Prince Alfred College headmaster Bradley Fenner concerned that girls outperform boys in most subjects
THE headmaster of one of Adelaide’s most prestigious boys schools says the gap between boys’ and girls’ academic results, especially within co-ed schools, is a “disgrace” — yet no-one is doing anything about it.
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THE headmaster of one of Adelaide’s most prestigious boys schools says the gap between boys’ and girls’ academic results, especially within co-ed schools, is a “disgrace” — yet no-one is doing anything about it.
Prince Alfred College headmaster Bradley Fenner told an international conference that some experts still denied boys and girls learned differently and benefited from being separated in their schooling.
“If that is so, how is it that co-educational schools can put boys and girls through the identical educational process and yet end up with very different outcomes?” Mr Fenner said on Thursday. “The difference in academic performance and outcomes between girls and boys at senior secondary levels — both in completion and results — is, to my mind, more than the elephant in the room.
“I think it is a disgrace, not just that it is occurring, but also that there appears to be a complete lack of interest and resolve in acknowledging, let alone addressing, the issue.”
Delivering the opening address to the International Boys’ Schools Coalition regional conference at PAC on Thursday, Mr Fenner said the SACE Board told him earlier this year that girls outperform boys in all subjects except technology and outdoor education.
The number of boys who completed the SACE last year was 7040, compared to 7963 girls. Mr Fenner said parents touring co-ed schools should ask about the relative performance of boys and girls, especially in Year 12.
“If the school cannot tell them those statistics, or will not tell them, then that tells a story in itself,” he said. “I do not think it is any surprise that it is generally boys’ schools that are getting the best results for boys.” Adelaide has a handful of all-boys private schools but no public ones. He said it was “fine” most schools were co-ed but some of them were “very reluctant to engage with the issue, because it might make it appear that co-education is not the best pathway”.
“You might even think that this group (boys) was in some way being disadvantaged, that perhaps the assessment regime suited one gender more than the other,” he said.
“You might say ‘Houston, we have a problem’. You might launch an inquiry, or at least commission high-level research to try to determine what is going on. “However, by and large, these conversations and actions are simply not happening.”
Anne Millard, Executive Director Partnerships, Schools and Preschools, said the Government offered “quality public education options for all South Australian children and young people”.
“Some schools offer the flexibility to teach subjects to male and female students separately if they feel this will benefit their learning,” she said.