From Statistics Canada, Education, Training and Learning Section
The concept of school engagement takes into consideration the way in which young people participate and identify with school. The 1999 Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) asked youth aged 18 to 20 a number of questions about various aspects of their engagement with school.
Females were more likely than males to show attitudes and behaviours indicative of greater academic engagement in school (see Table 1).2 They were more likely to report getting along with teachers, finishing their homework on time and being interested in what they were learning in class. They were less likely than males to think that school was a waste of time.
Generally, dropouts revealed attitudes and behaviours indicative of less academic engagement in school compared to high school graduates. Male dropouts, in particular, appear to have been less engaged in school. They were least likely to have spent a lot of time completing their homework, and if it was completed, they were less likely to have completed it on time.
A larger share of school graduates (89%) than dropouts (60%) remarked that they got along well with their teachers most or all of the time. Again, male dropouts were less likely to be positive in their assessment.
Overall, male dropouts, in particular, appear to have been less engaged and more dissatisfied with their academic experience. They were clearly less likely to be “interested in what [they were] learning in class” and more likely to believe that “many things [they were] learning in class were useless.”
For young men and young women assessing their own skills, clear gender differences are apparent. Higher proportions of young women than young men judged their skills to be very good/excellent in reading and writing and to a somewhat lesser extent, in communication skills. In contrast, larger proportions of young men rated their problem-solving, math and computer skills as being stronger than young women did.
Attitudes to school differ between men who graduate and men who drop out
The concept of school engagement takes into consideration the way in which young people participate and identify with school. The 1999 Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) asked youth aged 18 to 20 a number of questions about various aspects of their engagement with school.
Females were more likely than males to show attitudes and behaviours indicative of greater academic engagement in school. They were more likely to report getting along with teachers, finishing their homework on time and being interested in what they were learning in class. They were less likely than males to think that school was a waste of time.
Generally, dropouts revealed attitudes and behaviours indicative of less academic engagement in school compared to high school graduates. Male dropouts, in particular, appear to have been less engaged in school. They were least likely to have spent a lot of time completing their homework, and if it was completed, they were less likely to have completed it on time.
A larger share of school graduates (89%) than dropouts (60%) remarked that they got along well with their teachers most or all of the time. Again, male dropouts were less likely to be positive in their assessment.
Overall, male dropouts, in particular, appear to have been less engaged and more dissatisfied with their academic experience. They were clearly less likely to be “interested in what [they were] learning in class” and more likely to believe that “many things [they were] learning in class were useless.”
For young men and young women assessing their own skills, clear gender differences are apparent. Higher proportions of young women than young men judged their skills to be very good/excellent in reading and writing and to a somewhat lesser extent, in communication skills. In contrast, larger proportions of young men rated their problem-solving, math and computer skills as being stronger than young women did.
Table 1: High school engagement indicators (percent) Graduates Dropouts
Let's look at a list of comparisons between male who gaduated and male who dropped out of high school:
% most of the time
all of the time
Male Grads Male Drop-outs
I got along well with teachers 85 53.4
I did as little as possible
just want to get by 20.8 39.6
I paid attention to teachers 76.8 54.8
I was not interested in
what Iwas learning 54.8 38.3
I felt like an outsider
or left out of things at school 3.7 13.5
I completed homework on time 74 39.7
% Agree or Strongly Agree
I thought things learned
in class were useless 40.4 59.1
I was treated with
as much respect as others 91.5 76.5
I had friends at school I
could talk to about personal
things 93.4 83
I like to participate in
clubs, drama, sports
at school 61.8 41.4
School was often a
waste of time 16.6 39.8
People at school were
interested in what I had to say 89.9 80.3
% 3 hours or fewer
How many hours each week
on homework outside of
class during free time 45.9 68.1
Source: At a Crossroads: First Results for the 18 to 20-Year-old Cohort of the Youth in Transition Survey. Catalogue number 81-591-XIE.
Conclusion
On a number of counts, the evidence suggests that more young men than women are experiencing difficulties with school. Young men, particularly male dropouts, appear to be less engaged in school and they continue to dropout of high school before completing the requirements for graduation at a higher rate than girls. Young men rated their problem-solving, math and computer skills as stronger than young women, but their assessments of reading and writing were weaker than those of women. This is consistent with the results of standardized tests that show higher literacy scores for girls compared to boys. Finally, girls are more likely than boys to go on to post-secondary education; in all but a handful of fields, women outnumber men in university enrolment; and university graduation rates are higher for women than for men.
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