Gender differences in school performance and attitudes toward school

Abstract

In this article we address gender differences in school performance and attitudes towards school using data from national (in Spain) and international evaluation reports and qualitative research to understand the perceptions of post-compulsory secondary students who continue their studies and do so successfully. Using a sample of twenty-six students (12 girls and 14 boys) who study Baccalaureate and Vocational Training, we investigate through in-depth interviews the shaping of feminine and masculine identities defined both in the reproduction of stereotyped cultural patterns as well as in the resistance and rupture. The findings reveal that girls have a clearer commitment to school work, being still very underrepresented in technical studies whose importance in the labour market is greater.