Review of Strategies to Address Gender Inequalities in Scottish ...

number of boys-only classes were introduced in a targeted way, i.e. with boys whoneeded more intensive support. However, these were discontinued after 2-4 years andthere is, at present, no desire amongst staff for SGCs and very little support from thesenior management team for a return to this approach. Other measures taken to deal withunderachievement are seen to be meeting the needs of pupils in satisfactory ways,without SGCs. Senior staff who were interviewed expressed a clear desire to make surethat any changes are justifiable in educational terms and to take staff and parents alongwith them in introducing new practices. The local authority is supportive but has notprovided additional funding or staff to support the developments.iii. The implementationIn the context of this specific school, curriculum flexibility involves: a modular structureto the curriculum, with shorter targets and blocks of study; class sizes, in the main, atmaximum size, allowing greater resource to be allocated to those needing more support;and a timetabling procedure that slots in the ‘smaller’ subjects first and fits the core areas,e.g. mathematics and English, around these, thereby maximising choice.The school has an inclusion policy, of which gender is an element. Raising attainment,and more specifically, achievement in national qualifications, forms a significant part ofthe school development plan and is on both the local authority’s improvement andoperational plans. In these, there is a particular focus on boys’ achievement levels, mostnotably on literacy.The initiative was originally driven by the depute head with responsibility for learningand teaching and all teachers within the school are involved. The original work in theEnglish department was initiated and driven by the Head of Department as part of theirresponse to the school development plan. The literacy dimension has diminished inprominence, with the national qualification dimension taking priority.In 2002-03, the school replaced Standard Grade programmes of work and examinations,including National Qualification units for almost all subject areas, and is continuing towork to achieve this for all pupils and subjects. The pacing of units and assessmentevents is believed to offer a more coherent learning experience for pupils, encouragingmore of them to study for Higher qualifications. In particular, the short timescale of theunits is considered more appropriate for boys. Those interviewed agreed that theNational Qualification units offered better continuity, coherence, pace and progressionthan Standard Grade, and had greater relevance to the Higher programmes of study.The school has held a number of seminars and staff development events related to theinitiative. In addition, there have been meetings with parents to share plans andaspirations and gain their support for the developments. The various strands of theinitiative are integrated into everyday practice.iv. The impactThe school monitored and evaluated the original initiative and the subsequentdevelopments relating to achievement in national qualifications. The impact receivedconsiderable publicity, with the outcomes presented at seminars and reported widely inthe press.Copies of slides used in seminars and with parents showed clear educational argumentsfor the initiatives, including references to research findings.It was stated that there was a belief among staff that gender is not the key factor: thatthere is a cluster of factors affecting attainment of which gender is only one, albeit avisible and important one. More recently the school has been concerned with theintersection of gender and other factors such as ethnicity and ability.______________________________________________________________________________________Review of Strategies to 38 University of StrathclydeAddress Gender Inequalitiesand University of Glasgow