SEX RATIOS Dr. R, Rubadeau, Phd Superintendant of Schools Central Okanagan School District #23 A recent MacLeans article on 'value drift' states that in 1983, 42% of Canadians supported the statement 'the father of the family shall be the master in his own house'. Currently only 17% of Canadians now support this antiquated view of families. This change in attitude may denote many things, not the least of which is a more enlightened view of the roles being played by females in our society. But if there was a 'glass ceiling' limiting the success of females, it is being shattered as women are taking their rightful place in business, industry, medicine, literature, and education. As men and women come to accept the notion of full equality, however, both sexes have begun to appreciate more fully the differences in performance indicators that exist between females and males. Nowhere are these differences more apparent than in our sons and daughters in the high school and college years. For most of this last decade, I have been a passive participant in our district's secondary school graduation exercises. After observing some 80 ceremonies, I have been intrigued by the success that females display in their academic achievement over their thirteen years of public schooling. My intrigue led to inquiry, and over the course of ten years I have amassed a small mountain of data on the observed differences between males and females in the Central Okanagan. Here's what I've discovered: SEX RATIO INDICATORS in S.D. #23 (Central Okanagan) 1993 - 1994 INDICATOR Male to Female SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS - District: 1 TO 3 Award of Excellence: 1 TO 3 Provincial Scholarships: 1 to 2 HONOUR ROLL (8 to 12 - all schools): 1 to 5 SUSPENSIONS 4 to 1 DROPOUTS 5 to 1 Students Failing Grades: 1.0 Grade Average or lower in High School 5 to 1 Youth Clients of the Attorney-General S.D. #23 Boundaries 6 to 1 youth Clients of the Attorney-General (In Institutions): 13 to 1 Children in Care - Kelowna Social Services S.D. #23 Boundaries 1 to 2 SEX RATIO INDICATORS in SPECIAL EDUCATION S.D. #23 (Central Okanagan) 1993 - 1994 SERVICE AREA Male to Female SPEECH PATHOLOGY 3 to 1 Severe Learning Disabled 5 to 1 Severe Behaviour 10 to 1 Mild Mentally Handicapped 1 to 1 Visually Impaired 1 to 1 Hearing Impaired 1 to 1 Physically Impaired 1 to 1 Moderate Mentally Handicapped 1 to 1 Severe Mentally Handicapped 1 to 1 To check my data, I've asked secondary schools to provide me with a printout of the grade 8 second term grade point averages, in rank order. A 4.0 rating would denote a straight 'A' average, while a '0.0' average would denote a pattern of consistent failures in every subject. Grade 8 was chosen for a review because there is little 'school dropout effect' at this grade level. Establishing a cutoff of a 'B' average (3.0), and using KSS Kelowna Secondary School - student pop. 1200) as a typical example, I identified 67 students out of a population of 206 who achieved grade point averages between 3.0 and 4.0. Fifty-six of these 67 students and 11 were male. Of the bottom 50 students (grade points from 1.6 to .06), 13 were female and 37 were male. Similar data trends have been noted in the Provincial Learning Assessment results, the Canadian tests of basic skills, the provincial scholarship program, and in every school-wide psychometric achievement test in use on this planet. The simply stated conclusion - there is a difference between men and women. . . (dah?!). Not surprisingly, researchers on human development indicate that differences are noted between males and females in the perinatal period in terms of birth weight and the ability to thrive. Later on they are observed in the difference in the speed with which male and females acquire motor skills, language and speech skills, the ability to read, and higher order thinking skills. Many believe that these differences, while profound in adolescence, decrease with age. Such may be the case, but data from colleges and universities indicate that post secondary programs are increasingly becoming a female domain. For example, the most popular program at OUC (Okanagan University College) is the Bachelor of Arts program which enrolls more than 2000 students. It reports a student ratio of two females for each male in attendance. Female dominance is also noted in other high enrollment programs, including Education (4 to 1 female), Social Work (4 to 1 female), Bachelor of Arts (3 to 1 female), and Nursing (50 to 1 female). Male domination is apparent in programs such as Automotive (14 to 1 male), Civil Engineering (14 to 1 male) and Mechanical Engineering (10 to 1 male) While sex ratios are about even in high enrollment programs such as Adult Basic Education, Bachelor of Science, and Business Administration. UBC, SFU and U of Vic report a similar trend with ratios of about 60% females to 40% males in overall enrollment. Strategies to address the phenomenon are more difficult to find than identify the issue. Some have argued that better male/female balance might be provided if there were more male role models in education. But with schools of education reporting female/male ratio of 3 to 1, to 6 to 1, expect to see fewer males in classrooms and in administration over the next decade. Others have argued that affirmative action should be implemented so that all programs have a representative gender balance. But restricting entrance for bright females so that less than average males can achieve access is expecting a developmental cure from a political process. It is unlikely that human development will respond to remediation and expecting a political process to socially re-engineer the differences between males and females is clearly beyond what the best governance can supply. Many of us are taught to fix things that are broken, to right wrongs when we see them, to help those who can't help themselves. When it comes to minorities being disadvantaged by systematic policies of the majority, we address the concern through legislation and make the necessary changes. But not all problems are subject to a fix; and some beg for acceptance. A "melting pot" philosophy drives us to believe that all people should adopt the majority value while a "cultural diversity" viewpoint suggests that we will not, through association or remediation, become a member of our neighbor's culture. Rather it suggests that we must come to understand and enjoy the differences among us rather than try to fix what is aberrant in one another. When it comes to boys and girls differences are not just physical, they may also be language and behaviourally related in the same way that there are differences between cultures defined by language barriers and behavioural customs. It may be politically incorrect to state this position, but the more I get to know the opposite sex the more convinced I am that we speak different languages, relate to friends and families differently through language, use different problem solving strategies based on language, and use our language to choose different kinds of friends, simply stated. If we were similar when it comes to language, there would be such a thing as a "male book club". None of us would try to remake a visible minority, an ethnic group, or language minority in the image of the majority, but we have no such qualms when it comes to the sexes. Perhaps adopt a more enlightened approach would be to a cultural diversity philosophy with applying it to interactions between males and females. Such an action may permit our boys a degree of acceptance not presently provided, and will help us set better expectations for both boys and girls. Dr. R, Rubadeau, Phd Superintendant of Schools Central Okanagan School District #23