Irish Times Letters 8th June: Gender Gap Leaving Certificate

Sir, – Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin raises a legitimate concern about the gender gap in H1 achievement in higher-level mathematics. She also points to the substantial gender imbalance in participation in applied mathematics (“Why I left the Leaving Cert maths reform group”, Opinion, September 5th).

Both are worthy of examination. However, discussion of gender disparity in Leaving Certificate subjects should also consider the wider picture.

Females outperform males at the higher grades in the majority of Leaving Certificate subjects. In the most recent State Examinations Commission gender breakdown I could identify, females achieved a higher proportion of H1 – H3 grades in 35 of the 38 higher-level subjects reported.

If the disparity in H1 achievement in higher-level mathematics warrants scrutiny of curriculum and assessment, then the broader pattern of male under-performance relative to females across much of the rest of the curriculum surely deserves similar attention.

Subject choice is also strongly gendered in both directions. Addressing barriers that discourage girls from mathematics, applied mathematics or traditionally male-dominated technical subjects is entirely appropriate. But the corresponding disparities affecting boys in other subjects should form part of the same discussion.

Looking at individual gender disparities without considering the overall pattern risks addressing imbalance in a minority of subjects while overlooking a much broader imbalance elsewhere in the Leaving Certificate.

When examining gender disparities in Leaving Certificate subjects, what is good for the goose should surely also be good for the gander. – Yours, etc,

MICHEÁL LANDERS,