Educational Leadership
November 2010
Volume 68 N0. 3

Gender-Friendly Schools
Kelley King, Michael Gurian, and Kathy Stevens

Do girls and boys learn differently? The Center on Education Policy released in March 2010 the report, “Are There Gender Differences in Achievement between Boys and Girls?” The center examined state test data from all age groups in all 50 states. The research found girls to be doing roughly as well as boys in math. In reading, however, boys are lagging behind girls in all states with adequate data, with gaps greater than 10 percentage points in some states.

Research has revealed that gender-related issues interfere with ability to achieve school improvement goals when educators look closely at test scores, grades, discipline referrals, homework completion rates, special-education placements, and student motivation. The areas of difficulty for girls included lower learning and engagement in science and technology classes, problems with self-esteem development in adolescence, and relational aggression in school and in cyberspace. Areas of difficulty for boys included lower achievement scores in most classes, lagging learning skills in areas such as note taking and listening, lower grades in all classes except some math and most science classes, and less motivation to learn and lower perception that the curriculum is relevant.

Some strategies used by teachers to close opportunity gaps between boys and girls are to add movement, build on the visual, and to incorporate student interests and choices. Movement helps increase brain activity and engages students in the learning process. Throwing a beach ball to a classmate to answer a question, or singing songs with hand motions are just two of many ways to get students moving. Using visuals, such as comic-strips, motivates students’ thoughts for writing. Allowing students to draw their ideas for a writing prompt can be helpful as well. Finally, students' motivation can be boosted by incorporating students' interests and choices. It is important to identify students' passions and integrate the curriculum around their interests. Sports may be a strong motivator for boys. Then, allowing students to choose the means of presentation, whether a report, or a music video, will motivate students and promote learning.

Closing gender gaps is not only essential for school improvement, but also reflects the deep humanity and love of all children and honors the uniqueness and differences in the way God created them.