Posts tagged with study.

Should we lower the university entry standards for men?

Kathy Dobson, September 23, 2009 at 11:35 AM

 

When it comes to future university applications, good grades and extracurricular activities might not be the only filters.

 

According to Torben Drewes, an economist at Trent University, universities might have to start thinking of men as a 'disadvantaged group' when it comes to post-secondary education.

 

Meaning a third filter: gender.

 

The university gender gap is growing. The Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada reports that in 2006, 56 per cent of Canadian undergraduates were women. Compare this number to the early 1970s, when more than two-thirds of university graduates in their mid-20s were men.

 

So why are men now so heavily outnumbered on campus? In a study released earlier this week, "The University Gender Gap: The Role of High School Grades," Drewes suggests a simple answer: girls study more than boys. They get better high-school marks, which in turn gets them into university.

 

Makes sense, right? If you study hard, the payoff includes higher marks and entry into university. But who needs a study to tell us that?

 

Interestingly, according to the study, the fact that girls study more accounts for just under half of the difference between male and female grades. Maybe the answer isn't so simple after all.

 

The other half, Drewes explains, is due to girls' "greater efficiency in converting a given amount of study time into a grade." Meaning, girls don't just study more. They also study better.

 

So what, if anything, should universities be doing about this? Should they lower admission criteria for male applicants? Is it even a university's responsibility to maintain a gender balance?

 

Effort isn't the only factor. So how are girls studying 'better'? In an interview with the Ottawa Citizen, Drewes said something in the high school system "rewards girls more than boys." However, that doesn't mean he's in favour of creating lower university entry standards for males. "That seems wrong."

 

I have five children, one girl and four boys. Interestingly, Jenny, my oldest, has always had the highest marks among my five kids. Of course, her three youngest brothers are only 4, 11, and 13. But even comparing how she did at their ages and grades, her marks were always higher.

 

Why?

 

I always assumed it's because Jenny has an incredible work ethic. She's a well-organized student who makes school and homework a priority. During her years in public school, unlike her younger brothers, I never had to remind her to do her homework, or lecture her about studying harder.

 

I've never considered her gender as a possible factor in her academic success.

 

The study concluded that the difference between male and female grades can be explained by girls not only studying more, but also studying more efficiently than boys. Makes sense to me.

 

Sounds like our girls can teach the boys a thing or two.

Tagged with high, school, grades, university, study, gender, girls, boys, habits | Comments (60) |

When working doesn't work for students

Kathy Dobson, April 16, 2009 at 5:13 PM

According to a study from the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation released today, I might have made a huge mistake when I encouraged my two oldest kids to get part-time jobs while in university.

Although working those 10 to 15 hours each week helps pay for their higher education, and hopefully teaches them some important life lessons along the way, those part-time jobs could also be putting them at increased risk of dropping out of university.

The report claims that although working less than 10 hours per week increases the odds of a first-year student not returning to school, working more than 20 hours a week almost doubles that risk.

Today, more students are working part-time than ever before. According to the study, close to 50% of all full-time post-secondary education students have jobs during the school year.

Yet for many students, it presents a paradox: they need to work in order to get their higher education. But if they work, they can't get their higher education.

Because even if you don't drop out, trying to earn some money while in school can also have a significantly negative effect on post-secondary grades.

In other words, poor study habits and too much partying aren't the only way to fail to a course: you can also get a part-time job.

Of course, some people don't have a choice. They have to work while in school. Starting in my late teens, I lived on my own and had to work almost full-time hours throughout my own post-secondary education. But like most parents, I wanted to make things easier for my own children.

I don't want my kids to have to worry about stuff like paying the rent or buying groceries. At least not yet. I want them to see getting a higher education as their most important full-time job right now.

Working 10 to 15 hours a week seemed like the perfect compromise. Just enough to have them help pay for part of their education, while also teaching them the value of learning how to juggle and balance work with studying and class time.

But if one of the biggest risk factors for dropping out of university is a part-time job, does this mean I should now encourage my kids to quit their jobs?

Of course not.

The authors of the study weren't suggesting that any one student in particular should quit their job because working was having a negative impact on his or her grades.

"Our finding is more of a general warning signal - a warning that working among post -secondary students has increased to historically high levels and is harming the academic success of some students."

In other words, for some students, work and school don't mix very well. Yet unfortunately for most students, they often don't have a choice.

Some of us simply must work, if we want to earn a higher education.

Tagged with drop, out, jobs, working, study, part-time, foundation, millennium, scholarship | Comments (10) |