely to be targets of physical sexual harassment than boys and that physical harassment rather than derogatory or verbal and/or visual forms of harassment exacerbate the gender gap in educational outcomes.