A June 7 article by Graeme Parton of the British news website Telegraph.co.uk provided the following information from the Haifa study:
Academics said there was little difference between their learning habits, but found girls were much more likely to cooperate in lessons.Trefor Lloyd, director of the education charity Working With Men, told the Telegraph that the results of the Haifa study may be attributable to the willingness of female students to ask questions and otherwise take a more active role in their education
"Agreeableness relates to interpersonal relations," said the study. "Students scoring higher on agreeableness would thrive better and achieve higher than others in cooperative settings, which may explain girls' gain over boys."
"Girls are much better at negotiating with teachers," Lloyd said. "They will ask more questions. They start from a position of now knowing enough. Boys don't like to be seen as not knowing something, and only ask questions reluctantly."
The Haifa study is the second recent research effort to evaluate the academic progress of female students. Earlier this year, Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission explored the ways in which fear of failure leads to academic problems for female students.
Labels: school, girls, academic performance, grades
Posted By: Aspen/CRC
