On the political agenda

A meta-analysis of studies with data from 1914 to 2011 in many countries concluded that girls get higher marks than boys.163 Standardised tests of skills have stable gender differences between countries and over time: boys do better in mathematics and science while girls do better in reading. However, when analysing intelligence, there seem to be more boys than girls at the end of the distribution, that is, more boys than girls in the same age group score high and low.164

The Nordic cooperation in the area of gender equality is driven by the common vision of a gender-equal Nordic region with equal opportunities, rights, and obligations for all, irrespective of gender.165 Gender is an essential research perspective for understanding development among children and youth166,167 as well as human development in general168 and research.169

A governmental committee in Sweden has explored gender and school achievement.170 It may seem strange that there are still socioeconomic and gender differences in school achievement in Sweden given that Sweden has high gender and income equality.171

Also, a recent Norwegian governmental committee did an in-depth analysis of the gender difference in school achievement and educational trajectories.172 Gender differences are a challenge for the society, and gender differences among school-age children are related, for example, to the educational status of their parents, immigration status of the family, and prevalence of teacher–pupil problems (more prevalence among boys). There is a consistent pattern of worse educational trajectories for Norwegian boys as indicated by marks and lower attainment in upper secondary schools

163 Voyer, D., & Voyer, S. D. (2014). Gender differences in scholastic achievement: A meta-analysis.

Psychological Bulletin, 140(4), 1174. 164 Johnson, W., Carothers, A., & Deary, I. J. (2008). Sex differences in variability in general intelligence:

A new look at the old question. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(6), 518–531. 165 The Swedish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. (2018). Programme on gender equality.

Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers. http://norden.divaportal.org/smash/get/diva2:1190647/FULLTEXT01.pdf 166 Heilig, M. (2018). Han, hon och hjärnan [He, she, and the brain]. Stockholm: Natur och Kultur. 167 Spear, L. (2010). The behavioral neuroscience of adolescence. New York: W. W. Norton. 168 Bird, C. E., & Rieker, P. R. (2008). Gender and health. The effect of constrained choices and social policies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 169 Se for instance FAS. (2011). From women’s health to gender medicine. An anthology. Stockholm: The

Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS). 170 Wernersson, I. (2010). Könsskillnader i skolprestationer – Idéer om orsaker [Gender differences in school performance – ideas about causes]. Stockholm: Statens offentliga utredningar. 171 Stenmark, H., Bergström, E., Hägglöf, B., Öhman, A., & Petersen, S. (2016). Mental problems and their socio-demographic determinants in young schoolchildren in Sweden, a country with high gender and income equality. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 44(1), 18–26. 172 NOU 2019:3. Nye sjanser – bedre laering. Kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner og utdanningsløp [New chances – improved learning. Gender differences in school achievement and educational trajectory].

Oslo: Departementenes sikkerhets- og serviceorganisation, Kunskapsdepartementet.

and more special education (70% are boys). Gender differences are also seen in higher education, where more women than men study and drop out to a lower degree.

Education attainment is related to life expectancy in that those with higher education can be expected to live longer. Education can also lead to health assets such as a healthy lifestyle, and higher income and social status, which also influence health outcomes and mortality.173 A Swedish study found that extending the occupational school from two to three years and including some more theoretical contents reduced the probability of being convicted for a criminal offence, especially profit-driven crimes such as robbery, burglary, and theft.174

The Norwegian committee contracted a group of researchers for a systematic review of the causes of and measures against gender differences in school achievement.175 This report is not a comprehensive systematic review, but it has a rapid-review format due to time and resource limitations. According to available evidence, boys are overrepresented in several negative statistics in education. They are, for example, overrepresented among pupils with reading and language difficulties and among pupils at risk for dropping out of school, which might have severe consequences for their choices later in life. There is evidence for relatively stable gender differences in school achievement in favour of girls over time, in contrast to the argument of increasing gender differences and a ‘boy crisis’ in education. The Norwegian report systematically summarises research (published between 2008 and 2018) addressing causal factors and effects of interventions on gender differences in school achievement. The review included three systematic reviews and 92 primary studies addressing individual, structural, and schoolrelated factors (among these, 59 with a robust design, i.e., either longitudinal studies or studies with experimental design) and 30 intervention studies, of which 12 of high quality (validity).

Among causal factors on the individual level are cognitive skills (earlier cognitive maturation among girls from birth to 16 years of age), language skills (earlier among girls), and spatial skills (boys are

173 Hayward, M. D., Hummer, R. A., & Sasson, I. (2015). Trends and group differences in the association between educational attainment and U.S. adult mortality: Implications for understanding education’s causal influence. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 127, 8–18. 174 Åslund, O., Grönqvist, H., Hall, C., & Vlachos, J. (2017). Education and criminal behavior: Insights from an expansion of upper secondary school. Labour Economics, 52(C), 178–192. 175 Wollscheid, S., Hjetland, H. N., Rogde, K., & Skjelbred, S.-E. (2018). Årsaker til og tiltak mot kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner: En kunnskapsoversikt [Causes and interventions against gender differences in school achievement] (NIFU-rapport). Oslo: NIFU Nordisk institutt for studier av innovasjon, forskning og utdanning.

better than girls).177 Personality and self-regulation, gender-specific expectancies and interests, physical activity, and mental health are also among factors influencing the gender differences in school achievement. Biological factors such as genetic brain differences, physical development, and puberty also play a role. However, differences in biological factors are small and the variation is large within each gender. The review noted that the evidence on whether gender differences in school achievement are related to intelligence or timing of puberty was scarce. One study in this review, however, shows that lower test scores among teenage boys can to a small degree be explained with later puberty and slower growth in cognitive skills. There was also some small evidence (few highquality studies) on how differences in cognitive and non-cognitive skills can explain gender differences in school achievement.

The review also focused on structural factors in the society that influence the educational trajectory,177 but only found 17 studies (13 with a robust design). Among factors on the family level were family income, the parents’ educational level, parenting time and mother’s employment, parental involvement in schooling, family structure including absence of fathers, siblings, parental health, neighbourhood, and growing-up environment. The evidence indicates that the socioeconomic status and a deficient family environment have a stronger impact on boys. However, differences noted between Norwegian and international studies seem to indicate that the welfare system in the country may affect how different family factors influence child development and school achievement. Labour market-related factors can also have an impact. The lack of longitudinal studies makes it difficult to explain the differences in educational outcomes between women and men.

For school-related factors, 21 studies (13 with a robust design) were included.177 The evidence shows that girls were assessed more positively, especially when it comes to social and psychological factors. The evidence also showed that the teacher’s gender had little importance for explaining gender differences in school achievement. Moreover, studies indicate that teachers meet boys with lower expectations, and that boys’ behaviour was assessed more negatively compared to girls’ behaviour. Some evidence indicated that boys might have a larger gain in being placed in groups with high-achieving pupils and a higher share of girls.

The comprehensive review also searched for causes in the preschool arrangement and in the primary school.177