International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
academic research examaining male achievement (Burke, 2007). In addition, the Times article cited U.S. Census
sources indicating that men, whatever their socioeconomic ststus, are less likely than women to get bachelor’s
degrees.Forbes magazine looks at male-female enrollment differences at private and public institutions (Forbes
2012). Public institutions faired best in their gender ratios with male–female ratio at 43.6:56.4 whereas at notfor-profit
institutions the ratio was 42.5:57.5. Private school data show a male–female ratio of 40.7:59.3. In
contrast to these enrollment numbers is that the male–female ratio among people 18–24 yars old, the ratio
slightly favors men at 51:49 (Forbes, 2012). An additional dynamic is that there are slight differences in the sex
ratio across states: Utah has a 50:50 split whereas Alaska hnas a male–female ratio of 55:45. Finally, there is a
regional dynamic. Three of the five states with the largest male–female disparities are in the southwestern
United States.
The prognosis is not positive. The Chronicle of Higher Education notes that men’s share of college
enrollments is expected to continue to decline (Chronicle, 2010). The article reports that the U.S. Department of
Education forecasts that by 2019, women will make up 59% of total undergraduate and 61% of postbaccalaureate
enrollment. These numbers are mirrored in the private sector, which has also experienced a 44%
increase in enrollments from 2000 to 2008 (Chronicle, 2010). The U.S. Census Bureau recently issued a report
stating that 57% of undergraduate students are female and that female graduate school enrollment is 60%
(NCES-11). These trends have been tracked for over a decade. The popular press reported that these numbers
appeared to be stable at the time (USA Today, 2012, p. 15). Enrollment trends show a pattern: it is not the
decline of male college enrollments that is the issue, rather that male college enrollment has been stagnant while
female college enrollments have steadily increased
Academic researchers have been investigating and writing about this phenomena since the mid-1990s. The
literature can be broken down into several general categories. The bulk of articles investigate the critical
variables that have an impact on college enrollment rates. Some of these variables include family background,
socioeconomic status of household, rates of parents’ college attendance, and race of students. Other research
looks at outside factors such as parents background and the role of teachers. A third line of research looks at
specific aspects of students, such as GPAs and credits earned towards graduation. Finally, research has looked at
male “culture” and its role in this debate and the trend of fewer male college students. Research on this topic has
looked at many facets of the issue, such as a growing female advantage in college completion (Buchmann &
Diprete, 2006). Tied into this advantage are factors such as family background (Buchmann & Diprete, 2006).
Research shows these gaps in college completion growing greater (Diprete & Buchmann, 2006; Charles &
Luoch 2003). Some research reviews GPA and credits earned toward degree (Burke, 2007).
The role of parents in educational aspirations is well-documented (Dryler, 1998). Researchers know that
parents play a fundamental role in their children’s lives. Those early influences affect many of the decisions that
children make in later life. Fundamental to those later choices is their desire for education in general and college
in particular.
Central to much research is the role of class and race (Bennett & Gist, 1964). In addition are precursors in the
gender gap in education which has been tied into to the aspirations of children and expectations on them for the
future (Blackhart & Augar, 2008). These concerns also beg the question about the pipeline and future trends for
male enrollments. That is, how many students are currently in the K–12 system and what are the potential
populations that would qualify to attend institutions of higher education?
Research also has investigated the role of teachers, male performance, and college enrollment (Dee, 2007).
Teachers, like parents, spend considerable time with children as they move through the educational system.
Thus, teachers have high levels of contact and by default influence children in their formative years. How
teachers view their students is extremely important, as seen in the “Pygmalion effect” (Rosenthal & Jacobson,
1966). Scholars have investigated how the gender of the teacher potentially affects students. This research
confirmed that same-gender teachers significantly improved the performance of both girls and boys (Dee, 2007,
p. 528). In addition, this research found that same-sex teacher assignments also improved the perceptions of
student performance by the teachers (p. 528).
There are many articles dealing with male culture (Weaver-Hightower, 2003, 2010). These articles focus on
the typical characteristics of men and their learning styles. This is an important aspect of the issue attempting to
disentangle pieces of the issue. One needs baseline data on how men learn in order to create an effective learning
environment for men. This brings up a political aspect about men and their potential need for help. Will that help
detract from many of the advances that have benefitted female students (Hightower-boy turn)? Terms such as a
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