5th February 2014 9:00
By Blue Tutors
An international report has been released which shows that the maths skill of girls in the UK is on average three years behind their counterparts in higher-performing countries. The figures released by the OECD show that the ability of lowest-performing girls in the UK is far lower than those of other countries. Additionally, the OECD’s report warned that the UK has a significant gender gap, with boys far out-performing girls. This information may come as no surprise to tutors who are brought in to help girls with Maths, but what is the reason for the discrepancy, and how do we solve it?
Firstly, like many other issues surrounding gender relations, girls’ problems with maths is systemic and needs to be addressed on that level. Despite recent campaigns by organisations encouraging girls into maths, science and engineering, many girls still go through school being sent the message that maths is not for girls. Teachers may perpetuate gender stereotypes unconsciously, perhaps pushing a boy who is stuck on a question, but telling a girl not to worry. One of the most significant ways in which the wrong message gets through to girls is the fact that there are still far fewer female maths tutors than male. Role models are one of the principle ways in which stereotypes can be broken.
Requests for private tutoring for girls in maths have always been high, and it is not uncommon for parents to ask for female tutors because they feel that seeing another girl who is confident with maths will help. Yet agencies often struggle to meet this requirement, as there are so few female tutors available to teach Maths to the standard required. Ultimately, in order to boost the Maths skills of girls in this country we need systemic changes which will lead to more women going into working and teaching in Maths-related areas.