Gender matters in higher education

Abstract

Much of the research in higher education has treated student bodies as homogeneous groups with a consequent neglect of any consideration of gender differences. To test the validity of such research a questionnaire was administered to 255 psychology students. The results showed some important differences in responses between the genders. In particular, the female students reported attaching more importance than males to pre-course aims, rated various learning activities as more valuable and interesting than males and reported more improvement in nine of the 12 skills surveyed than the males. The males rated experiencing less difficulty for various aspects of the course than anticipated than did the females for 11 of 12 potential difficulties listed. As a consequence, it is suggested that researchers ought to be wary of conducting research into various aspects of higher education without considering potential gender differences.In recent years, there has been considerable research into the motivations and expectations of students in higher education, and the ways in which they develop their skills and cope with the course demands. Most of this research has been concerned with groups of students, undifferentiated by gender-e.g. Jacobs and Newstead (2000) and Dornyei (2000) on student motivation; Rae and Baillie (2005) on peer tutoring; and Sutton and Henry (2005) on student approaches to learning. Moreover, academic institutions tend to conduct their course evaluations without regard to gender differences. The implication is that gender differences are unimportant and/ or negligible. It is as if gender doesn't matter in higher education.In the UK, the academic performance of females has been consistently higher than that of males at GCSE and A-level for a number of years. For the 2004/05 academic year, for example, female A-level students scored an average of 282.4 UCAS points compared to 263.6 for males (source: National Statistics, SRF45/2005). At degree level, while there is little difference between the genders on average, there has been a

Measuring the beginning: a quantitative study of the transition to higher education

“…We identified three demographic factors that may have influenced the outcomes alongside our interventions -gender, work and accommodation. Harrop, Tattersall and Goody (2007) ascertained that female students had greater difficulty in developing confidence in their academic abilities than their male colleagues. Our findings support this in that female students tended to report lower general and academic self-efficacy than males at T2.…”

Understanding self-efficacy and the dynamics of part-time work and career aspiration

“…However, gender differences in work remains mostly researched in Western contexts. Furthermore, Harrop et al (2007) warned that researchers ought to be wary of conducting research into various aspects of higher education without considering potential gender differences and therefore has been incorporated into this study.…”

Rules of Engagement Beyond the Gates: Negotiating and Capitalising on Student ‘Experience’

“…(Graeme,18,middle class,Old University) Working-class students are very much 'other' to Graeme, but he frames their 'respectfulness' for the value of the degree for purposes of social mobility, supposing that their 'struggle' to achieve HE status will propel their efforts to succeed academically. The assumption is that by way of being previously excluded, workingclass students will show more enthusiasm for their studies (see Harrop et al, 2007). An assumption exists within Graeme's statement that accessing HE and performing well academically will result in equality, or at least social mobility.…”