Figure 1.--A significant topic in New Zealand education is gender. The education og girls received considerable attention in the 970s and 80s. Educators have recently begun to address the issue of the under performance of boys academically.
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Figure 1.--A significant topic in New Zealand education is gender. The education og girls received considerable attention in the 970s and 80s. Educators have recently begun to address the issue of the under performance of boys academically. |
New Zealand state primary schools were traditionally coeducational, but secondary schools gender specific. This began to change in the 20th century, especially afyer World War II. The private schools tend to be more oriented toward gender-specific education. The women's movement of the 1970s often attempted to tell us that boys and girls were the same and only sozilization made them different--often to the detriment of girls. While we have no difficulty will legal equity and issues like equal pay for equal work, we do strongly disagree with the proposition that boys and girls are the same. From the earliest pre-school days, boys and girls are clearly different, before they are strongly affected by any socilization process. This basic fact affects how boys and girls learn and how they should be taught. The women's movement was concerned about girls' performance in school, especially self image after they enter secondary school. This is an issue that needs to be addresses, but only recently has the problem of boys' under-accievement in school become seriously discussed. There are in addition substantial differeces in course selection and activities pursued. Here the socilization process does seem to be a an important factor.
A great deal of attention has been given by modern educators to raising the self esteem of girls and improving their performance at school. An assessment of academic achievement, however, shows that it is the boys that are encountering difficulty at school and the resulting underachievement is painfully obvious. This is not exclusively a New Zealand problem, but is a serious problem that New Zealand educators must confront. New Zealand has debated the issue of coeducation to great length. There are still proponents of both approaches, but for the most part coeducation has been adopted a most schools. Educators for the most part have felt that coeducation is a preferable approach for elementary schools, although several private schools elementary (preparatory) schools are single sex schools. The new intermediate schools that appeared beginning in the 1960s??? were all coeducational. While the early secondary schools were all single sex schools, most secondary schools are coeducational. Many of the more traditional secondary schools are single sex schools, all of the newer secondary schools have been established as coeducational schools.
New Zealand state primary schools were traditionally coeducational, but secondary schools gender specific. This began to change in the 20th century, especially afyer World War II. The private schools tend to be more oriented toward gender-specific education. New Zealand has debated the issue of coeducation to great length. There are still proponents of both approaches, but for the most part coeducation has been adopted a most schools. Educators for the most part have felt that coeducation is a preferable approach for elementary schools, although several private schools elementary (preparatory) schools are single sex schools. The new intermediate schools that appeared beginning in the 1960s??? were all coeducational. While the early secondary schools were all single sex schools, most secondary schools are coeducational. Many of the more traditional secondary schools are single sex schools, all of the newer secondary schools have been established as coeducational schools.
There are in addition substantial differeces in course selection and activities pursued. Here the socilization process does seem to be a an important factor.
