Gender-based approach in the society has caused disparities in access to education and impacted learning capabilities of various students. The disparities do not only cause problems in education sector, but also extend to other issues in the society. Lack of equality in representation of various individuals in public and private realms transcends from discriminating practices exhibited by gender-based education.
The society is unequally represented in terms of political participation, leadership, economic representation, and social roles (Hepworth 234). These problems are attributed to gender-based approach. This study looks into the issue of how gender-based approach to education in schools short changes girls and boys.
Disparities in performance between the boys and girls in schools are based on the initiatives and teaching methods that are used by the teachers to short change children. There is a need therefore to ensure equal participation of both girls and boys in learning activities (The AAUW Report 7). Equal participation of girls in the education system is an important step to ensure gender equality and economic development.
The step also enables a country to eliminate problems that stem from social issues. The girl child is an equal member of the society and has the capacity to play the same roles as the boy child. Based on these beleves, it is imperative to promote equal education for both boys and girls. Efforts to ensure equal participation of should overwhelm the school activities and programs that shortchange girls (Hepworth 240)
Despite the fact that girls and boys have the same learning capabilities, most schools tend to adopt learning practices, which do not integrate the requirements of female students. Girls have the same learning capabilities just like the boys. They can attain the same scores in various subjects, undergo the same curriculum design, exhibit various talents, and interact with the teachers. Girls and boys join school at the same time.
However, 10 years after joining school, boys perform better compared to girls. The teaching programs tend to promote the learning capabilities of the boys than the goals. Schools shortchange girls through different ways which should be eliminated. For example, in the classrooms teachers tend to give more attention to boys (The AAUW Report 12).
Most teachers believe that the boys have a higher concentration power compared to girls. Teachers also believe that boys are more cooperative and are quick learners. These believes have made many teachers reduce the level of attention given to the girl child in class. Low attention given to girls in the class has also led to the low level of interaction between the teacher and the female students. Most female students feel discriminated due to reduced level of interaction between them and the teachers.
Another problem that is associated with lack of interaction between the girl child and the teacher is the issue of self confidence. Inability to participate actively in the class makes the female students develop low self confidence. This also affects their level of self evaluation. Therefore, while girls are moving from childhood to adulthood their learning capabilities significantly reduce. They develop fear towards the certain learning programs in the class (Hepworth 239).
Most teachers do not take time to look into issues that affect the female students in the class. For instance, negative behavior such as sexual harassment against girls is not controlled. In most cases teachers do not investigate such negative behaviors which are leading to the formation of negative attitude among the female students. Such issues also interfere with the interaction between the learners and hence influence the learning process.
Negative behaviors also affect the perceptions of learners of the learning process and teachers. In most cases, female students tend to believe that they are not as smart as boys. Boys are also viewed as dangerous individuals who are against girls. Other girls also may suppress their opinions in school for the fear of being rejected by their classmates. Peer rejection is therefore a factor that should be controlled to ensure equal participation of all students in the class (The AAUW Report 9).
Curriculum design used in most schools also enables them to shortchange girls and boys in the learning process. Such curriculums do not embrace the needs and experiences of female students. For example, the text books used in teaching tend to focus on the learning experiences of the male students.
Learning models and examples are designed to correspond with the needs of the boys. Learning curriculums do not embrace the element of gender diversity among the students. The basis of criticism for the learning curriculum is due to the fact that they tend to promote stereotypical roles of students based on gender differences.
For instance, in sciences certain books tend to promote the view that laboratory experiments can be done successful by only the male students, in other cases teachers give male students the opportunity to perform the experiment, hence denying female students a valuable opportunity to pursue sciences. Such stereotypical roles lead to development of negative attitudes towards sciences.
Socioeconomic status is another factor that contributes to shortchanging of girl students in school. This affects how the students access the various resources used in learning programs. Lack of access to learning resources greatly affects academic performance of the students.
Schools also do not provide adequate information to the female students on issues of diversity such as race, religion or ethnicity. For instance, schools do not provide information on how minority girls can interact with other students. Issues such as reduced expectations from the teachers, living conditions of the neighborhood, and poor nutrition may greatly affect the performance of the students (Hepworth 249).
Most schools lack appropriate strategies that can be used to eliminate the disparity in performance per subject between boys and girls. Gender differences in subjects such as sciences and mathematics are increasing a constant rate in both private and public schools. Low performance in sciences and mathematics among girls can be attributed to lack of self confidence.
Girls especially tend to develop low self confidence towards technical subjects due to lack of interaction between the student and the teacher. For example, in high schools and colleges girls are likely to perform poorly in science compared to the boys due to low self confidence.
Moreover, in some cases, female students do not receive the same level of encouragement and appreciation when they pursue sciences and other technical subjects. Teachers and school administrators tend to encourage male students to pursue these subjects. Male students get more encouragement and moral support from the teachers compared to girls who lack the opportunity to interact with teachers (Hepworth 244).
Dropout rates among the female students are also higher in most schools. The main factor that leads to drop out among girls is the issue of pregnancy. Teenage pregnancies deny the female students the opportunity to continue with their education. The problem of teenage pregnancy stems from the lack of proper sex education among the female students (The AAUW Report 11). Schools do not provide adequate sex education to the female students.
This subsequently leads to irresponsible sexual behavior among the students. Apart from pregnancy, dropouts among the female students also emanate from the family factors. Issues such as poverty may force a female student to dropout out of school due to lack of school fees or proper learning facilities. Schools and education stakeholders have not come up with the appropriate ways that can be used to reduce the dropout rates among the female students (Hepworth 245).
Lack of effective strategies to handle the learning problems associated with adolescence also affects the performance of the female students. Most schools fail to recognize the effects of adolescence on learning among the female students. Issues such as peer pressure or discrimination greatly affect the performance of students in class. For example, most girls tend to give more attention to their peers as compared to the issues taught by the teacher or parents.
It is therefore important for the school to establish effective strategies that can be used to eliminate learning gaps caused by peer pressure. With regards to guidance and counseling, most teachers tend to counsel the girl students on the issues of academic performance while ignoring important issues that touch on sexuality. At the adolescent stage, the girl child should be counseled on how to improve academic performance and also adopt proper sexual behavior.
Based on the aforementioned problems, it is therefore important for schools to change their learning programs and activities to eliminate issue of short changing female students. There is a need to ensure that the teaching programs used in schools conform to the requirements of Title IX.
Education authorities should also establish initiatives that are aimed at inspecting the individuals complying with the requirements of the title. The education department should also implement certification standards, which will ensure that school administrators and teachers have the relevant information and qualification on gender based issues of learning (The AAUW Report 13).
To this end, it is therefore important that the education stakeholders, government, schools, and parents collaborate to eliminate the issue of short changing. Teachers should also be trained on how to ensure gender equality in class. The issue of gender equality should be used as the basis of evaluation for administrators, teachers, and other members of a school.
The learning programs used at schools should promote multicultural diversity and racial equality among the female students. Teachers should not only teach students based on the general assumptions that determine the learning capabilities between students, teacher should help the female students develop positive perception of various subjects. The teacher should also help the students identify and solve their learning difficulties. These strategies will ensure equal education opportunities for girls and boys (The AAUW Report 7).
Works Cited
Hepworth, Eugenia. Parents as partners in education: The school and home working together, New York: Macmillan, 2003. Print.
The AAUW Report. How schools shortchange girls. DEST no. 12391. New York: Wellesley College Center for Research on Women. 1991. Print.