Education/training
Young women more likely to attend universitySmart girlsYoung men are far less likely to attend university than young women, and a new study attributes the gap to differences in academic performance and study habits at the age of 15, as well as parental expectations. |
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 [ 2007-09-26 ] |
Statistics Canada says about a quarter (26%) of 19-year-old men had attended university in 2003, while almost two in five (39%) 19-year-old women had done so.
The study found that more than three-quarters (77%) of the gap was related to differences in the characteristics of young men and women that were available in the study.
Weaker academic performance among men accounted for almost half (45%) of the gap -- specifically, young men had lower overall school marks at age 15 and had poorer performance on a standardized reading test.
Another 11% of the gap was related to the fact that boys spend less time on their homework than girls and about 9% was associated with the lower educational expectations placed upon boys by their parents.
Other student characteristics played moderate roles, accounting for a further 12% of the gap collectively.
The study found that men and women have different characteristics at age 15.
For example, only about a third (32%) of young men reported overall marks of 80% or higher while almost half (46%) of young girls fell in the same category.
Young men also fared more poorly on a standardized reading test: Only 20% scored in the top quarter on the test, while 30% of young women did so.
Young men and women are also quite different in terms of the amount of time they spend on homework: only 30% of boys spent at least four hours a week on homework, compared with 41% of girls.
The study also found that young men had lower expectations placed upon them: as many as 60% had parents who expected them to complete a university degree, well behind the 70% of young women in the same situation.
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