New Report Highlights Gender Differences in Irish Primary Schools

Posted 19 December, 2024

The next report from the series Equalities in (opens in a new window)Children’s School Lives has been published. This report explores the theme of Gender to look at the differences in the experiences of boys and girls in Irish Primary Schools. 

Children at mixed schools have more friends than those undergoing single-sex schooling, according to (opens in a new window)a new study on the difference experiences of boys and girls in Irish Primary education. 

At this level, friendships amongst girls are closer than those between boys, who tend to emphasise popularity in their social circles. 

In single-sex schools, boys have the lowest levels of closeness or social connectivity, and while they have fewer friends, girls in all-girls schools have closer bonds of friendships compared to those in coeducational schools. 

This is according to the latest report from the Children's School Lives (CSL) study, a landmark longitudinal project led by the UCD School of Education following the lives of 4,000 children across 189 primary schools in Ireland. 

Led by (opens in a new window)Professor Dympna Devine and A(opens in a new window)ssociate Professor Seaneen Sloan, and Assistant Professors (opens in a new window)Gabriela Martinez Sainz and (opens in a new window)Olga Ioannidou, and commissioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, across its six years of data-gathering, the study aims to learn directly from children as they progress from junior infants to sixth class. 

“We are delighted to launch this 9th report from the Children’s School Lives Study that provides wide-ranging evidence into gender dynamics in the primary school system in Ireland,” said Professor Devine. 

“By prioritizing children’s voices and perspectives, unique insights are provided into the salience of gender and sexualities in children’s school lives influencing what children value and aspire to, their approaches to learning, the kinds of friendships they form and their commitments to gender equality.” 

The range of gender differences experienced between girls and boys include levels of confidence and self-esteem, aspirations, as well as attitudes towards learning and other areas of school life. 

Some key level insights and findings from the latest (opens in a new window)CSL report are:

• [Stereotyping] Children associate ‘good’ boys with intelligence and strength, and ‘good’ girls with kindness. Older girls show less gender stereotyping, while boys show more. Children are also aware of diverse sexualities.
• [Future Aspirations] Girls are more likely to aspire to university, with teachers also having higher expectations for girls in this regard.
• [Learning Engagement] With literacy, girls are more engaged and perform better in literacy, while boys are more likely to feel disengaged. With Maths, boys show more interest, but girls experience more anxiety, especially in senior classes.
• [Gendered Interests] Boys are more likely to engage in team sports, while girls prefer activities like dance and music.
• [Anxiety and discipline] Girls report higher anxiety, especially regarding tests. Girls are held to higher behavioural standards, with boys’ disruptive behaviour often normalized.
• [Social Connectivity] Girls in single-sex schools have stronger social bonds, but fewer friends. Boys in all-boys’ schools are more popular.
• [Bullying] Girls in co-ed schools report more witnessing bullying, while girls in all-girls’ schools are less likely to report being bullied.
• [Prejudice and Bias] Girls are more likely to agree that boys and girls can do equally well in tasks, with boys in all-boys’ schools showing the least agreement, reflecting persistent gender biases.