Do Girls Really Outperform Boys in Educational Outcomes?

The reversing gender gap observed in many countries led to a heated debate to explain the persistent gap in academia and other top fields despite the reversal. This paper aims at analyzing the gender gap in education outcomes from different evaluation and exam techniques and gender gap in outcomes of college applications using Turkish administrative data. In Turkey, university applications are centralized based on a standardized test. Assignments of applicants depend on an assignment score which is calculated as a weighted sum of standardized test score and high school GPA with a little contribution from the latter. I find considerable gender gap in favor of females in high school GPAs which is a long term evaluation of students based on every written exam during high school while the female outperformance is not as obvious in standardized test scores which comes from a stressful 3 hours multiple choice test. I also analyze the gender gap in college application outcomes and show that females are less likely to be assigned to a top major conditional on test scores. These findings contribute to the discussion of gender gap in performance in education suggesting that evaluation systems might have gender biased impacts on students and underrepresentation of females in top fields and/or universities can not be explained only by mean differences in test scores and test score distributions

Gender Differences in College Applications: Evidence from the Centralized System in Turkey

In Turkey, as in many other countries, female students perform better in high school and have higher test scores than males. Nevertheless, men still predominate at highly selective programs that lead to high-paying careers. The gender gap at elite schools is particularly puzzling because college admissions are based entirely on nationwide exam scores. Using detailed administrative data from the centralized college entrance system, I study the impact of gender differences in preferences for programs and schools on the allocation of students to colleges. Controlling for test score and high school attended, I find that females are more likely to apply to lower-ranking schools, whereas males set a higher bar, revealing a higher option value for re-taking the test and applying again next year. I also find that females and males value program attributes differently, with females placing more weight on the distance from home to college, and males placing more weight on program attributes that are likely to lead to better job placements. Together, these differences in willingness to be unassigned and in relative preferences for school attributes can explain much of the gender gap at the most elite programs

What was retained? The assessment of the training for the peer trainers' course on short and long term basis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Turkey, the studies have reported that the age at which sexual intercourse and sexual activity starts has been steadily declining. There is an urgent need to increase social and health services for young people in order to provide them with a healthy life by changing their risky behaviors, avoiding unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Sexual and reproductive health training particularly for adolescents warrants special attention and consideration.</p> <p>The objective of our study is to find out the short and long term effectiveness of a training course on peer education.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was conducted on 237 students who participated in a 40 hour Peer Trainer Training course. We utilized two types of evaluation methods to measure the effectiveness of the training on students' knowledge and attitude. The first method consisted of administering 3 tests comprised of the same 45 questions at 3 separate time intervals. Prior to the training a pre-test was given to obtain a measurement of base knowledge, and then an immediate post-test was given to evaluate the change in the knowledge and opinion of the participants.</p> <p>Finally, 6 months later the same test was administered to measure the retention of knowledge by the students. In the second type of evaluation, the participants' assessment of the training itself was sought by asking them to complete a Short Course Evaluation Form. We utilized SPSS 12.0 for descriptive analysis, and the Wilcoxon two related sample t-test were run.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>According to the pre and immediate post-test results, the training resulted in an increase in knowledge learned by an average of 21.6% (p < 0.05). Whereas, according to the immediate post test and the late post-test which was given six month later, there was a 1.8% decrease in the knowledge and attitude of the participants (p > 0.05). Participants thought that they had fun during training, and they became aware of what they knew and what they did not know.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Peer trainers with the training methods utilized, the knowledge and counseling acquired during training sessions will be able to provide counseling to their peers on reproductive health.</p

On gender differences in higher education in Turkey

In Turkey, as in many other countries, gender gap in participation in education has remained persistent even though female students have been outperforming male students in terms of many measures of educational outcomes. The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview of the trends in gender gap in educational attainment in particular in higher education in Turkey and to elaborate their potential causes and consequences. The analysis of gender differences in educational outcomes, enrollment decisions and preferences for higher education programs, the centralized standardized test based university entrance system is used as a tool to design the empirical approach. First, I show that in Turkey, as in many other countries, female students perform better in high school and have higher test scores than males and are more likely to enroll in higher education programs controlling for test scores. Nevertheless, men still predominate at highly selective programs that lead to high-paying careers. The gender gap at elite schools is particularly puzzling because college admissions are based entirely on nationwide exam scores. Secondly, using detailed unique administrative data from the centralized college entrance system, I also study the impact of gender differences in preferences for programs and schools on the allocation of students to colleges. Controlling for test score and high school attended, I find that females are more likely to apply to lower-ranking schools, whereas males set a higher bar, revealing a higher option value for re-taking the test and applying again next year. Finally, I also document the gender differences in preferences for university program attributes. I find that females and males value program attributes differently, with females placing more weight on the distance from home to college, and males placing more weight on program attributes that are likely to lead to better job placements. Together, these differences in willingness to be unassigned and in relative preferences for school attributes can explain much of the gender gap at the most elite programs which has important implications for the persistency of gender wage gap and occupational differences in Turkish labor market in spite of the improvements in gender gap in educational achievements

Young people benefit from comprehensive education on reproductive health

Objectives To determine whether students' knowledge of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and their usage rate of special reproductive health units can be improved by means of a thorough continuing education programme including peer education (PE) and reproductive health counselling. Methods A 'before and after intervention' study was conducted. A questionnaire was applied to first year university students both at the beginning and at the end of the academic year 2005-2006. Out of 5236 students, 1716 and 1311 were evaluated in the first and second surveys, respectively. Numerous educational approaches and methods were utilized in the course of the study. The chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for statistical analyses. Results The knowledge scores of reproductive function, sexually transmitted infections and contraception increased by 17.4%, 10.0% and 11.9%, respectively. The total knowledge score increased by 10.2%. The usage of primary care units increased by 18.1%. Conclusions SRH issues are difficult to talk about and to discuss openly. A comprehensive approach seems to have some efficacy to overcome this problem and provide information on SRH. Young people benefit from educational programmes implemented in their own social environment particularly via the PE method