The OECD's ABC of Gender Equality in Education - food for thought for parents

A recent PISA publication by OECD is exploring gender equality in education with special focus on STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). An infographics shows the most significant and eye-caching facts calling the attention of the readers to the fact that more boys are underachievers in mathematics and science than girls while girls have much less confidence in themselves in this field. For parents the most important findings show that traditional gender roles have a very high effect on parents' view and girls are not often encouraged to find their careers in STEM. It is time for parents to face realities are reconsider the way they guide their children towards their future careers.


The OECD website quotes: "According to the study many countries have been successful in closing gender gaps in learning outcomes. But even when boys and girls are equally proficient in mathematics and science, their attitudes towards learning and aspirations for their future are markedly different – and that has a significant impact on their decision to pursue further education and on their choice of career.

The ABC of Gender Equality in Education: Aptitude, Behaviour, Confidence tries to determine why, in the 64 countries and economies covered, 15-year-old boys are more likely than girls, on average, to be overall low achievers, and why high-performing 15-year-old girls underachieve in mathematics, science and problem solving compared to high-achieving boys. As the evidence in the report makes clear, gender disparities in school performance stem from students’ attitudes towards learning and their behaviour in school, from how they choose to spend their leisure time, and from the confidence they have – or do not have – in their own abilities as students."

Read the full publication here