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What Explains Boys’ Educational Underachievement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ?

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Listed:
  • Elsayed,Mahmoud Abduh Ali
  • Clerkin,Aidan
  • Pitsia,Vasiliki
  • Aljabri,Nayyaf
  • Al-Harbi,Khaleel

Abstract

This paper examines the factors that are associated with boys’ underachievement in mathematicsand science in Saudi Arabia, where students attend gender-segregated schools from grade 1 onward, as well asstudent achievement in these two subjects in grades 4 and 8 more generally. The paper employs data from two recentlarge-scale assessments of education: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2019 and SaudiArabia’s National Assessment of Learning Outcomes 2018. The results suggest that in grade 4, school climate was morestrongly associated with boys' compared with girls' achievement in both mathematics and science,with boys attending schools of poorer school climate having a considerably lower performance compared with girlsattending such schools. The findings also indicate that although greater literacy and numeracy readiness was linkedwith higher science achievement among boys and girls, grade 4 boys tended to benefit more from this readiness thangirls. In addition, the results show that student absenteeism in grade 4 is particularly strongly associatedwith decreases in mathematics achievement among boys. In grade 8, interactions between student gender and students’confidence in science, the degree of schools’ emphasis on academic success, and teachers’ age are observed. The paperconcludes by discussing some of the implications of these findings for educators and policy makers in Saudi Arabia.

Suggested Citation

  • Elsayed,Mahmoud Abduh Ali & Clerkin,Aidan & Pitsia,Vasiliki & Aljabri,Nayyaf & Al-Harbi,Khaleel, 2022. "What Explains Boys’ Educational Underachievement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9896, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9896
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marianne Bertrand & Jessica Pan, 2013. "The Trouble with Boys: Social Influences and the Gender Gap in Disruptive Behavior," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 32-64, January.
    2. Christopher Cornwell & David B. Mustard & Jessica Van Parys, 2013. "Noncognitive Skills and the Gender Disparities in Test Scores and Teacher Assessments: Evidence from Primary School," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(1), pages 236-264.
    3. Rogers, F. Halsey & Vegas, Emiliana, 2009. "No more cutting class ? reducing teacher absence and providing incentives for performance," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4847, The World Bank.
    4. Carroll David & Parasnis Jaai & Tani Massimiliano, 2021. "Why do women become teachers while men don’t?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 793-823, April.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Educational Sciences; Gender and Development; Educational Institutions & Facilities; Effective Schools and Teachers; Inequality;
    All these keywords.

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