Quantitative and case‐based insights into issues of gender and school‐based achievement: beyond simplistic explanations

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article reports findings from a large‐scale research study exploring female attainment and male underachievement in a representative sample of students and case‐ studies from the Caribbean island of Barbados. The article shows that simplistic gender‐based (matrilineal and male marginal) explanations are not adequate explanations for school attainment. The representative survey of 2255 primary and secondary school children used both simple and complex comparisons between children. Dependent on statistical approach, females can be shown to attain at higher levels than males or that ‘gendered’ explanations disguise more important factors including type of school attended, pre‐school attendance, with whom the student lives and occupation of mother and father. Two small case‐studies are included to further describe how cultures of top and bottom performing secondary schools may affect attainment, especially as the top performing school was co‐educational with no sex differences in curriculum attainment and the bottom performing school was female only. These attainment effects occur through school personnel, attitudes to students and the learning process, and student involvement.

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