| الوصف: |
Theory on gender and education is multifaceted and convoluted. Undeniably, boys continue to outperform girls in STEM subjects and comparatively underperform in English Language and Literature. Free School Meal (FSM) eligible White British, working-class boys have significantly lower levels of attainment than their peers. Saints College*, a mixed secondary school in London, does not buck this trend. This research explores the reasons for this discrepancy and attempts to address it by implementing an intervention strategy focused on metacognition during reading. The rationale for focusing on metacognition was grounded in theory. Metacognition, or ‘thinking about thinking’, is essential for self-regulation. Evidence suggests a link between self-regulatory behaviours, self-efficacy and academic attainment. Interventions focused on improving metacognition - and thus self-regulatory behaviours - during reading are proven to have a high effect size. Improved literacy has the potential to bolster academic attainment across the board and improve longer term outcomes for pupils. There were three components to this research. Firstly, a questionnaire was shared with a focus group of nine FSM eligible, low attaining boys to explore their perception of their self-efficacy. Then, informed by research, a six-week intervention focused on developing metacognition during reading was delivered and evaluated. To enable for comparison, the same intervention was delivered to eight girls of a similar demographic. Findings from this research suggest that the boys have a negative opinion of their self-efficacy concerning self-regulatory behaviours. The intervention developed metacognitive awareness but did not secure transferability of these skills cross curricular. Whilst they did outperform the boys’ group, the girls were less receptive to the intervention. Consequently, further questions arise concerning the impact of social conditioning and the role of teachers’ perceptions in perpetuating the gender attainment gap. *pseudonym |
