Do Girls Make Boys Study? Gender Composition, Gender Role Culture, and Sense of Futility in Flemish Secondary Schools

This study examines whether the gender difference in sense of academic futility is related to the proportion of girls attending a school. We argue that the more progressive gender role culture in schools with a higher proportion of girls might influence especially boys’ sense of futility. Multilevel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Youth & society 2020-03, Vol.52 (2), p.229-250
Main Authors: Van Houtte, Mieke, Vantieghem, Wendelien
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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Attitudes
Boys
Children & youth
Cultural Influences
Culture
Educational Environment
Foreign Countries
Futility
Gender
Gender Differences
Gender role attitudes
Girls
Psychological Patterns
Schools
Secondary School Students
Secondary schools
Sex Role
Student Attitudes
Track System (Education)
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Summary:This study examines whether the gender difference in sense of academic futility is related to the proportion of girls attending a school. We argue that the more progressive gender role culture in schools with a higher proportion of girls might influence especially boys’ sense of futility. Multilevel analyses of data gathered in 2014 from 5,162 second-grade students in 57 secondary schools in Flanders confirm a small but significant gender difference in sense of futility. The more girls at school, the less feelings of futility boys manifest. This impact can be explained by boys’ traditional gender role attitudes. For girls, the impact of gender composition, higher feelings of futility in schools with more girls, is buffered by girls’ progressive gender role attitudes. In schools with more girls, boys display lower levels of futility than girls. Finally, this impact of gender composition can be ascribed to the students’ educational track.
ISSN:0044-118X
1552-8499
DOI:10.1177/0044118X17740597