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Differences in elementary school achievement between girls and boys: Does the teacher gender play a role?

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Abstract

Elementary schools in many countries record an unequal representation of male and female teachers with female teachers in huge majority. At the same time, numerous studies reveal that girls generally outmatch boys in the majority of school subjects. Consequently, possible effects of teacher–pupil gender interaction are becoming an important topic in studies on pupils’ school achievement. The aim of the present study was to examine the proposed teacher–pupil gender interaction effect on pupils’ school achievement in Croatian elementary schools. The nationwide sample of pupils and their teachers from all 844 Croatian elementary schools was used. There were 48,232 pupils at the age 10 and 46,196 pupils at the age 14 in the research. Two types of pupils’ school achievement measures were assessed—school marks and standardized knowledge tests for almost all subjects in school curriculum. Results indicate that girls generally outmatch boys by school marks, whereas results are equivocal when standardized tests were used. The teachers’ gender effect measured by knowledge of their pupils reveal the superiority of female teachers, but only on standardized achievement tests. The interaction effects of teachers’ and pupils’ gender on school achievement are generally insignificant. The stability of these results was confirmed in both age cohorts and assumption that differences in boys’ and girls’ school achievement are related to teachers’ gender cannot be supported within Croatian elementary education.

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Notes

  1. The content of this subject largely corresponds to that covered in Science.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb, Croatia, Marulicev trg 19, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Josip Burusic & Toni Babarovic

  2. Department of Psychology, Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb, Borongajska 83d, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Maja Seric

Authors
  1. Josip Burusic
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  2. Toni Babarovic
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  3. Maja Seric
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Toni Babarovic.

Additional information

Josip Burusic. Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb, Croatia, Marulicev trg 19, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. Email: josip.burusic@pilar.hr, Web site: www.pilar.hr

Current themes of research:

Quality of elementary education in Croatia.

Publications in the field:

Babarović, T, Burušić, J, Šakić, M. (2010) Psihosocijalne i obrazovne odrednice školskog uspjeha učenika osnovnih škola: dosezi dosadašnjih istraživanja. (Psychosocial and Educational Determinants of Primary School Achievement: Grasp of Previous Research).Suvremena psihologija. 13 (2), 235-256.

Burušić, J., Babarović, T, Marković, N. (2010) Koliko daleko padaju jabuke od stabla? Odnos obrazovnih postignuća djece i obrazovne razine njihovih roditelja (How Far Does the Apple Fall from the Tree? The Relationship between Childrens Educational Achievement and the Educational Level of their Parents ). Društvena istraživanja, 19 (108-109), 709–730.

Burušić, J., Babarović, T., Šakić, M. (2009). Odrednice uspješnosti osnovnih škola u Republici Hrvatskoj: rezultati empirijske provjere (Determinants of school effectiveness in primary schools in the Republic of Croatia: Results of empirical research). Društvena istraživanja, 18(4–5), 605–624.

Babarović, T., Burušić, J., Šakić, M. (2009). Uspješnost predviđanja obrazovnih postignuća učenika osnovnih škola Republike Hrvatske (Prediction of educational achievements of primary schools pupils in the Republic of Croatia). Društvena istraživanja, 18(4–5), 673–695.

Burušić, J., Brajša Žganec, A. (2005). Odnos samohendikepiranja, samopoštovanja i jasnoće pojma o sebi (Self-handicapping, self-esteem and clarity of self-concept). Psihologijske teme 14 (1), Rijeka.

Toni Babarovic. Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb, Croatia, Marulicev trg 19, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. Email: toni.babarovic@pilar.hr, Web site: www.pilar.hr

Current themes of research:

Quality of elementary education in Croatia.

Publications in the field:

Babarović, T, Burušić, J, Šakić, M. (2010) Psihosocijalne i obrazovne odrednice školskog uspjeha učenika osnovnih škola: dosezi dosadašnjih istraživanja. (Psychosocial and Educational Determinants of Primary School Achievement: Grasp of Previous Research).Suvremena psihologija. 13 (2), 235–256.

Burušić, J., Babarović, T, Marković, N. (2010) Koliko daleko padaju jabuke od stabla? Odnos obrazovnih postignuća djece i obrazovne razine njihovih roditelja (How Far Does the Apple Fall from the Tree? The Relationship between Childrens Educational Achievement and the Educational Level of their Parents). Društvena istraživanja, 19 (108–109), 709–730.

Burušić, J., Babarović, T., Šakić, M. (2009). Odrednice uspješnosti osnovnih škola u Republici Hrvatskoj: rezultati empirijske provjere (Determinants of school effectiveness in primary schools in the Republic of Croatia: Results of empirical research). Društvena istraživanja, 18(4–5), 605–624.

Babarović, T., Burušić, J., Šakić, M. (2009). Uspješnost predviđanja obrazovnih postignuća učenika osnovnih škola Republike Hrvatske (Prediction of educational achievements of primary schools pupils in the Republic of Croatia). Društvena istraživanja, 18(4–5), 673–695.

Šverko, I. & Babarović, T. (2008). Correspondence of interests and self-efficacy beliefs with occupational choice. Društvena istraživanja, 95 (3), 397–415.

Maja Seric. Department of Psychology, Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb, Borongajska 83 d, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. Email: toydoll86@gmail.com, Web site: www.hrstud.hr

Current themes of research:

Quality of elementary education in Croatia.

Appendices

Appendices

Table 1 The main effects of pupils’ and teachers’ gender, and pupil–teacher gender interaction effects on school achievement measured by standardized Tests (10-year-old pupils)
Full size table
Table 2 The main effects of pupils’ and teachers’ gender, and pupil–teacher gender interaction effects on school achievement measured by the subjects’ marks (10-year-old pupils)
Full size table
Table 3 The main effects of pupils’ and teachers’ gender, and pupil–teacher gender interaction effects on school achievement measured by standardized tests (14-year-old pupils)
Full size table
Table 4 The main effects of pupils’ and teachers’ gender, and pupil–teacher gender interaction effects on school achievement measured by the subjects’ marks (14-year-old pupils)
Full size table

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Burusic, J., Babarovic, T. & Seric, M. Differences in elementary school achievement between girls and boys: Does the teacher gender play a role?. Eur J Psychol Educ 27, 523–538 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-011-0093-2

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