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South African Schooling: The Enigma of Inequality pp 225–241Cite as

Gender Inequalities in South African Schools: New Complexities

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Part of the book series: Policy Implications of Research in Education ((PIRE,volume 10))

Abstract

This chapter considers the complexities of gender in South African education. Using recent nationally representative data we find that girls achieve better average results than boys across subject areas, grade levels and time. Gender differences based on school type reveal that the widest gaps are in government schools and rural settings, with girls outperforming boys. In independent schools, Grade 9 boys perform slightly better than girls. Attainment was lower for boys than for girls in every racial group. Boys tended to be older than girls and to have higher dropout rates in secondary schools. School climate results reveal that boys are more likely to be bullied in every type of school but that boys and girls in public schools are at a greater risk of being bullied than boys and girls in independent schools. Girls are less confident about their mathematics ability despite the achievement differences that favour girls. This seems to suggest that other factors either at school or in the external environment are undermining how girls view their potential in technical subjects. We conclude that there are a number of boys and girls who are at serious risk of disappearing from the education system if gender targeted interventions are not carefully considered.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A very useful, though dated, example is Chisholm and September’s review of gender equity in South African education between 1994 and 2004 (Chisholm and September 2005).

  2. 2.

    See Van Broekhuizen and Spaull (2017) for a contemporary discussion of gender differences in higher education.

  3. 3.

    Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality.

  4. 4.

    Trends in Mathematics and Science Study.

  5. 5.

    Progress in International Reading Literacy Study.

  6. 6.

    The difference in average score for male and female learners is presented (male minus female) so that values to the left shows instances where girls achieved better results than boys and values to the right are where boys performed better.

  7. 7.

    Learners were asked nine questions on the frequency and type of bullying that they experienced. These questions covered direct and indirect forms of bullying. Direct forms of bullying include both physical and verbal forms.

  8. 8.

    The IEA studies ask learners whether they were forced to do something they did not want to do but do not explicitly address the question of sexual violence.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research on Socioeconomic Policy, Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland, South Africa

    Tia Linda Zuze

  2. School of Built Environment and Development Studies, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa

    Unathi Beku

Authors
  1. Tia Linda Zuze
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  2. Unathi Beku
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Correspondence to Tia Linda Zuze .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

    Nic Spaull

  2. Faculty of Education, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

    Jonathan D. Jansen

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Zuze, T.L., Beku, U. (2019). Gender Inequalities in South African Schools: New Complexities. In: Spaull, N., Jansen, J. (eds) South African Schooling: The Enigma of Inequality. Policy Implications of Research in Education, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18811-5_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18811-5_12

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