Gender Differences
The Role in the Education & Development of Children and Adolescents
Are boys and girls really so different? There is much that parents and educators can learn about gender differences in cognitive and emotional development that can help them make decisions about school and parenting.
What’s all the fuss about gender differences?
Do sex differences matter? How large are the differences between girls and boys? To what extent are those differences hardwired?
How Boys are Disadvantaged
There is a long-standing debate as to whether public school classrooms are better suited for boys or for girls. In fact, our Education.com contributors find that BOTH girls AND boys are disadvantaged when teachers don’t understand gender differences. Here is the evidence demonstrating how boys are disadvantaged:
- Helping Boys do Their Best in School and Life
- Are Today’s Kindergartens Anti-Boy?
- Preschool and Boys
- Boys and Elementary Schools
- Boys in Middle School and High School
- Less is More: Reduce Rules and Structure to Free the Minds of Boys
- What are Boys Reading?
- "We're Encouraging Our Son to Be Happy and Expressive"
How Girls are Disadvantaged
There is a long-standing debate as to whether public school classrooms are better suited for boys or for girls. In fact, our Education.com contributors find that BOTH girls AND boys are disadvantaged when teachers don’t understand gender differences. Here is the evidence demonstrating how girls are disadvantaged:
Should boys and girls be educated in separate classrooms?
A cure for low test scores. A panacea for teen pregnancy. A way to cut down on bullying. Or, a return to the dark ages? Single sex schools have been called all of the above.
- Middle School Boys and Girls Discuss Single-Sex Education
- Exploring Instructional Strategies in Single-Sex Second Grade Classrooms
- A Case in Point: Latina Students in Single Gender Classes
- What are the Academic Outcomes of Students who Attend Single-Sex
Classes?
- What do Boys and Girls Have to Say About Single-Sex Education?
- Are Single-Sex Classrooms Good for Kids?
- Single-Sex Education
- Separate Classrooms
- Single-Sex Schools Versus Co-ed
Schools - Are Single-Sex Classrooms Better
for Boys? - Do Boys and Girls Learn Better Apart?
Are boys’ and girls’ brains really so different?
The most profound difference between girls and boys is not in any brain structure per se, but rather in the sequence of development of the various brain regions.
Do boys and girls cope with stress and emotions differently?
Are girls really more emotional? Research suggests that boys and girls cope with stress differently.
Do boys and girls experience the classroom differently?
There are many documented differences between boys and girls that are evident from birth. Many of these differences play a factor in the ways boys and girls experience education.
Are there differences in boys’ and girls’ experience of special needs?
Boys are much more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Is this due to biological differences, or have these conditions been defined by more male symptoms?
Additional Content
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1.
Gender Differences: Middle School
Here is a thorough parenting guide to understanding gender differences in middle school.
Source: Education.com -
2.
Gender Differences: Kindergarten
According to popular lore, by age five, girls are studious junior academics while boys are rough and tumble little...
Source: Education.com -
3.
Gender Differences: 1st Grade
Although every human being is unique, researchers have pinpointed differences in male and female brain development and...
Source: Education.com -
4.
Gender Gap: Why Boys Can't Keep Up
The classroom gender gap might not be what you expect: these days, it's more likely to be male students that just can't...
Source: Education.com -
5.
Are Today's Kindergartens Anti-Boy?
There is a growing body of evidence showing that boys in the United States and Canada are less enthusiastic about school...
Source: Education.com
Guest Editor
Author of “Why Gender Matters” and "Boys Adrift"
Being both a family physician, as well as a psychologist —
led him to recognize the importance of gender differences in how children learn, and to a belief that those gender differences are neglected or minimized in American public schools.
Editor: Laura Compian, PhD
