Why girls are outshining boys at school

London, June 13 : A feeling of estrangement from school and a belief in traditiol gender roles that men should lead women are two possible major causes behind the worldwide trend of boys falling behind at school, says a study.

The researchers noted that according to a recent OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) report, 15-year-old boys are more likely than girls of the same age to be low achievers.

“We saw a strong tendency for failing boys to be alieted from school; feeling distant and thinking it is not useful,” said lead researcher Andreas Hadjar, professor at the University of Luxembourg. “There was also a clear link with under-performance and boys having traditiol opinions about their gender role, that is, that men should lead women.” Boys with these traits tended to be more disruptive in class and hence underperformed, scoring about eight per cent less in their year mark than the average male pupil, the study showed. As many girls as boys expressed their alietion from school, but these attitudes were shown to have a more negative effect on boys. The study showed having traditiol views of male/female roles are more prevalent among boys than girls. Other factors such as peer group attitudes and socio-economic background also hinder school performance as they influence school alietion and gender role orientations and, thus, educatiol performance, the researchers said.  (IANS)