The lack of significant male representation in the classroom is among several issues being highlighted as contributing to the continuation of primary school girls outperforming boys in exit exams.
Education Minister Fayval Williams pointed to the relevant statistics in this year’s PEP (Primary Exit Profile) results during a press conference on Friday.
Mrs Williams said girls continue to outperform boys in Mathematics and Language Arts, while the boys are narrowing the gap in Social Studies and Science.
Petuna Carpenter, a Grade Six teacher at Calabar Infant & Primary School, while agreeing that male representation matters, stressed that it must also be accepted that boys learn in a different way from girls.
She explained that where classrooms lack male representation, female teachers should tweak lessons to ensure male students grasp the concepts.
George Goode, President of Parents Alliance Jamaica and Principal of Old Harbour Primary in St. Catherine, supports the view that low male representation in the classroom is a contributing factor in girls outshining boys in exit exams, but he also points to studies which have shown that boys develop at a much slower pace than girls at the primary level.
June 26, 2023