Homework
Time spent on homework, according to Hofferth et al (2001) has "substantial variation by age": as children get older, they tend to have greater workloads. Hofferth et al found that "girls read less per week than boys, but, with age, their reading time increased relative to that of boys," but this included both reading for pleasure and homework reading.
In the current issue of Perspectives on Labour and Income by Statistics Canada, Katherine Marshall (2007) discusses the results of a recent survey of Canadian teens: girls did 10.3 hours of homework per week, on average, compared to 8.1 hours for boys. Marshall says this is consistent with results in most industrialized countries. For example, Statistics Netherlands reported about 1.75 hours daily for girls, versus about 1.50 hours daily for boys, according to CBS Netherlands (2001).
I did very little homework as a kid, or in college. I was one of those really annoying kids who did the bare minimum and still did decently well, although I was hardly valedictorian material. Oh, wait, I still am. My study habits have improved slightly with age, but I suspect that's more related to the fact that I pay for my own education now, so I'm more determined to get value out of it. However, I have learned in my night courses that if I need to miss a class and want to get notes from someone, I ought to ask a woman, and the older, the better. When I've attended study sessions, the gender balance is far more female-skewed than the classes themselves.
In the current issue of Perspectives on Labour and Income by Statistics Canada, Katherine Marshall (2007) discusses the results of a recent survey of Canadian teens: girls did 10.3 hours of homework per week, on average, compared to 8.1 hours for boys. Marshall says this is consistent with results in most industrialized countries. For example, Statistics Netherlands reported about 1.75 hours daily for girls, versus about 1.50 hours daily for boys, according to CBS Netherlands (2001).
I did very little homework as a kid, or in college. I was one of those really annoying kids who did the bare minimum and still did decently well, although I was hardly valedictorian material. Oh, wait, I still am. My study habits have improved slightly with age, but I suspect that's more related to the fact that I pay for my own education now, so I'm more determined to get value out of it. However, I have learned in my night courses that if I need to miss a class and want to get notes from someone, I ought to ask a woman, and the older, the better. When I've attended study sessions, the gender balance is far more female-skewed than the classes themselves.