MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? - Tartu Ãlikool
MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? - Tartu Ãlikool
MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? - Tartu Ãlikool
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<strong>NAISE</strong>D JA <strong>MEHE</strong>D HARIDUSELUS WOMEN AND MEN IN EDUCATI<strong>ON</strong><br />
pay greater attention to individuals. The share of boys among those, who have discontinued their<br />
studies, has also decreased. A simple explanation for that would be that the number of girls<br />
among discontinuers cannot decrease at the same rate as the number of boys if absolute figures<br />
fall. Otherwise, there would soon be no discontinuers among girls, which is highly unlikely.<br />
Consequently, any decrease in the number of discontinuers should generally mean that the<br />
decrease is bigger on account of boys. However, it can be assumed that the proportion of boys<br />
will remain higher than that of the girls among those who have discontinued their studies. This is<br />
also noticeable in the increased share of boys in comparison with the share of girls in 2010. It<br />
could be assumed that 55–58% is the expected share of boys among discontinuers in case the<br />
number of discontinuers is small. (Figure 5)<br />
The situation with grade repeaters is similar to discontinuers. The number of grade repeaters has<br />
significantly decreased over years: from 9,423 in 1995 to 2,797 in 2010, representing a decrease<br />
by almost 70%. Even though the decrease has been faster than the drop in the number of<br />
students, there is a correlation between these figures. The share of boys among all grade<br />
repeaters has fallen from 70% to 54%. Figure 6 reveals a pattern similar to Figure 3 which shows<br />
a sudden change after the ninth grade. The share of boys among students who repeat grades<br />
drops under 50%. This cannot be explained by the fact that boys become better students when<br />
growing older. The main reason is the fact that the share of boys in the gymnasium is generally<br />
under 50%, because boys, more often than girls, opt for vocational education after the ninth<br />
grade. Comparing the share of boys studying in gymnasiums to the share of grade repeaters<br />
among boys, we can see that boys constitute around 40% of full-time students in secondary<br />
education and a roughly similar percentage among grade repeaters. However, in basic school,<br />
where boys comprise 51–53% of students, they constitute generally 70–80% of all grade<br />
repeaters. This leads to a conclusion that there is no gender difference in the grade repeater<br />
rates in gymnasiums. The young men enrolled in the gymnasium have generally similar levels of<br />
motivation and abilities as the girls. This leads to the assumption that less motivated young men<br />
with lower abilities continue in vocational education. (Figure 6)<br />
Vocational education<br />
It was repeatedly indicated in the above analysis that boys are more likely to transfer to<br />
vocational education from the general education path. This conclusion can be based on the sex<br />
of discontinuers and those who continue in the gymnasium. Table 1 indicates that these two<br />
assumptions are true. The number of boys is significantly higher than the number of girls in<br />
vocational courses with non-defined basic education which is designed specifically for students<br />
who have dropped out of basic school. In recent years, 85–90% of such students have been<br />
boys. The share of boys has been significantly larger than the share of girls in previous years as<br />
well. The number of boys in vocational courses after basic education is almost twice as high as<br />
the number of girls. This also explains the decrease in the number of boys in general education<br />
between grades nine and ten. In percentage terms, boys are more likely to opt for vocational<br />
education than girls. However, the situation is reversed in vocational courses after secondary<br />
education. Namely, this level includes more girls than boys. Girls constitute 60% of students at<br />
this level. (Table 1)<br />
Studying in vocational education is a step towards choosing a future job. By acquiring vocational<br />
qualification in a specific area, people restrict their choices in the labour market. Figure<br />
7 indicates that boys constitute a great majority of students in engineering, manufacturing and<br />
construction as well as natural and exact sciences. Social services, business and law as well as<br />
health and well-being are less popular. However, the share of young men studying health and<br />
well-being specialties is gradually increasing. Massage studies, in particular, have become more<br />
popular. Girls constitute a higher share in those fields, which are taught after the upper secondary<br />
school level. (Figure 7)<br />
<strong>MEHE</strong> <strong>KODU</strong> <strong>ON</strong> <strong>MAAILM</strong>, <strong>NAISE</strong> <strong>MAAILM</strong> <strong>ON</strong> <strong>KODU</strong>? MAN’S HOME IS THE WORLD, WOMAN’S WORLD IS HER HOME? 109