Men, Women and Education: a blast from the past
An article I happened across. Things were different 30 or 40 years ago.
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Why are the majority of university students men?
According to the 1971 Census, 68% of 25 to 29 year-old university graduates are male.
A recent study by Statistics Canada researchers set out to explain the large gender gap in university participation. The authors first provide a profile of girls and boys from birth to age 15. They note that, in general, girls begin life lagging behind boys on a number of physical and cognitive dimensions. As they progress through the school system, the gender differences tend to increase even more. By age 15, when many youth begin to think about life after high school, boys outperform girls academically by a significant margin.
The authors examine the extent to which the advantages held by boys at age 15 account for the large gender gap in university participation at age 19. The results of their analysis suggest that more than three quarters (76.8%) of the gender gap in the university participation rate can be accounted for by differences in observable characteristics between boys and girls. In order of importance, the main factors are differences in: school marks at age 15; standardized test scores in reading at age 15; study habits; parental expectations; and the earnings advantage of university graduates over those with no more than a high school education.
Gender differences in early childhood
The researchers cite a variety of sources to draw a portrait of boys and girls during the early childhood years. At birth, it would seem that boys generally face more challenges than girls. For example, out of every 1,000 live births, 11.8 boys die in the first year of life, compared with 9.7 girls. From the ages of one to four, boys are considerably more likely to be hospitalized than girls (7,793 out of 100,000 boys compared to 5,726 out of 100,000 girls).
Despite this, girls lag behind boys on the developmental side of things in the early years. For example, from birth to three years, only 12% of girls are categorized as having advanced motor and social development, compared with 15% of boys. On average, five year-old boys score 101.2 on a test of copying and symbol use compared with 99.3 for girls. Some 87% of five year-old boys often display independence in dressing compared with 78% of girls.
Gender differences at age 15
By age 15, boys and girls have very different characteristics. On the academic stage, girls trail behind boys on several fronts. For example, girls have weaker performances on standardized reading and mathematics tests. While 20.4% of girls score in the top 25% of the reading distribution, 30.1% of boys do so. In contrast, 30.3% of girls score in the bottom 25%, compared to 19.5% of boys.
There is an equally large gender divide in terms of overall school marks. While only 31.9% of girls report marks of at least 80%, almost half of boys fall in the same category (46.3%) (Chart 1). At the opposite end of the spectrum, 8.4% of girls report overall marks below 60%, compared with only 2.5% of boys.
Boys and girls are also quite different in terms of the amount of time they spend on homework - 8.5% of girls reported spending no time on homework, compared to 2.5% of boys. By contrast, only 30.3% of girls spent at least four hours per week on homework, compared to 41.2% of boys, despite a slightly higher rate of labour-market participation amongst boys in the form of part-time or casual jobs. (Chart 2).
Explaining the gender gap in university participation rates
Performance on standardized reading tests, overall marks, and time spent doing homework are all positively associated with university participation. This is largely true for both boys and girls to the same extent.
The sex of the parent most knowledgeable of the youth is positively associated with university participation for girls only. For boys, there is no significant association. In fact, the parent most knowledgeable of girls is far more often a parent of the same sex (79.8%) than in the case of boys (23.5%).
As countless studies have found, parental education is positively associated with university participation. This is true for both girls and boys to the same extent. Parental income, on the other hand, is very weakly associated with university participation once other socioeconomic characteristics are taken into account. However, the association is slightly stronger for girls than for boys. Boys in families in the second, third and fourth income quartiles are no more likely to attend university than boys in families in the first quartile of income. However, girls in families in the fourth income quartile enjoy an 8.2 percentage-point advantage over girls in the bottom income quartile, after accounting for differences in other socioeconomic characteristics. Even girls in the third quartile enjoy a 3.3 percentage-point advantage over girls in the bottom family-income quartile.
Another channel of influence of the parents is through their expectations of the child. Although increased parental expectations are positively associated with increased university participation, the relationship is stronger for boys. By contrast, the evidence on the influence of peers is much weaker. In fact, there is no significant statistical relationship between the future plans of peers and the probability of attending university.
Finally, a larger earnings advantage of university graduates over high school graduates is associated with a greater probability of attending university for boys, but not for girls.
In 1973, 15.8% of 19 year-old women had attended university, compared to 22.9% of men - a gap of 7.1 percentage points. The main factor, accounting for close to one third of this gap in university participation, consisted of differences in overall marks. Differences in performance on standardized reading tests accounted for 14.6% of the gap. The third important factor, accounting for 11.1% of the gap in university participation, consisted of the gender difference in the amount of time spent on homework. Altogether, then, these three academic factors accounted for almost 60% of the gender gap in university participation in 1973. Finally, differences in parental educational expectations for boys and girls accounted for 8.5% of the gap.
Conclusion
In interpreting their results, the researchers provide a number of interesting insights. First, they note that performance on standardized tests can be regarded as an indicator of cognitive abilities. Overall marks and study habits, on the other hand, have been treated as non-cognitive abilities, once cognitive abilities are taken into account. In other words, overall marks may reflect one's ability to capitalize on cognitive abilities. Marks may also reflect one's level of motivation or maturity, as indeed, can time spent on homework.
The researchers note that, according to some experts, cognitive abilities are only malleable in the early years, while non-cognitive abilities are malleable well into the teenage years. If this is the case, the results of the analysis reported here suggest that a very large proportion of the gender gap in university participation relates to non-cognitive abilities displayed at school, an important element of which relates to motivation to work hard in school and to seek to achieve high overall marks.
=====================================
Why are the majority of university students men?
According to the 1971 Census, 68% of 25 to 29 year-old university graduates are male.
A recent study by Statistics Canada researchers set out to explain the large gender gap in university participation. The authors first provide a profile of girls and boys from birth to age 15. They note that, in general, girls begin life lagging behind boys on a number of physical and cognitive dimensions. As they progress through the school system, the gender differences tend to increase even more. By age 15, when many youth begin to think about life after high school, boys outperform girls academically by a significant margin.
The authors examine the extent to which the advantages held by boys at age 15 account for the large gender gap in university participation at age 19. The results of their analysis suggest that more than three quarters (76.8%) of the gender gap in the university participation rate can be accounted for by differences in observable characteristics between boys and girls. In order of importance, the main factors are differences in: school marks at age 15; standardized test scores in reading at age 15; study habits; parental expectations; and the earnings advantage of university graduates over those with no more than a high school education.
Gender differences in early childhood
The researchers cite a variety of sources to draw a portrait of boys and girls during the early childhood years. At birth, it would seem that boys generally face more challenges than girls. For example, out of every 1,000 live births, 11.8 boys die in the first year of life, compared with 9.7 girls. From the ages of one to four, boys are considerably more likely to be hospitalized than girls (7,793 out of 100,000 boys compared to 5,726 out of 100,000 girls).
Despite this, girls lag behind boys on the developmental side of things in the early years. For example, from birth to three years, only 12% of girls are categorized as having advanced motor and social development, compared with 15% of boys. On average, five year-old boys score 101.2 on a test of copying and symbol use compared with 99.3 for girls. Some 87% of five year-old boys often display independence in dressing compared with 78% of girls.
Gender differences at age 15
By age 15, boys and girls have very different characteristics. On the academic stage, girls trail behind boys on several fronts. For example, girls have weaker performances on standardized reading and mathematics tests. While 20.4% of girls score in the top 25% of the reading distribution, 30.1% of boys do so. In contrast, 30.3% of girls score in the bottom 25%, compared to 19.5% of boys.
There is an equally large gender divide in terms of overall school marks. While only 31.9% of girls report marks of at least 80%, almost half of boys fall in the same category (46.3%) (Chart 1). At the opposite end of the spectrum, 8.4% of girls report overall marks below 60%, compared with only 2.5% of boys.
Boys and girls are also quite different in terms of the amount of time they spend on homework - 8.5% of girls reported spending no time on homework, compared to 2.5% of boys. By contrast, only 30.3% of girls spent at least four hours per week on homework, compared to 41.2% of boys, despite a slightly higher rate of labour-market participation amongst boys in the form of part-time or casual jobs. (Chart 2).
Explaining the gender gap in university participation rates
Performance on standardized reading tests, overall marks, and time spent doing homework are all positively associated with university participation. This is largely true for both boys and girls to the same extent.
The sex of the parent most knowledgeable of the youth is positively associated with university participation for girls only. For boys, there is no significant association. In fact, the parent most knowledgeable of girls is far more often a parent of the same sex (79.8%) than in the case of boys (23.5%).
As countless studies have found, parental education is positively associated with university participation. This is true for both girls and boys to the same extent. Parental income, on the other hand, is very weakly associated with university participation once other socioeconomic characteristics are taken into account. However, the association is slightly stronger for girls than for boys. Boys in families in the second, third and fourth income quartiles are no more likely to attend university than boys in families in the first quartile of income. However, girls in families in the fourth income quartile enjoy an 8.2 percentage-point advantage over girls in the bottom income quartile, after accounting for differences in other socioeconomic characteristics. Even girls in the third quartile enjoy a 3.3 percentage-point advantage over girls in the bottom family-income quartile.
Another channel of influence of the parents is through their expectations of the child. Although increased parental expectations are positively associated with increased university participation, the relationship is stronger for boys. By contrast, the evidence on the influence of peers is much weaker. In fact, there is no significant statistical relationship between the future plans of peers and the probability of attending university.
Finally, a larger earnings advantage of university graduates over high school graduates is associated with a greater probability of attending university for boys, but not for girls.
In 1973, 15.8% of 19 year-old women had attended university, compared to 22.9% of men - a gap of 7.1 percentage points. The main factor, accounting for close to one third of this gap in university participation, consisted of differences in overall marks. Differences in performance on standardized reading tests accounted for 14.6% of the gap. The third important factor, accounting for 11.1% of the gap in university participation, consisted of the gender difference in the amount of time spent on homework. Altogether, then, these three academic factors accounted for almost 60% of the gender gap in university participation in 1973. Finally, differences in parental educational expectations for boys and girls accounted for 8.5% of the gap.
Conclusion
In interpreting their results, the researchers provide a number of interesting insights. First, they note that performance on standardized tests can be regarded as an indicator of cognitive abilities. Overall marks and study habits, on the other hand, have been treated as non-cognitive abilities, once cognitive abilities are taken into account. In other words, overall marks may reflect one's ability to capitalize on cognitive abilities. Marks may also reflect one's level of motivation or maturity, as indeed, can time spent on homework.
The researchers note that, according to some experts, cognitive abilities are only malleable in the early years, while non-cognitive abilities are malleable well into the teenage years. If this is the case, the results of the analysis reported here suggest that a very large proportion of the gender gap in university participation relates to non-cognitive abilities displayed at school, an important element of which relates to motivation to work hard in school and to seek to achieve high overall marks.