MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? - Tartu Ülikool

NAISED JA MEHED HARIDUSELUS WOMEN AND MEN IN EDUCATION
– in 2000 and 2005 there were 41–42% of boys in the gymnasium, and in 2009 and 2010 the
respective indicator was 44–45%. Upon graduation from the basic school, students for the first
time have to make a major educational choice about what and where to continue studies. The
options include secondary education, vocational education, and labour market, i.e., termination of
the education path.
Figure 3 indicates that the share of boys in the tenth grade was 3–4 percentage points higher in
2009 and 2010 than in 2005 or 2000. One of the reasons for this may lie in the decreasing
number of students. Larger generations, i.e., the so-called ‘generations of the Singing
Revolution’, have passed the basic school, which means that fewer students are striving to enter
the gymnasium. This enables boys, who would otherwise lag behind girls in terms of grades and
other measurable learning abilities, to have access to gymnasiums due to reduced competition.
However, this has also forced schools to compete for students and to promote themselves. In
1995 there were approximately 73 persons with attained basic education per one gymnasium; in
2004 this figure was 86 being the highest indicator of the observed period. In 2010 the respective
indicator was 59. Subsection 7 (1) of the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act
requires schools to provide at least three different study specialisations at the gymnasium level.
This presumably forces mergers of gymnasiums in regions with fewer students, which leads to a
reduced number of schools starting from 2013 when this subsection will apply. This does not
even have to mean a decrease in the number of study places in gymnasiums, but the distance to
school may become longer after shutdown or merger of some schools. A longer distance from
home could be one of the reasons for students increasingly opting for vocational education in the
future. This is particularly the case with weaker students and especially boys, who constitute a
larger share of students in vocational education.
According to PISA 2009 (Programme for International Student Assessment), boys are by about
one academic year behind girls in reading skills but ahead of them in maths (Kitsing 2009). This
shows that in one key skill boys are quite a lot behind girls and a little ahead in another one.
Reading skill is a very important skill being a fundamental skill in a lot of subjects. In sciences, a
part of assignments are presented in the form of text assignment, therefore reading skills are
necessary for correct understanding of them (Figure 3)
After graduating from the basic school, girls more than boys, prefer to continue their studies in the
gymnasium. One of the reasons stated by both boys and girls is the importance of grades (Must
2005). Based on the same source, students who prefer a vocational school to the gymnasium
rate their own educational performance as worse than the ones who intend to continue studies in
the gymnasium. Thus, we can assume that boys are getting weaker grades than girls and that is
one of the main factors why boys rather prefer to attain vocational than general education. One of
the reasons why boys are getting weaker grades is considered to be a large proportion of female
teachers. It has been assumed that although female teachers are good they might not be able to
get as good a contact with boys as male teachers. A lot of different research studies have given
varying outcomes. Carrington et al. (2007), for example, has studied how motivated the 7- and
8-year-old children in the United Kingdom are to study under the guidance of male teachers.
They found that this had no big influence on boys. It was also found that, at the gymnasium level,
male teachers had no influence on the educational performance of boys (Elstad and Turmo
2009).
Over a half of students are boys also in the extended study which embraces basic school classes
for extended study and for children with special needs and is positioned outside the traditional
9-grade system. Figure 4 indicates that the share of boys in such classes has been higher than
the share of girls in recent years. These are classes for students with special needs, who are
unable to acquire mandatory basic education at the same pace as other students, and require
additional time. This also includes sensory disabilities which complicate learning. (Figure 4)
Boys tend to discontinue their studies more frequently than girls. Figure 5 indicates that the total
number of those, who have discontinued their studies, has decreased, as has the share of boys
among them. The decreased number of students is certainly one of the reasons for the decrease
in the total number of discontinuers. In addition, with fewer students, the educational system can
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MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? MAN’S HOME IS THE WORLD, WOMAN’S WORLD IS HER HOME?