SAN ANTONIO – The thought of the high school transition is enough to reduce boys' academic effort and performance–whereas for girls, it has no impact on those measures, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research.
“Boys' self-concepts are more focused on autonomy and social power, whereas girls' self-concepts are more focused on intimate personal relationships. We thought that thinking about going to high school would lead boys to think about how people wouldn't know them, and how teachers would be more strict, and that would lead them to disengage academically,” said lead investigator Daniel Brickman of the psychology department at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
His study included 59 eighth-grade students (32 female). Subjects were randomized to one of three groups. Those in the first group were primed for high school with a message of continuity: “In many ways starting high school is not really that much of a big change. … List three ways in which next year will be similar to this year.” In the second group, subjects were primed with a message of change: “In many ways starting high school is a big change. … List three ways in which next year will be different from this year.” The third group received no priming.
All three groups were then asked to complete written exercises that measured current academic effort, future effort, and willingness to engage.
The study found that priming boys for the transition to high school undermined their academic effort and performance–regardless of whether the prime emphasized constancy or change. In contrast, priming girls did not affect their effort and performance.
Prior research indicates that secondary schools present increased competition for positions of social power and fewer opportunities to express autonomy, compared with primary schools. “This squelching of power and autonomy might be especially detrimental for boys,” Mr. Brickman said in an interview.
“It seems like it's not so helpful to focus on the transition to high school without focusing on something else as well,” he added. In his next study, he hopes to prime boys with the idea that high school will promote autonomy and social power to see whether this message prevents their academic decline.