"Boys Will Be Boys" Stereotypes Hurt School Performance

Girls have long battled sexist stereotypes about their academic prowess, particularly in the field of mathematical ability. A Kaplan, LA, middle school implemented single-sex classes under the rationale that girls are "content to simply observe" in class while boys "enjoy argument and lively classroom debate" and must be given more dynamic classes accordingly. But the "boys will be boys" mantra, often frustrating to girls who see their male classmates get away with far more trouble than they do, can actually be harmful to the boys themselves.

A new study out of England finds that boys (and girls) are more likely to believe that girls are harder working and better behaved, which creates a "self-fulfilling prophecy." When boys are expected to be the class clown, getting up to "schoolboy pranks," and asked, "why can't you sit nicely like the girls?" they live up to expectations. Just like when girls score worse on tests when they hear their sex can't do math, boys do worse at academics when they're treated like goof-offs from the start. When, for experimental purposes, it was announced before a test that boys don't do as well as girls, the boys scores are lowered.

The solution to this is one that will help both boys and girls: not promoting gender stereotypes in the classroom, not treating boys or girls as better or worse at something because of their sex, and not playing boys-vs-girls games that reinforce the concept of difference. Sexism and gender stereotypes must be viewed as matters of universal concern, detrimental to all children no matter their chromosome configuration.

Photo credit: Liz (perspicacious.org)