Professional Support

Schools have access to support in the area of gender equity at district level through Student Services and Equity Coordinators and at state level through Gender Equity Unit personnel. Such support includes information about resources and teaching and learning programs, access to current research in gender equity and assistance with professional development activities.

Research shows that some groups of girls within our schools need support to take up the challenge of participation in sport by improving their skills, developing a positive attitude towards physical activity and by having the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of such activities.

Schools need to develop and implement policies that encourage and support all students to participate in such activities throughout their school life and to develop positive attitudes that will continue into adulthood.

An analysis of student participation at all levels of education reveals that women are significantly underrepresented in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT).

While the integrated use of ICT in learning and teaching is essential for all students, many girls are falling behind their male peers in this area. Strategies involving staff, parents and students need to address this problem.

While the integrated use of ICT in learning and teaching is essential for all students, many girls are falling behind their male peers, especially in the acquisition of advanced skills.

While the integrated use of ICT in learning and teaching is essential for all students, many girls are falling behind their male peers, especially in the acquisition of advanced skills.

Basic Skills Test results show that although in general girls are outperforming boys in both Year 3 and Year 5, this gap has been narrowing over time. The small gap in the literacy performance of boys and girls needs to be understood against a background which takes into consideration the way in which various factors intersect with gender to affect literacy results. Not all girls are outperforming all boys.

ELLA Test results show that girls in general are performing better in literacy compared to boys. However, careful scrutiny of assessment data reveals that not all girls are doing well at literacy and not all boys are performing poorly. Factors such as socio-economic status, culture, geographic location and language background interact with gender to impact on students' development of literacy skills.