Boys’ Education and Brain ResearchPAPER PRESENTED AT JAMAICA TEACHERS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE ON BRAIN BASED EDUCATION

APRIL 9 2015 ROSEHALL HILTON

CHRISTOPHER CLARKE PHD

Despite years of research pointing to the crisis in boys’ education specifically and male marginalization generally we have done very little more than pay lip service to the situation. We continue to ignore this ticking time bomb to our own peril.

For over 40 years the Western Hemisphere has been experiencing the phenomenon of academic underperformance among its male population. Research in the last 25 years including that done in Jamaica( Miller, Evans, Bailey, Clarke) has sought to explain the reasons for it( eg, gender socialization)

What prospects does brain-based education hold for a solution?

OBJECTIVES

Data on Performance

Attempts to address phenomenon

What is known about Brain Research

Strategies to improve performance of Boys

Performance Data for Jamaica

School Type BOYS GIRLS

PRIMARY 1367 371

ALL-AGE 813 273

PRIMARY and JUNIOR HIGH 1146 339

Source: MOE

Table 2: Mathematics and English Performance by Gender (2012)SEX English A only Mathematics

onlyEnglish and Maths

% of Grade 11 Cohort

Female 5115 1061 4329 46.4

Male 2488 1066 2414 28.7

In 2012 CSEC Examinations 9464 females obtained grades 1-3 in English compared to 4902 males

5410 females obtained grades 1-3 in Maths, only 3480 males did

7766 females and 3883 males passed five or more with English and/Maths; 2205 males passed five or more with English and Maths, 4178 females did

The pattern is similar for GOILP, GFLT, GSAT

What has been tried

Single sex schools (at secondary level); no new ones in at least 60 years

Boys Day

Tweaking teaching strategies (adding music, more interactive)

Pull Outs (separating gender for discussion subjects e.g. literature

Separating genders at Grade 6

mentorship

Neuroscience and Gender Differences

Neuroscientists have identified very few reliable differences between boys and girls brains

Boys brains are about 10 percent larger than girls’ and boys’ brains finish growing a year or two later during puberty (Lenroot et al, 2007), These reflect physical maturation more than mental development

On average boys and girls differ in self regulatory behavior with girls showing better ability to sit still, pay attention, and delaying gratification. While we know that self-regulatory abilities depend on the prefrontal cortex, neuroscientists have so far been unable to show that this area develops earlier or is more active in girls (Barry et al 2004)

The latest high-resolution MRI studies reveal small differences in brain lateralization or “sidedness”(Liu, Stufflebeam, Sepulcre et al (2009)

Baby boys are modestly more active than girls

Toddler girls talk one month ealier on average than boys

Boys appear more spatially aware than girls

There is no significant difference in corpus callosum size between males and females(Bishop and Whalsten, 1997). Corpus callosum is that white matter tract that provides most of the

connections between left and right cerebral hemispheres

Gender gaps in academic performance are shaped more by environmental factors than by brain anatomy and physiology

Mental ability is not hardwired into the brain. Abilities develop in a social cultural context that includes each child’s opportunities, sense of identity, health and nutrtion etc.

Nutrition, chemical exposure, parenting style

WHAT THEN?

Start early to nurture the skills and attitudes that will better prepare both genders for the modern world

Make classrooms places where students potential is broadened

Challenge gender stereotypes on both sides and broaden the options for boys

Appreciate the range of intelligences ala Howard Gardner; multi-modal teaching benefits both genders

Strengthen spatial awareness. Spatial cognition is for understanding fraction, proportionality, calculus, geography, physics etc

Engage boys with the word through songs, dialogue, stories and all kinds of texts

Get boys involved in non-athletic extracurricular activities

We need to examine the way we define manhood

We need college trained teachers at the EC level

MOE Policy on Boys’ Education

What are some of your ideas for addressing the crisis?

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND FEEDBACK