Differential Educational Achievement by Gender: Literacy Skills

welcome to this tutor to you sociology topic video on gender differences in education looking at literacy skills one out of school factor in the differences between male and female achievement has been the difference in literacy skills between males and females not only before they enter school but also as a feature throughout their education

we know that girls achievement is higher than boys throughout the education system and it is thought that this is in part due to their superior literacy skills moss and washbrook analyzed data of the number of males and females achieving the expected standard for literacy skills at ages five seven and eleven and found that there was a difference of

between six and twelve percent difference in favor of girls who achieved the expected standard in literacy furthermore connolly found that these differences were consistent across social classes and ethnic groups suggesting that a pupils gender is the most significant factor in their literacy levels so why do boys and girls have different levels of literacy

well one explanation is due to their gender socialization parents will interact with their children differently based upon their own gender and the gender of the child whilst mothers are more likely to read to children regardless of gender fathers are more likely to read to their daughters and adopt more active pastimes with their sons such as playing sports

and playing with construction toys the impact of this is that reading is seen by males as a feminine pursuit and this influences their leisure choices as they develop whilst girls leisure time is spent practicing and developing their literacy skills through reading conversation and writing what some refer to as bedroom culture boys are more likely to gravitate