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The article discusses the significant gender gap in academic performance across various Leaving Certificate subjects, highlighting that while females outperform males in many areas, males show stronger results in others like applied mathematics. The author advocates for a balanced scrutiny of the curriculum to address biases hindering both genders from excelling in non-traditional subjects.
Sir, – Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin raises a legitimate concern about the gender gap in H1 achievement in higher-level mathematics. She also points to the substantial gender imbalance in participation in applied mathematics.
(“Females outperform males at the higher grades in the majority of Leaving Certificate subjects. In the most recent State Examinations Commission gender breakdown I could identify, females achieved a higher proportion of H1 – H3 grades in 35 of the 38 higher-level subjects reported.
If the disparity in H1 achievement in higher-level mathematics warrants scrutiny of curriculum and assessment, then the broader pattern of male underperformance relative to females across much of the rest of the curriculum surely deserves similar attention. Dara Ó Briain: ‘The direction in which you punch matters or people don’t warm to it’Normal capital gains tax rules are set aside if spouses transfer shares to each other Subject choice is also strongly gendered in both directions.
Addressing barriers that discourage girls from mathematics, applied mathematics or traditionally male-dominated technical subjects is entirely appropriate. But the corresponding disparities affecting boys in other subjects should form part of the same discussion. Looking at individual gender disparities without considering the overall pattern risks addressing imbalance in a minority of subjects while overlooking a much broader imbalance elsewhere in the Leaving Certificate.
When examining gender disparities in Leaving Certificate subjects, what is good for the goose should surely also be good for the gander. Gardaí investigating possibility that teenager deliberately knocked off e-bike in Co ClareNew rules for Irish citizenship: How will they work? Rise in child poverty; Ireland’s most prosperous town; and the Irish unity debate
Gender Gap Leaving Certificate Academic Performance Curriculum Bias Applied Mathematics
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