Hadow (1923)

Notes on the text
Preliminary pages Membership, Analysis, Preface, Introduction
Chapter 1 History of the curriculum in secondary schools
Chapter 2 The curriculum at present in use
Chapter 3 Differences between boys and girls
Chapter 4 General review of the evidence and conclusions
Appendix I List of witnesses
Appendix II List of publications
Appendix III Coeducational day schools
Appendix IV Music and art exams
Appendix V Dr JG Adami: memorandum
Appendix VI School timetables

London: HM Stationery Office

Chapter 3 Differences between boys and girls
[pages 80 - 117]

Part 1 General physical and mental differences between boys and girls and possible causes of such differences

A. General anatomical and physiological differences

58. There is a mass of traditional and conventional doctrine regarding physical and psychological differences between boys and girls, and a corresponding lack of precise observation and comprehensive study. An examination into the nature and extent of these differences, more particularly as they affect the brain and the nervous system, is all the more necessary if we are to return any adequate answer to the present Reference. We shall, therefore, begin by summarising such exact knowledge as is available regarding the anatomical, physiological, and psychological differences between the two sexes.

Anatomical Differences (1)

59. In the earliest years the male child is generally larger and heavier than the female. He has a larger and heavier skeleton; he has a larger and more developed muscular system; and his heart, lungs, liver, and other organs are also larger.

There appear to be three points in which a physical difference may be noted between boys and girls from the age of 10 to that of 18:

(1) Rate of growth;
(2) Date of adolescence;
(3) Anatomical age.

(4) The composition of the blood.

Differences between the sexes in stature and weight are more noticeable than those in chest dimensions or cranium volume. The greater growth in the stature of girls precedes the onset of adolescence; and it seems probable that the physiological changes which occur when the condition of pubescence is completely established lead to changes in the metabolism of the body, particularly in regard to the fixation of salts. Recent researches seem to indicate that changes in the form of the head are very slight or altogether absent in girls of 16 years of age and upwards, whereas they continue to be noticeable in boys till maturity.

(2) Adolescence in girls is as a rule earlier by one or two years than in boys. Recent researches in regard to the physical phenomena of pubescence seem to show that the physiological age of many children is not in direct relation to their chronological age, and that stature and weight vary more closely with the physiological than with the chronological age. Girls and boys who pass rapidly through the stages of pubescence and develop quickly are subjected to the greatest strain in the accommodation of their circulation to the new conditions, and require more careful supervision in mental and physical work. Such supervision is even more necessary for girls than it is for boys. In general, in comparing boys with girls, it may be noted that the girl may already be almost adult, while the boy is still adolescent, and that the initial periods of strain fall at different periods. The various curves of growth obtainable from mass statistics seem to indicate that attention should be paid to physiological rather than to chronological age, and that during periods of rapid growth, whether seasonal or due to the onset of pubescence, the strain of effort should be lightened as much as possible.

(3) Anatomical age, as shown by teeth, nails, hair, and other factors, indicates that girls are developed in advance of boys to the extent of about 6 months at 5 years of age, and of about one year at the age of 15.

(4) The difference in the composition of the blood does not become apparent till after puberty, or, in other words, only in the later years of secondary school life. Up to the age of puberty little difference has hitherto been detected in the composition of the blood of growing boys and girls, whether in the number of red and white corpuscles, or the amount of haemoglobin, or the specific gravity. Careful researches have shown that the blood of adult men contains less water and more red corpuscles, and is consequently of a higher specific gravity, than that of adult women. As regards the amount of haemoglobin, Leichtenstern found that the average amount in women, from the age of 11 to that of 50, was 8 per cent less than it was in men during the same period. McKendrick found an average of 14.5 per cent of haemoglobin present in men's blood, as compared with 13.3 per cent in the blood of women. As regards the specific gravity of the blood, Lloyd Jones, as the result of a very extended study, found that there was a distinct decline in this respect in women after puberty; that the specific gravity in women was lower at 17 years of age than it was at 14; and that between the ages of 17 and 45 it was lower than at the age of 14, and about three degrees lower than in men. (3)

The materially lessened amount of haemoglobin in the woman's blood after puberty is significant: haemoglobin is the agent of internal respiration, the oxygen carrier of the system; and oxygen is the great liberator of energy. It is therefore evident that the male is the better prepared for a more abundant liberation of energy with less exhaustion or fatigue.

At birth, except for the organs of generation, there may be little to distinguish the male child from the female, but progressively during childhood and most of all during adolescence the secondary sex differences become more and more manifest - alike in extent and distribution of hair, in conformation of the pelvis and other skeletal parts, in the breasts, larynx and vocal chords, and in other respects.

But, while this is the case, minute microscopic study of the various organs in the two sexes shows that the differences, except in the essential organs of sex, are quantitative and not qualitative. There appears to be no difference in the anatomy of the brain and the special sensory organs. The average brain of the males of any branch of the human race is larger than the average brain of the females of that branch. This greater average size of the brain, while closely associated with the larger size of the body, might be supposed to indicate that the male in general is more generously supplied with cortical nerve cells and coordinating fibrils, or, in other words, with the apparatus of intellect. There seems, however, to be no positive demonstration either that this is the case, or that (on the contrary) there is a greater amount of 'padding' in the grey matter of the male brain. Even if it be admitted that there are more abundant nerve cells in the larger male brain, this would not justify any definite conclusions, since much of the activity of the brain is associated with non-intellectual processes such as the coordination and control of muscular movement. It is, therefore, at present impossible to infer from anatomical considerations that the average male is potentially more intellectual than the average female.

Physiological differences

60. If the essential organs of sex either fail to develop or are removed in early life, the individual tends to assume an intermediate or neutral state; the secondary sexual characters peculiar to the sex fail to develop, or revert towards those of the other sex. Obviously the development of these secondary sexual characters is bound up with the presence and function of the sex organs. The organs of generation exert a profound influence upon the body in general. The investigations of the last thirty years have led physiologists to the conviction that this influence is not exerted primarily through the nervous system, but through the agency of an internal secretion which differs in its properties in the two sexes. Throughout life the sex organs in men and women elaborate and discharge into the surrounding lymph, and so eventually into the blood stream, a substance or substances which, carried to the various parts of the body, modify the growth and activities of the other tissues and organs, and exert a selective influence upon those tissues and organs which are concerned in the production of the secondary sexual characters.

The organs of sex are, however, not the only 'endocrine' glands, providing an internal secretion, that affect the bodily metabolism. There is another group of glands - embracing the thyroid, the thymus, the pituitary, the pineal and the adrenal glands - all of which are materially affected by the state of the sexual glands proper, and themselves through their secretions exercise a very material influence on the activities of the sexual glands and, either directly or indirectly, on the secondary sexual characters. Physiologists are engaged in disentangling the relationships and mutual activities of the various glands of this group. But it may be safely asserted that disorders of the sex organs in women are frequently associated with disturbances of the thyroid gland, and it has been definitely established that there is an intimate relationship between the ovarian and thyroid glands in the feminine sex. Thyroid disorders of the same type are comparatively rare in the male, in whom there appears to be a closer association between the organs of sex and the adrenal glands.

Recent researches conducted by Dr Blair Bell seem to indicate that there is another important difference between the male and the female, which shows itself with the onset of puberty - that in the female the process of calcium metabolism becomes unstable, whereas in the male it remains relatively constant. Dr Blair Bell's view, which has not yet been generally accepted by physiologists, gains some support from the observed fact that the condition of osteomalacia or extreme softening of the bones (as a general, distinct from a local, condition), is almost entirely confined to the female sex. To defective calcium metabolism may also be ascribed that lesser grade of softening of the bones, leading to spinal curvature and postural defects, which is so common in girls and so relatively rare among boys. To a deficiency in calcium may also be ascribed, at least in part, the greater nervous excitability of the feminine sex.

Physio-psychological considerations

61. The problem of the psychological difference between the sexes may now be approached in the light of these anatomical and physiological data. It has already been pointed out that anatomically, save in the matter of the average size of the brain (and spinal cord), no difference between the sexes has thus far been determined. Is there any evidence that the nervous system is affected in its function, directly or indirectly, by the endocrine activities of the essential organs of sex, and that in this way a different trend may be given to the cerebral functions in the two sexes?

The fact that with atrophy or removal of the ovaries, before or during the period of sexual activity, there is developed not merely a coarser and more masculine skin and a more masculine voice, but also a masculine loss of reserve and some approximation towards a masculine bluntness of speech, is clear evidence that the organs of sex have an influence upon the mental state in women. A corresponding change is observable in the eunuch, who exhibits a lack of those mental qualities which we denominate virile. But whether the action of the genital hormones is direct upon the nervous system, or indirect, through the stimulation of other endocrine glands to increased excretion, is not as yet fully determined. It is known that the secretion of the adrenal glands has a striking effect upon the sympathetic nervous system, and that hyperthyroidism is accompanied by a train of changes in the nervous state of the individual, characterised by tremors, tearfulness, and enhanced tendency to emotion. But it has still to be determined whether the long-continued influence of the testicular hormones acting upon the nervous system, sets up in the brain a different response to that exerted by the ovarian hormones, or whether the evidence points rather to a summation of various responses on the part of the endocrine glands and the effects of their hormones upon the central nervous system - a summation different in the male from what it is in the female.

The considerations here given indicate why it is that we are inclined to agree with some of our medical and psychological witnesses that the products of the ductless glands discharged into the blood differ in their proportions in the male and female, and that here perhaps is to be found the clue to the inconsistencies between short laboratory experiments and the general belief that women have, in certain directions, a different kind of mental ability or emotional temperament from that exhibited by men.

It appears to be generally recognised that girls in general are not so strong physically as boys and are more highly strung and liable to nervous strain. (4) Moreover, medical statistics seem to indicate that there is a higher percentage among girl pupils of cases of anaemia, spinal curvature, defective eyesight, and minor physical defects. It should be added that these defects are sometimes caused and often accentuated by sedentary occupations such as needlework.

B. General psychological differences between the sexes

62. Two opposing views appear to be entertained by psychologists and other writers who have expressed opinions on the psychology of sex in its bearing on education. Most writers on education, accepting the views of earlier biologists and working chiefly from a priori assumptions, emphasise the importance of sex differences. Professor Welton, (5) for example, believes that the higher the levels reached, whether by individuals or societies, the more strongly marked becomes the essential differences between the sexes, and he goes on to say that 'the psychological differences between man and woman are so intimate, so deep and so allpervading, that ... if mixed schools are to be justified it must be on grounds other than psychological.' In the same way Professor Schuyten, (6) Director of the Educational Laboratory at Antwerp, urges that the teacher who desires to educate individuals rather than treat his pupils as homogeneous masses will find 'the first and safest classification that which is based upon sex.' On the other hand, writers on education who are primarily psychologists seem disposed to agree with Professor Thorndike that sex is the cause of only a small fraction of the differences between individuals; the divergencies of man from man and of woman from woman being far greater than those between man and woman. In general, there seems to be agreement among psychologists that the physical characteristics of the feminine sex have a certain indirect effect upon the minds of women and girls. The instincts and interests of women are to some extent associated with their rather greater physical weakness. Many of them still lead relatively sedentary, sheltered lives, and frequently take up inactive occupations and indoor pursuits. They are more susceptible to physical fatigue, both as a result of bodily exertion and as an indirect concomitant of mental effort. They are able to endure prolonged discomfort, but are less able to make short, sharp efforts, or to withstand the sudden strain of brief, intense, and unexpected crises. It is significant from the psychological standpoint that up to the present, despite ample opportunities, no first class genius on the creative side in music, painting or sculpture has appeared among women, though they have shown executive ability of the first rank in music, acting, and dancing. Again, in science very few women have attained to the first rank, and in literature women have excelled in certain departments only. (7)

The periodic disturbances to which girls and women are constitutionally subject condemn many of them to a recurring, if temporary, diminution of general mental efficiency. Moreover, it is during the most important years of school life that these disturbances are most intense and pervasive, and whenever one of them coincides with some emergency, for example, an examination, girls are heavily handicapped as compared with boys. It is probably in consequence of these physical and physiological disabilities, and, particularly of an especial liability to fatigue (together, it may be, with a greater tendency to emotion and capacity for self-denial), that girls are far more liable to neurotic disturbances and mental breakdown from overwork. Some of these characteristics, which traditional views are inclined to exaggerate, are of course also shared by a certain number of the male sex. Another consideration on which too great emphasis cannot be laid is the very great individual differences which distinguish one girl from another in these respects.

There is some evidence which seems to indicate that children in their earlier years generally show the greatest attachment to the parent of the opposite sex. The boy, until he goes to school, often shows a preponderating affection for his mother; and he may be antagonistic to his father. In some boys these latent or subconscious tendencies may develop in later years into a secretly hostile attitude towards any authority exerted by men. Girls on the other hand seldom appear to come into violent conflict with their fathers, and so may in later life become inclined to be more submissive in their attitude towards male teachers. This early emotional attitude may appreciably affect the behaviour of the two sexes in later life towards masters and mistresses respectively. Another consideration which should be mentioned as probably throwing some light on the greater submissiveness and respect for authority generally displayed by girls is the less tendency of the female sex towards crime, as disclosed by statistics. Delinquencies of various kinds are, according to official criminal statistics, far more common among men than among women. This greater tendency of men to break away from and infringe established laws and conventions may to some extent help to explain the fact that schoolboys are often more troublesome and more difficult to control than girls. It also points to deep-seated sex differences in instinctive and emotional tendencies.

63. Continuous systematic investigations regarding sex differences in cognitive, conative and affective processes have not, as yet, been undertaken, and we therefore consider it important to summarise the general results obtained by such inquiries as have been conducted in this country and the United States up to the present time. It must, however, be pointed out that inferences based on a comparison of selected groups of boys and girls or of men and women (for example, those attending secondary schools and universities, and therefore largely sorted out by social opportunities or scholastic examinations) should be received with considerable caution and reserve.

One of the first systematic enquiries was that conducted by Miss Helen Thompson of the University of Chicago in 1903. Her range was limited, as the enquiry was confined to about 50 students of Chicago University ranging in age from 19 to 29. Her data appear to suggest that while there are considerable differences revealed in the reactions to tests of simple sensory or motor processes (some in favour of men and some of women), these seemed to disappear as the higher mental levels are approached. In acquired knowledge the differences were still less marked. Miss Thompson summed up her general conclusion as follows: 'The point to be emphasised as the outcome of this study is that, according to our present light, the psychological differences of sex seem to be largely due, not to difference of average capacity, nor to difference in type of mental activity, but to differences in the social influences brought to bear on the developing individual from early infancy to adult years. The question of the future development of the intellectual life of women is one of social necessities and ideals, rather than of the inborn psychological characteristics of sex.' (8)

64. The only investigation of the kind which seems to have been undertaken in this country was the enquiry regarding mental differences between the sexes conducted in 1911 by Mr Cyril Burt and Mr RC Moore. (9) Their evidence was mainly derived from experiments upon:

(a) children in mixed and separate departments of four elementary schools in Liverpool;
(b) children from mixed and separate departments in a number of elementary schools in London;
(c) a small group of men and women students at Liverpool and Cambridge universities.

These experiments and observations upon children and adults were concerned with intellectual and emotional processes, and ranged as far as possible from the lowest mental levels to the highest. The differences revealed by tests of cognitive or intellectual processes were throughout smaller than those disclosed by measurements of physique. The divergences were largest on the lowest levels, which involved only simple sensory or motor processes. In tapping tests, in reaction time tests and apparently also in tests of motor precision, and certainly in tests of endurance of motor fatigue, males were superior. In most sensory tests, especially in tests of touch, taste and colour, females were superior. In visual discrimination of brightness and form as distinct from colour, males seemed to have the advantage. In other forms of vision and in hearing it was difficult to detect with certainty any sex differences at all. Among the intellectual processes belonging to the higher mental levels there was a difference in memory. In sheer retentiveness, especially in its lower and more mechanical forms, girls seemed to surpass boys, and women to surpass men. This difference might possibly underlie the traditional view that women were the more imitative and men the more creative. In tests of ingenuity men seemed to be as clearly superior as were women in tests of assimilative power. Mr Burt's experience with his research students corroborated the common view that constructive force and initiative came chiefly from the men, while the women students almost without exception worked conscientiously and industriously along lines laid down for them. On the higher intellectual levels, and in tests of general intelligence and ability to reason, the differences were extremely small between boy and girl pupils, and seemed to vary from period to period and even from year to year. Among adults the evidence was conflicting; and Mr Burt was reluctant to draw definite conclusions from experiments conducted on a relatively narrow basis.

Mr Burt pointed out that emotional differences between the sexes were extremely difficult to test, and that the results obtained by different methods and different investigators appeared at first sight to be discrepant. He and Mr Moore had found that women were more emotional, whereas Miss Helen Thompson had ascertained that American men showed more emotional disturbances than American women. He suggested that the apparently conflicting results attained by different investigators on this subject might be reconciled by the following statement: that subjectively the emotions of men might be profounder and more prolonged, but in their outward expression the emotions of women might be more sudden and intense. It would, however, always be difficult to decide how far these differences were primary, and how far they were merely secondary to differences in physique and environment. So far as they were inborn, sex peculiarities in men might perhaps be traced chiefly to differences in the relative strength of the common hereditary instincts. The aggressive instinct, for example (pugnacity with its correlated emotion of anger), the instinct of acquisitiveness, and possibly the instincts of self-assertion and constructiveness, seemed stronger in males; while the milder instincts - secretiveness with its correlated emotion of fear, the maternal or protective instinct with its correlated emotion of tenderness, and perhaps also the instincts of self-subjection and gregariousness - appeared to be more intensely developed in females. Mr Burt pointed out, however, that these differences were only slight and relative, and that the same instincts were present in each sex. The profound differences in interest and outlook which obtained between the sexes in most civilised communities were probably due, not so much to inborn differences in intellectual capacities, as to the inevitable bias imparted to the small initial differences in instinct and emotion by the larger differences in physique and social environment and tradition. The nature of the emotions predominant in either sex, and the kind of objects arousing emotions, appeared to differ even at a very early age, and these differences seemed to increase with increase of age. In general, the differences in emotional capacities were found to be larger than divergences in higher intellectual capacities, but they were not so large as the sex differences in certain physical qualities and in certain processes of sensation and movement. (10)

In a memorandum which he sent to the Committee Mr Burt summed up his general conclusions as follows:

'Throughout it will be observed that evidence for large innate sex difference in mental constitution or educable capacities is very difficult to discover.

There are important physical differences (though these perhaps affect only a small proportion of the whole group to a significant degree); there are also important differences in temperament and emotion; there are, too, fairly broad differences due to training and tradition. But on the higher intellectual levels, at any rate before adolescence is completed, inherent sex differences seem undoubtedly small. The bearing of psychological conclusions upon sex differentiation in the curriculum is thus comparatively slight. Whether the training offered in secondary schools to girls should differ from that given to boys is a question which must be decided by other than psychological considerations - by our views, in fact, both as to the ideals to be aimed at in all education, and as to the parts which men and women should (or in practice will) play in a civilised community.'

65. Professor Thorndike, of Columbia University, after examining the available data bearing on the question of sex differences in ability, summarised his conclusions based on the results of objective tests as follows (11): 'The most important characteristic of these differences between the sexes is their small amount. The individual differences within one sex so enormously outweigh the differences between the sexes in these intellectual and semi-intellectual traits that for practical purposes the sex difference may be disregarded. As is well known, the experiments of the past generation in educating women have shown their equal competence in school work of elementary, secondary, and collegiate grade. The present generation's experience is showing the same fact for professional education and business service. The psychologists' measurements lead to the conclusion that this equality of achievement comes from an equality of natural gifts, not from an overstraining of the lesser talents of women.

In detail the measurements showed a slight inferiority of the male sex in receptivity, and a slight superiority in the control of movement and in thought about concrete mechanical situations.'

In regard to sex differences in traits not measured objectively Thorndike summed up his conclusions as follows: 'On the whole the differences reported in the case of the less easily measurable features of intellect, character, and behaviour are of the same order of magnitude as those found in objective tests. They do not require any amendment of the general rule that sex is the cause of only a small fraction of the differences between individuals. The differences of men from men and of women from women are nearly as great as the differences between men and women.' (12)

Professor Thorndike considers that two apparent sex differences in instinct are worthy of special attention. 'The most striking difference in instinctive equipment consists in the strength of the fighting instinct in the male and of the nursing instinct in the female. No one will doubt that men are more possessed by the instinct to fight, to be the winner in games and serious contests, than are women; nor that women are more possessed than men by the instinct to nurse, to care for and fuss over others, to relieve, comfort and console. ... The out-and-out physical fighting for the sake of combat is pre-eminently a male instinct and the resentment at mastery, the zeal to surpass and the general joy at activity in mental as well as physical matters seem to be closely correlated with it.' (13) He points out that what is often described as 'women's dependence' is 'probably only an awkward name for less resentment at mastery.' The actual nursing of the young seems likewise to involve instinctive tendencies to care for others. 'The existence of these two instincts has been long recognised by literature and common knowledge, but their importance in causing differences in the general activities of the sexes has not.' These inborn differences are accentuated by training, since boys play more with boys and are trained more by men, while girls as a rule are trained by women. 'A reversal of training by which girls would be surrounded by the social milieu now affecting boys would lessen the sex difference, as is often observable in isolated cases.' Nevertheless if the environment of boys and girls were absolutely similar, these instincts would produce 'sure and important differences between the mental and moral activities of boys and girls.' (14)

Differences in the interests of the two sexes

66> The results of systematic investigations on groups of men and women conducted by Jastrow, Burt and Moore, (15) seem to point to the fact that on the whole women are more interested in their immediate surroundings and in concrete objects whereas men have a greater tendency towards the abstract. Jastrow summed up the results of his investigation, which were on the whole confirmed by a later investigation by Moore and Burt, as follows:

'The feminine traits revealed in this study are attention to the immediate surroundings, to the finished product, to the ornamental, the individual or the concrete, while the masculine preference is for the more remote, the constructive, the useful, the general and the abstract.' (16)

Variability within the sexes

67. The available psychological evidence appears to indicate that variations between individuals of either sex are, for educational purposes, greater than those between the average of the two sexes. Mr Burt, for example, is of opinion that the teacher will only find sex differences in a few isolated functions, such as memory, literary and mathematical ability, conduct, interest, and 'general emotionality'. If the teacher considers the individual personalities of his pupils, he will find many differences in emotional and moral characteristics to which difference of sex may supply an obvious clue; nevertheless instances of this order are so obvious that the teacher must not forget that other causes are at work producing individual variations which may completely submerge the tendencies originated by differences of sex. Within one and the same sex the range of individual variation is, for most mental characteristics, so enormous as almost to obliterate the smaller group differences. Moreover, there is some evidence to show that in many, if not in most respects, the variability of the male sex is somewhat higher than that of the female. Professor Thorndike, for example, as the result of careful investigations, found that, except between the ages of 12 and 14 (the two years nearest the age of puberty for girls), boys were more variable than girls. (18) He thought that the greater variability of girls in these two years was probably a result of sex differences in mental growth. Women appear to cluster more closely about the average for their type than men. Attention has frequently been called to the fact that the male sex not only shows the higher percentage of geniuses of almost every type, but also includes the larger number of criminals and mental defectives. (19) This assumption of a greater variability within the male sex was to some extent corroborated by several witnesses, who pointed out that examination results and other evidence seemed to indicate that boys were inclined to break away more between the upper and lower extremes in most manifestations of ability, while girls kept closer to the norm. (20) Some good authorities, however, deny the originality even of these tendencies, and ascribe them entirely to external causes and to the fact that girls (from their earliest years) are shepherded along the middle path and are not allowed to diverge towards extreme courses. On the other hand, they may be due to the greater adventurousness of the boy, and to the difference of physiological functions in the sexes. It should be mentioned that many practical teachers adduced evidence corroborating the greater variability within the male sex.

C. General differences in the educable capacity of boys and girls observed by teachers and examiners

68 Having given an account of the main conclusions arrived at by our medical and psychological witnesses in regard to those differences between the sexes which appear to have some bearing on their educable capacity, we now proceed to describe certain general differences observed by teachers and examiners. This part of the evidence, though interesting and suggestive, should be received with considerable reserve, as it is obviously based on ordinary observations which were necessarily often not very exact and were limited in scope and range.

Moreover there was, on the whole, general agreement among our witnesses that variations in educable capacity between individual members of the same sex were probably greater than any differences between boys and girls as such.

(a) Many teachers who had had opportunities of teaching both boys and girls had observed that boys in general were more self-assertive, more original and more constructive than girls, who, though they were more persevering and more industrious than boys, were also more passive and imitative. The boy as a rule was inclined to seek self-expression in investigation and construction, and the girl in artistic and emotional channels. Boys seemed to be more experimental and to have the logical faculty more fully developed. After the age of 12 they generally showed a greater curiosity for exact facts and a keener sense of constructive inquiry. Craftsmanship and art work done by girls might be more patient and finished, but would, as a rule, be less original than work done by boys of the same age. (21) Girls in general seemed to be less able than boys to apprehend and apply general principles and to have less perception of intellectual truth and delight in it for its own sake. They were usually less hard-headed than boys, more interested in detail and more influenced by emotion.

The examiners of the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examinations Board corroborated these views. In general the girls' work was, in their view, more even and more neatly presented than that of the boys; but it showed less originality, and the best boys' work was higher than the best girls' work. The girls' answers were often more fluent, but tended to irrelevancy. The difference between the work of the two sexes became most noticeable at later ages.

(b) Most witnesses were of opinion that girls were more amenable to discipline, had greater respect for authority, and were more inclined to be dependent on their teachers and to accept statements without criticism or examination. Boys, on the other hand, as a rule adopted a more independent attitude towards their teachers, and were in general less tractable than girls. Girls were also, as a rule, more industrious and more conscientious than boys, and less able to protect themselves from overwork. If boys were given too much work, they did not do it; girls were very likely to break down in attempting to do it all. In general the girl's outlook on school life was very different from that of the boy. While the boy lived from day to day, the girl took a more conscientious view of her duties. An overloaded curriculum was thus very likely to cause a certain amount of distress to a girl, as it did not permit her to satisfy the demands of her conscience.

(c) Girls appear to be more emotional, more intuitive, and less analytic than boys. Several teachers in coeducational schools had observed that boys seemed to have an analytic and not an emotional bent; and this might account for their apparent superiority in pure and applied mathematics. One head master of a coeducational school thought that girls were, as a rule, less able to comprehend and apply a general principle; and other witnesses had observed that girls seemed to have less capacity for grasping essentials rapidly. A girl, when confronted with a given set of facts, would jump to a conclusion and reason back from it to test its accuracy, while a boy normally reasoned forward from the facts to the conclusion. (22) In other words, girls often seem disposed to rely on a certain power of rapid intuition which is more developed in them than in boys, and may to some extent compensate for their apparent inferiority in strict reasoning power. It was also pointed out that girls often seemed to think more in terms of persons than of subjects and were influenced in their attitude towards certain studies by their liking for or dislike of individual teachers.

(d) Several witnesses, especially those from coeducational schools, pointed out that the interests of boys and girls seemed to be divergent. (23) The variety of interest of the sexes, which appeared to be largely affected by tradition and environment, had important effects on work. Interest and capacity were so closely connected that the possession of greater interest in a subject might indicate the existence of greater capacity. Several witnesses thought that this divergence of interest explained the subtle and intangible variations both in the attitude of boys and girls to their school work and in the methods of men and women teachers, who had themselves different interests and thus, teaching from different points of view, insensibly influenced the whole outlook and mental attitude of their pupils. Several witnesses, as the result of careful observation of groups of boys and girls over an extended period, were disposed to think that girls had a predilection for literary studies and the arts rather than for natural science, and that, when they did take up natural science, they were drawn as a rule to biological studies.

(e) Many witnesses had observed that girls seemed to be more easily fatigued, both in body and mind, than boys. It is obvious that the greater staying power of boys probably gives them an advantage in studying difficult subjects, such as mathematics. Probably for the same reason the strain of examinations seems to be more acutely felt by girls. The evidence submitted to us in regard to the relative liability of boys and girls to fatigue was almost wholly based on the observations of individual teachers. It would seem that this greater liability of girls to mental and physical fatigue may largely account for many of the differences between the sexes in secondary school work, and it seems most important that systematic research should be undertaken on the whole question of the relative susceptibility of the two sexes to fatigue.

(f) Several teachers in coeducational schools had observed that boys seemed throughout to have more power of concentration than girls at the same stages, thus corroborating Mr Burt's conclusion that boys were superior in scope and maintenance of attention. This may be partly due to the greater liability of girls to fatigue.

(g) There was general agreement that distinct differences were observable in the rate of mental development of both boys and girls, and also that, from the age of about 11½ onwards, there was a difference in the 'tempo' of development. Most witnesses thought that it was advisable to make the curriculum sufficiently flexible to reflect this difference. These differences in rate of development are more fully described in the section on minor differences between the sexes at successive age periods.

(h) Several teachers thought that girls had often better powers of memory, which might, however, be partly due to the fact that girls were, as a rule, more hard working and more amenable than boys. It will be observed that in this respect the evidence from teachers seems to corroborate the conclusion arrived at by Mr Burt, that girls were superior to boys in all forms of memory tests. (24)

(i) The evidence from teachers and examiners all tended to corroborate the conclusion arrived at by the psychologists, that the variability of the male sex is greater than that of the female. Girls on the whole appear to cluster more closely about the average. It is common, for example, in examinations to find more boys than girls both above the 80 per cent and below the 20 per cent mark.

Minor differences in the educable capacity of boys and girls at successive age periods up to 18

69. In a questionnaire drawn up for the guidance of witnesses we asked their opinion regarding the strong and weak points in the educable capacity of boys and girls, or both:

(i) up to 12 years of age;
(ii) between the ages of 12 and 14;
(iii) between the ages of 14 and 16;
(iv) between the ages of 16 and 18.

(i) Differences up to 12 years of age

70. Most of the evidence seemed to indicate that at this period there was little difference in the educable capacity of the sexes. Mr Burt, for example, told us that in infants' schools sex differences in reasoning power were almost imperceptible, but that later, owing to a slight precocity in ability to read and use words, girls often seemed to be slightly in advance of boys about the age of 6 or 7. Towards the age of 10 boys tend to outstrip girls; with the onset of puberty girls again develop for a time far more rapidly than boys, although the boys overtake the girls later on. (25) The evidence of teachers in the junior departments in which boys and girls were taught together showed that up to the age of 12 boys exhibited rather more independence of thought and greater facility in oral expression than girls. Girls at this age were keen and responsive to good teaching, and frequently had greater facility of expression in writing; they were capable of rather more sustained effort and generally produced more painstaking work than boys. They excelled in patient and persevering attention to details, and in jumping by a rapid process to presumptive conclusions. Boys, on the other hand, tended to be more methodical in their processes of thought, and more critical of their own conclusions; they were less verbose and less diffuse. They seemed less inclined to commit logical fallacies and more alive to the exact content of phrases and forms of statement. Many witnesses had observed that girls had a keen desire for neatness and beauty in their work. Boys and girls were unable at this stage to concentrate for long periods on set tasks, though they might concentrate on some voluntary effort. Both sexes appeared to desire to express themselves through drawing and handicraft rather than through speech from the age of 10 to about 13. Boys, however, often seemed to be readier than girls to work with their hands and showed more interest in mechanical matters. Girls at the age of about 12 or 13 were as a rule distinctly in advance of boys in physical, mental and emotional development, in most cases to the extent of at least one year and in some even more. One witness, who had conducted a series of careful experiments bearing on ambidexterity on a large number of elementary school children under 13 years of age told us that he had found that girls were at least a year behind boys in power to discriminate left from right, and that those girls who did it best generally exhibited greater mathematical ability in their later school career. In general boys were described by most witnesses as being more unconventional and irresponsible than girls at this stage.

(ii) Differences between the ages of 12 and 14

71. Many witnesses described girls as being quicker than boys before or during the early part of this period. In the latter part, owing to physiological changes, the girls tended to fall off; and boys once more slowly reached, if they did not overtake, the level previously attained by girls. From the age of 13 to that of 15 docility in girls decreased, physical strength increased, and nervous control failed to keep pace with the increase of strength; special aptitudes either became permanent or disappeared. In both sexes there was an increase of self-consciousness and sensitiveness; and girls frequently suffered from mental lethargy and consequent slovenliness in their work. On the whole, however, girls, in virtue of their greater conscientiousness, took their school work seriously; whereas many boys were inclined to become irresponsible, idle, and defiant. Several witnesses described this period as one of restless activity, in which the memory of both sexes was good and the appeal through the senses was strong. Others had observed that the memory of girls was retentive, their diligence greater, and their mind more mature; but on the whole they were more passive and imitative, while boys often had a genuine desire to reason things out. Several witnesses had observed that boys seemed to enjoy a mental struggle more than girls, who were often content to work more mechanically and to absorb more readily the instruction given by the teacher. (26)

Most witnesses thought that boys and girls, but more especially girls, required very special care at this stage and throughout the whole period of adolescence. A few witnesses, however, were in favour of actually driving the boy during the period of adolescence.

(iii) Differences between the ages of 14 and 16

72. It was generally agreed that at this period the tendency previously mentioned to mental lethargy and slovenliness in work was still observable in girls. This was doubtless largely due to physical causes, but might also be owing to the lack of a definite aim in life. Boys as a rule realised that they would have to earn their living; but many girls were still uncertain about their future career. Girls were described as being inclined to rely too much on memory and imitation; they did not display so much aptitude as boys for subjects that allowed of abstract treatment. Most witnesses had observed that at this stage boys developed the power of reasoning in a notable degree, whereas girls developed more readily the capacity for criticism and appreciation. From the age of 14 to 17 the interests of boys were more absorbed in the life of action and adventure, while those of girls were usually concerned in the emotional and picturesque aspects of life. During the period of adolescence girls as a rule had a great accession of sensibility and could be easily aroused to appreciation of beauty in poetry, pictures, music, and noble actions. As their feelings were easily moved, they became more altruistic, and they could, in consequence, readily be swept away by group suggestion, or by hero worship, and persuaded to overwork themselves for the credit of their form, their side, or their school, or in order to win the approbation of anyone they admired, such as, for example, a favourite teacher. Most witnesses were strongly of opinion that pressure on girls should be avoided during this period, and some held that any competition of boys and girls should be shunned during the whole of adolescence, since it might involve undue demands on the girl's physical and nervous force, thus possibly entailing serious results in later life. There was general agreement that the average boy possessed at this age a large amount of physical and mental energy which enabled him as a rule to surpass girls of the same age. After the age of 15 the girl's development became slower, while the boy developed more rapidly both in body and mind. At the age of 16 the average girl was about one year behind the average boy.

(iv) Differences between the ages of 16 and 18

73. There was general agreement that at this period boys shot ahead of girls, but that their physical strength was more variable; some witnesses, however, had observed that girls matured more quickly, and that their nervous control was greatly increased, and fully kept pace with their growth of strength. At this stage there was often a tendency for girls to overwork and overstrain themselves, both in school work and at games, and consequently 'to lose perspective and to be unable to see the wood for the trees'. One witness thought the salient differences between the sexes at this stage were not so much those of capacity, intelligence, and reasoning power, as divergences of interests and bent. Many witnesses had observed that the adequate expression of the girl's powers of imagination was frequently hampered by self-consciousness during the period from the age of 16 onwards. Several head masters of coeducational schools considered that some difference of treatment was especially necessary for boys and girls over 15 years of age.

Differences in the achievements of boys and girls in those subjects of the curriculum which are studied by both sexes

74. We would point out that the evidence summarised below, regarding the relative capabilities and achievements of boys and girls in such subjects of the curriculum as are generally taught both in boys' and in girls' schools, is necessarily to a large extent based on comparisons which are neither exact, nor exhaustive, nor founded on a complete experience of both sexes; and the results cannot therefore be regarded as really scientific or final. The most satisfactory part of our evidence, from the point of view of a real comparison, was that submitted by the head masters of coeducational boarding schools and secondary day schools for boys and girls; but as schools of this type only represent a relatively small percentage of the total number of secondary schools, and as the pupils in the boarding schools are specially selected, we must accept the result of such comparisons with some reserve.

The evidence received from examining bodies is also of some importance for instituting such comparisons; but it should be pointed out that examination statistics, which show, for example, the number of boys and girls respectively who obtained distinction in certain examinations or in certain subjects, are probably of relatively little value as an indication of natural capacity, though they may throw some light on the effects of existing differences between the curricula in use. The most important considerations tending to invalidate such data as a basis for comparison are:

(a) The difference in the time allocated to a subject in schools for boys and girls respectively: for example, more time is as a rule devoted to English, history, and French in girls' schools, and less time to Latin, mathematics, and natural science.

(b) The difference in the skill of teachers of any given subject: for instance, there is probably a better tradition of English teaching in girls' schools, while there is, on the other hand, a relative lack of women teachers with high academic qualifications for teaching Latin, mathematics, and physics.

(c) The influence of existing differences in the curriculum: for example, the work done by boys in physics, a subject seldom offered by girls, must exert a considerable influence on their progress in mathematics by providing direct practical applications of mathematical processes and thus adding interest to the study of mathematics.

General differences in the achievements of boys and girls in the subjects of the existing curriculum

75. There was almost general agreement among witnesses that girls as a rule showed equal or superior originality and capacity in English literature, history, modern languages, and possibly the biological sciences, but were definitely inferior to boys in ancient languages, especially Latin, in mathematics, and in those branches of natural science which specially require a knowledge of mathematics. (27) An examination of the results recently attained in the Cambridge Local Examinations also led to the same conclusion. The marks gained by boys were higher in mathematics (including arithmetic), chemistry, physics, and Latin, and to a slight extent also in physical geography. On the other hand, girls showed a very noticeable superiority in English literature and a distinct superiority in English composition, English history, botany, geography, and French, including oral French. Girls also did better in model drawing and design. In general the evidence furnished by examining bodies gave the impression that the only subjects in which the girls' work was on the whole equal or superior to that done by boys were English subjects and modern languages. Girls showed, as a rule, a greater power of expression in the English language, but boys were more original.

We must, however, repeat that these differences in the achievements of the two sexes in certain subjects, so far as they have been observed by teachers and examiners, should be accepted with considerable reserve, and should not necessarily be interpreted as pointing to the existence of deep-seated innate divergences in the educable capacity of boys and girls respectively. In fact many of our witnesses thought that there was little real difference in the general educability of boys and girls except possibly in mathematics and the exact sciences.

Differences in achievement in specific subjects of the curriculum observed by teachers and examiners and the probable causes of such differences

76. The various differences in achievement in the subjects of the school curriculum as noted below have been brought to the Committee's notice by examining bodies, by school inspectors and by teachers. In each subject some of the differences are attributable, in a greater or less degree, to conditions attaching to sex: others to fluctuating conditions acting separately or together, such as the relative importance assigned to the subjects in the time table, or the teaching power available or actually applied.

These opinions have, of course, little scientific basis and, even when statistical, make no claim to comprehensiveness. It is all the more interesting, however, to note that, as far as they go, they are entirely consonant with the results obtained recently in England by an entirely different method employed on a larger scale, namely, by graduated tests framed by psychologists according to age standards and applied under uniform conditions in representative elementary schools to all children below the age of 14. (28) The conclusions thus arrived at may be stated as follows: boys tend to excel in arithmetic, especially where problem work is concerned, in drawing, and in most of the other manual subjects that are commonly taught to both sexes; girls tend to excel in linguistic subjects, that is to say, in reading, spelling and composition, and in speed and quality of handwriting.

For convenience, the salient facts and opinions expressed by our witnesses may be thus summarised:

Classics The lower standard of girls' attainment is largely due to tradition, under which less time is assigned to the subject in girls' schools and fewer teachers are specially qualified.

No modification based on differentiation is desirable.

Modern languages The higher general average of girls' attainment, especially in oral work, including readiness, fluency and correct articulation, is due partly to tradition, which requires women teachers to be specially qualified, and partly to the better trained ear and greater mimetic ability which girls possess.

No differentiation as to treatment seems desirable or possible.

English language and literature The general conclusion expressed by our witnesses and on the whole corroborated by the evidence furnished by examining bodies was that in this subject the average achievements of girls were distinctly superior to that of boys. This result is largely due to the more assured position given to the subject in girls' schools, and to the larger proportion of really well-qualified women teachers and the better teaching which is consequently given.

Girls attempt more general reading, have more retentive memories, and in general, and noticeably between 14 and 16, write with more facility than boys but tend to greater diffuseness. Here, as in other subjects, boys show up the best work and the worst: at the best, they think for themselves, show more force and directness and express opinions of their own; on the other hand, their work as a whole is inferior both in neatness and arrangement. Girls are more conscientious and better read, are neat and methodical, but are more ready to accept without question the teacher's point of view and, therefore, tend to reproduce rather than to reason.

Some difference in treatment of the subject seems desirable. The attention of boys between 14 and 16 should be more directed to composition than at present, and that of girls should specially be drawn to the intellectual content of the text studied without neglect of its aesthetic aspects.

History The balance of teachers' opinion inclined to the view that in history girls were superior to boys, but examining bodies reported little difference in achievement. Girls' work was in general more full of material but unenterprising, tending to follow textbooks and teachers' notes. Boys showed signs of originality and expressed their own views; their work had more ideas, freshness and variety.

Though boys and girls seem to approach history from a different angle, no differentiation in the treatment of the subject seems either practicable or desirable.

Geography The evidence given by teachers and corroborated by most of the examining bodies was that boys on the whole were better at geography than girls; though girls were more painstaking, boys were more original and better at applying their knowledge. Any difference, however, in their relative achievement probably results from the fact that in boys' schools more attention is paid to physical science and therefore to the corresponding aspect of geography. Here also girls are too dependent on their teachers and more ready than boys to accept facts and theories on authority.

As in history, no differentiation on account of sex appears practicable or desirable.

Mathematics A considerable weight of opinion among examining bodies affirmed the relative inferiority of girls to boys in work done in this subject. As corroborating this, it may be noted that of the 230 advanced courses in mathematics and science recognised by the Board of Education in 1921-22 only 41, or less than one quarter, were in girls' schools.

Boys appear to show more original and reasoning power; girls more aptitude for book work than for problems. One examining body expressed the opinion, which was supported by several witnesses, that the aptitude of girls for mathematics often seemed to be exhausted at an earlier stage than that of boys.

The present degree of girls' inferiority in this subject should not, however, be regarded as permanent, being due partly to unskilful teaching of an old-fashioned kind and partly to an impression among parents, which has influenced the timetable, that mathematics is unsuitable for girls. Again the teaching has often been handicapped by the defective knowledge of arithmetic with which girls enter the secondary school. This particular disadvantage is often traceable to preliminary conditions of teaching, under which either the subject has been badly taught, or (as in some elementary schools) girls have spent on needlework and arithmetic the time which boys have devoted to arithmetic alone. Further, the appeal of the subject is stronger to the boy: within the school physics and mechanics make an immediate call on his mathematical knowledge, and at the close of his career certain avocations [distractions], in which knowledge of mathematics is essential to success, afford him an opening restricted as yet to his sex. These differences - aptitude, teaching and interest - are cumulative. As far as girls are concerned; though they may be partly due to girls' greater susceptibility to mental fatigue, it is doubtful whether this amounts to a difference in educable capacity of the sexes. But some differentiation in this subject seems called for. It should take the form of allowing girls to drop the subject at an earlier stage; and perhaps, also, of teaching them the subject with greater reference to practical applications.

Science The standard of girls' attainment in the subjects comprised under this heading is lower than that of boys.

The main reasons for this are that physics, mechanics and even chemistry, are less seriously taken up in most girls' schools; the teaching is usually not so good; and there is at present a noticeable shortage of properly qualified women teachers of these subjects. A special reason is the comparative lack in girls of an attitude of scepticism and curiosity which gives the best approach to natural science. Girls have, however, an aptitude for the biological sciences, in which they are helped by their greater diligence and neatness; they excel in subjects which require descriptive powers and a capacity for comprehending elaborate classification. One witness regarded them as 'microscopic rather than telescopic in their scientific outlook'. Boys excel in experimental work, in initiative, in the capacity of judging phenomena, and in reasoning. (29)

As indicating the fluctuating character of the differences noted, the number of advanced courses in mathematics and science recognised by the Board for 1921-22 in the grant-earning schools which contain girls is significant. In girls' schools 450 schools provided 40 courses, or 9 per cent; but in some of these, as sanctioned by Circular 1112, biology replaced mathematics. In coeducational schools, 331 schools provided 42 courses, or about 12½ per cent; further, of the 603 pupils taking these courses 32 per cent were girls.

Music
77. It is difficult to institute a satisfactory comparison between the sexes in musical execution and appreciation, as on the whole much more attention is devoted to this subject in girls' schools. Many witnesses, speaking in general terms, were of opinion that girls were better at music, and showed more appreciation than boys, but others thought that on the whole the response of the two sexes was equal. The most instructive evidence on the subject was received from the head masters of coeducational schools. The head master of one large coeducational boarding school told us that there was no noticeable difference in the way in which boys and girls up to 12 years of age appreciated music, but that boys more frequently liked brilliance and power of expression, while girls might often appreciate sheer beauty. Their capacities for aural and original work did not differ noticeably, though a desire for independent creative work was more often shown by boys. Girls up to 12 generally made very rapid progress in instrumental music and showed more technical ability. From the age of 12 onwards boys with a good ear were generally keenly interested in music whether they learnt an instrument or not. Boys perhaps showed a stronger impulse to independent creative work. In instrumental music, girls over the age of 12 showed greater dexterity and a keener desire for well-finished work. The growth of the hand in boys between the ages of 14 and 16, and consequent difficulties of control and lack of delicacy of touch, were adverse to excellence in instrumental music. Boys showed less desire than girls to perform on an instrument themselves. During the period of break of the voice girls were capable of singing, though their voices were poorer in quality and should not be strained. Boys, on the other hand, should stop singing during this period. He had repeatedly noticed that appreciation and executive power in music did not always go together. Great capacity for appreciation could exist without any desire to play at all. Cases of exceptional musical talent were most frequently found among boys.

Several teachers in coeducational schools thought that girls were superior to boys. In combined class teaching of singing, girls appeared to show a keener interest and more marked taste, probably because their musical training in many cases was not limited to school work. The lessons in instrumental music which girls frequently had out of school hours undoubtedly developed their ear for rhythm and their musical knowledge, and in the same way a sense of rhythm and time was unconsciously acquired with dancing. Nevertheless, for natural musical ability boys, as a rule, were in no way behind girls, and, if they could be inspired with the right spirit of interest, they thoroughly enjoyed their songs and ear training. It was repeatedly pointed out to us that the breaking of the boys' voices made a great difference, and that many boys who, in the lower and middle forms, had been interested in the subject seemed to find it lacking in interest for a time after the breaking of their voices. Much, however, depended on the musical atmosphere of the home and the school. On the whole there was a much stronger tradition for aesthetic studies in girls' schools, and it was probably due to this that girls seemed generally more interested in musical appreciation. In boys' schools, music was frequently pushed aside to make room for lessons in those subjects which counted in examinations.

Several witnesses had noticed that girls in general seemed to have more appreciation of rhythm than boys, and they pointed out that this characteristic was also observed in their ready response to rhythm in dancing and eurhythmics. The chief reasons for the differences in the response of the sexes to instruction in music may be stated as follows:

(a) It must be remembered that many pupils in girls' schools learn to play the piano or violin and thus have a great advantage over most boys who, owing to their greater interest in other and more congenial subjects, have as a rule no time for the study of instrumental music. We have shown in Chapter 1 that, owing to the partial survival of the old tradition of 'accomplishments' for girls, music occupies a more assured position in girls' schools than in most boys' schools. It would seem, too, that most head mistresses have a strong belief in the educational value of the aesthetic subjects.

(b) There is evidence to show that, where there is really a vital response to instruction in music, boys seem not only to have a greater desire for self-expression through some form of composition, but to have more originality in carrying it out. We were told, for example, that in the great public schools the really musical boy was, in depth of understanding, several years ahead of the girl of like age in a similar school.

(c) We have already referred to the difficulty experienced by boys in vocal music in consequence of the breaking of their voices. Their inability to sing at this period sometimes leads to a loss of interest in music generally, and would thus seem to place them at a natural disadvantage as compared with girls. This difficulty should, however, be easily surmounted in a well organised school where there was a musical atmosphere.

Drawing (art)
78. We have some evidence tending to show that, in the early stages of secondary school life, boys are slightly better than girls in this subject, though some witnesses thought that up to the age of 12 boys and girls appeared to be equally equipped so far as their imaginative outlook on the world was concerned. (30)

In art, as far as secondary education is concerned, the salient difference in the educable capacity of boys and girls appears to be that during the three or four years from about 13 onwards, girls and boys of like age are going through phases of artistic adolescence which are fundamentally different.

Boys are said to be usually far more objective than girls in their exploration and observation; in other words, they are more interested in discovering the exact nature of things. For example, a boy of 15 can often make unexpectedly mature studies of insects, birds, ships, machines, and the like. His drawing is good in so far as it is an exploration of his world. He explores in certain directions only, according to his individuality; but where he does explore, it is with great sympathy and imagination. His self-expression is the attempt to attain understanding of things foreign to himself.

He is as a rule about half way through this stage when he leaves the secondary school at the age of 18.

Girls do not naturally go through so marked a period of looking closely into the nature of things outside themselves; and such study as they do undertake in this direction is usually the result of the teaching they receive. Left to themselves, they soon find that what they already see and know of the world has a personal interest and an influence over them which they attempt to express. The sense of decoration develops early, usually by 15 or 16. In a specially favourable environment, and under a good teacher, a girl of 17 or 18 may draw, model, or paint with the directness of a man many years older and with greater freshness and charm, but her work, highly expressive as it is, is usually based on less sympathetic observation than that of a boy, and is of slighter interest.

Such rapid development is not, however, as a rule possible in the environment of a secondary school.

During this earlier period a girl is not usually original; originality in the arts is a quality of maturity rather than of youth. She is, however, often resourceful; she can be keenly appreciative of fine work, and is often perceptibly influenced by it. She can adopt her teacher's methods of work, and can often use them with greater ease though with less judgement than boys. Her artistic mode of thought is at this stage usually comparatively self-centred, and moves in the opposite direction to that of a boy of the same age. His studies of things external to himself would seem to her to be tedious.

Several teachers in coeducational schools had observed that girls were better copyists and more interested in colour. Boys often possessed more initiative in design, and showed greater power. The head master of one large coeducational day school had noticed that in memory drawing boys showed greater aptitude for seizing the more important points and for judging the relative importance of the objects they were drawing. Girls found considerable difficulty in drawing objects in perspective.

The evidence furnished by the examining bodies threw considerable light on the relative achievements of the sexes in this subject. The University of London Extension Board had found that examination results at coeducational schools showed that boys more often reached the 'credit' standard than girls. This difference was to some extent counterbalanced by the slightly larger proportion of the total number of girl candidates who offered the subject for examination, and the probability that the boys were to that extent more of a picked set. The examiner in drawing for the Oxford and Cambridge Joint Board had observed that the difference between the work of the sexes was slight, and depended largely on the more painstaking character of the work of the girls. The boys' work showed plenty of observation, though little imagination and originality. The girls' work showed more imagination, though little originality. Composition of figures and figure drawing was apparently seldom taught systematically in boys' schools, and their drawings from memory were in consequence seldom good. Good work, where it appeared, seemed the outcome of the boys' personal taste, and was occasionally humorous, which was seldom a characteristic of girls' work. Objects showing mechanical construction were drawn by boys with much more understanding than by girls. In design, girls showed a better sense of colour and harmony. The strong point shown by the answers in the examination in drawing was the willingness of boys and girls to draw, paint, or design, but there had been too much direction in the preparation for the examinations.

The apparent differences between the sexes in artistic achievement may be partly explained by the fact that drawing and art subjects generally have a more established position in girls' schools owing to the persistence of the old tradition of 'accomplishments' for girls, and more time is devoted to them than in boys' schools. This may partly explain the relative superiority of girls in art subjects - at all events at certain stages.

Games and physical training

Games
79. It is difficult to institute any exact comparison between the performances of boys and girls respectively in games and physical exercises, as, even in coeducational schools, the sexes are as a rule completely separated for these purposes after the age of about 12.

In regard to games, several witnesses were of opinion that girls retained much of their natural individualism, and that, in order to foster the corporate spirit, team work in games was as necessary for them as it was for boys, though its development required more direction than was necessary in boys' schools. It may indeed be true that girls require more supervision in their games than boys, but in the light of our evidence we are disposed to think that in some girls' schools there has been a distinct tendency to over-organise the games and sports. This often entails a loss of spontaneity and freedom, and probably impairs to a considerable extent the recreative value of such pastimes, which may thus impose as severe a mental strain on highly strung and over-conscientious girls as ordinary lessons. This over-organisation, where it exists, seems to be due to the over-conscientiousness of mistresses and girls alike; and we are of opinion that the authorities of girls' schools would be well advised to arrange their games more on the lines of boys' schools, where the organisation of the sports is left very largely to the boys themselves.

Physical training
80. As regards physical training the head master of a coeducational boarding school told us that, in general, boys had less control than girls and that their movements were jerky. They had more capacity for muscular efforts and excelled in all heavy work, being much stronger in the arms and lighter in the body. Girls, on the other hand, were neater and more controlled in their movements and capable of longer sustained effort. As a rule they were better in free standing exercises, while boys had the advantage in apparatus work. A woman witness, who had had much experience in teaching gymnastics, was of opinion that boys and girls might be taken together in physical exercises up to the age of 10 or 11, though even then there was a marked difference in the amount of work that could be demanded. Girls under 10 were generally more accurate in physical exercises than boys, but between 10 and 12 the boy was capable of greater exertion and more strenuous work; this was probably due to the fact that his energy had not been dissipated by the multiplicity of home duties, both before and after school, that fell on many girls in day schools.

In several coeducational schools where dancing was taught it had been observed that girls had far more power of self-expression and less self-consciousness. Between the ages of 15 and 16 boys were very awkward and ungainly in their movements and were only capable of quite easy steps. Girls at that stage of rapid growth overcame their difficulties very easily and at an earlier age than boys, usually at about the age of 12 to 14. Several witnesses who had had experience both of boys' and girls' schools were of opinion that in general girls were better than boys at gymnastics, dancing, and eurhythmics.

In physical training, as in some other branches of school work, the mistresses in girls' schools have, until recently, received a more systematic training in method than most men teachers. (31) There are now a considerable number of physical training colleges in which women who desire to specialise in physical training and games receive the requisite preparation. It is probable therefore that on the whole the physical training given in most schools for girls has been hitherto more thorough and more systematic than that given in many boys' schools. We understand, however, that several institutions have now been established for training men teachers of physical exercises, so that it is likely that the methods of instruction in this branch followed in boys' schools will steadily improve. In general our evidence seems to indicate that the existing differentiation in games and physical training for boys and girls respectively is based on sound reasons, and that it should probably be carried rather further in games and sports.

Voluntary societies and activities out of school

81. It would seem that voluntary societies are now almost as much developed in girls' schools as in boys' schools. Doubtless, however, there is a certain subtle difference in the attitude of boys and girls respectively towards these societies; and we had some evidence indicating that girls sometimes took them more seriously than boys. It is only, however, in a coeducational school that it is possible to institute an exact comparison. From the evidence which we have received it would seem on the whole that in coeducational schools, especially in boarding schools, girls are more interested in literary and musical societies and boys in natural history and photographic societies. In the same way chess clubs, which are common in boys' schools, are rarely found in schools for girls. We were told that in nature study, for example, the collection of specimens appealed more to boys, while girls were attracted to the study on aesthetic grounds. We are inclined to think that in some girls' schools there is a tendency to over-organise the activities which take place out of school. To this danger girls are perhaps specially liable, not from any timidity on the part of those conducting them, but because, as we have shown in Chapter 1, what has been a natural and slow growth in boys' schools has been introduced into girls' schools fully developed. If the organisation of these school societies and clubs could be left largely to the pupils themselves, they would gain an opportunity of making the mistakes that are so important an element in learning. Not the least valuable contribution that school societies make to the life of the school is that they give an opportunity for self-development and for winning self-respect, and the respect of their fellows, to some pupils who, for one reason or another, fail to succeed in the more formal branches of school life or in games. (32) It would seem to be specially important to afford such opportunities to girls, who are perhaps more apt to be depressed by lack of success in the ordinary school studies than boys. We were told that at one coeducational boarding school the school societies, with the exception of the mechanical engineering society which included only very few girls, were fairly evenly divided between the sexes, but that it generally happened that the boys took, in practice, a larger share of the management than the girls. The boys also spoke more at the school debating society than the girls. As regards the relative attainments of the sexes in craftwork done out of school, we were told that in several coeducational schools girls showed originality in artistic work such as embroidery and ceramic painting, but not in woodwork and mechanics. Boys seemed to be more interested in events outside school life than girls, who, as a rule, tended to have a more restricted range of interest. Many witnesses pointed out that, owing to the present congestion of the curriculum and to the domestic work which they are frequently expected to do at home, many girls in day schools had no time for leisure occupations. It would seem that even in coeducational boarding schools the girls' time is, as a rule, more occupied than that of the boys', and that girls devote more time to reading.

Manual work, domestic subjects and gardening

82. At present, one of the most important differences between the curriculum for girls and that for boys is that girls generally take domestic subjects, while boys take some form of manual work. It is not, therefore, possible to institute a comparison in these subjects, except in a few coeducational schools, where, as an experiment, domestic subjects have been taught to boys and manual work has in some instances been taken by girls. We were told, for example, that at one coeducational boarding school there was little difference between the achievements of boys and girls in such subjects as needlework, woodwork and gardening, provided that there was a liking for the work. Some girls seemed to be fond of gardening, but the best gardens had been cultivated by boys. In needlework, a boy's control of his hands was at least equal to that of a girl, and he was often more particular and exact. In the lower forms, boys were even better than girls in needlework and knitting. In the higher forms a few of the boys did embroidery.

Part 2 The general differences between boys and girls in respect of social environment and social function

A. The influence of general tradition and environment on teachers and pupils in boys' and girls' schools

(1) Traditional differences in the relative attention devoted to different subjects, and in the arrangement of the timetable

83. There seems to be no doubt that the tradition and environment of girls' schools, especially the high schools and endowed schools, are very different from those of boys' schools of the corresponding types. It is indeed true, as we have shown in Chapter 1, that the girls' curriculum has been closely modelled on that of the boys, but the various subjects are presented to the pupils in a rather different way by women teachers, who unlike the majority of masters in boys' schools have often received some systematic training in the art of teaching. The lack, in the early days of the women's movement, of highly qualified mistresses in such subjects as mathematics and ancient languages largely serves to explain the position now occupied by these studies in many of the older girls' schools, where the pupils seldom reach the same standard as boys in classics and mathematics. On the other hand, the more prominent position assigned to mathematics and the various branches of science in county and municipal schools for girls is partly due to the fact that schools of this type have to some extent inherited the tradition of higher grade elementary schools and organised science schools. Again, special attention was from the first devoted to English subjects and modern languages in girls' schools, and the effects are apparent at the present time in the achievements of girls in these subjects, in which they are able to compete successfully with boys in the various external examinations. In the same way the greater attention devoted in girls' schools to the aesthetic subjects is due to the fact that the old tradition of accomplishments for girls was partly retained by the pioneers of the new movement for women's education in the [eighteen] sixties. This consideration also explains the fact that many girls who have relatively little natural aptitude for music are still expected to devote an hour a day to practising on the piano or the violin. The older schools for girls, with some exceptions, were much less well endowed than boys' schools of the corresponding type. They were often unable in consequence to provide adequate laboratories, and this to some extent explains their relative neglect of branches of natural science (such as chemistry) which require expensive equipment. Lastly the prominent position assigned to needlework in most girls' schools is also an inheritance from the older tradition of girls' education.

Another important traditional difference between boys' and girls' schools is the shorter amount of time spent by girls in school. In most of the older schools for girls there was either no afternoon session at all, or only easier subjects such as gymnastics, music, and dancing were taken in the afternoon. In the newer county and municipal secondary schools for girls the tendency is to assimilate the girls' timetable to that of the boys, but even in these schools the morning session is sometimes shorter than in boys' schools, and Saturday is usually a whole holiday.

In the second place, the period of a lesson has until recently been shorter in girls' schools than in boys', and there has in consequence been more lecturing and teaching, and less independent work done by the girls in school under the supervision of the mistresses. Thus the tendency on the part of some mistresses to help their pupils too much, to which many witnesses drew attention, seems to be partly the result of long standing tradition. The shorter time spent by girls in school is largely due to the tradition that daughters should be free to take part in the social life of the home. It may also have been partly influenced by the fact that in the early days of girls' education it was thought desirable for the pupils to be accompanied to and from school.

(2) The influence, direct and indirect, of social environment on boys and girls at schools

84. Many witnesses thought that, apart from changes incident on the onset of adolescence, the difference in the average achievements of boys and girls in certain subjects was chiefly due to varying interests and sympathies influenced by environment. It was uncertain how far such divergence was biological in origin, and how far it depended on the fact that boys and girls were, as a rule, from their earliest years subjected to different traditions. On the whole, these traditions probably accentuated a real, though not necessarily great, biological difference.

Several witnesses were of opinion that the quality of leadership, which boys usually possessed in a greater degree than girls, was largely owing to custom, and that any observable differences in educable capacity between the sexes were due more to tradition aud environment than to other causes. Such differences were profoundly affected by the methods adopted in teaching and training both in the home and in the school.

Other witnesses were inclined to think that certain mental characteristics often remarked in girls, such as docility, imitativeness, absence of constructive and critical power, lack of initiative and independence, were the outcome of the traditional conception of womanliness as consisting in modesty, gentleness, and willingness to follow rather than to lead. A boy was expected to have initiative, but hitherto it had not been expected of a girl, and this had been not merely a school tradition but a life tradition.

This difference in the attitude of the sexes may be partly due to the fact that the idea of a definite vocation is more clearly and consciously present to the mind of the average boy than to that of the ordinary girl. Recent educational statistics (see Table 1 below) seem to indicate that the majority of boys, especially in county and muncipal secondary schools, leave school rather earlier than girls in order to enter some definite trade, profession, or avocation. This statement more especially applies to certain industrial districts, in which boys are often withdrawn from school by their parents at a relatively early age in order to take advantage of favourable openings in local trades and industrial concerns. (See Table 2 below). The fact that the boy is, as a rule, definitely conscious that he is expected to prepare, and in fact must prepare, for a definite avocation often gives a zest and stimulus to his school work which his sister may lack. It must be remembered that, to the majority of girls, the possibility of an early marriage is probably always present, consciously or subconsciously, and that this consideration may, in many instances, tend to make them less ambitious and less interested in such school subjects as are not obviously of some use in ordinary life.

Table 1 Number of full-time pupils who left secondary schools on the grant list in England and Wales during the school Year 1920-21

Table 2 Ages of pupils in the schools on 1 October 1921

Several women witnesses drew attention to the influence of domestic conditions on pupils in secondary day schools, with special reference to the relatively heavy household duties devolving on many school girls. In view of altered social conditions and the difficulty in obtaining servants, a relatively high percentage of girl pupils, especially in municipal secondary schools, did fairly heavy housework over the weekend; and a smaller, but still considerable, proportion helped in preparing the daily meals, waiting on lodgers, or looking after younger brothers and sisters. Boys in these schools sometimes cleaned boots or ran errands in case of need, but their duties were less arduous and sedentary than those of girls, and it was noticeable that the least assistance in household duties was expected of boys in homes of the poorest type. In general, the home always weighed more heavily on girls than on boys, and, in cases of family illness, additional strain and anxiety fell on them. Moreover, as girls were more liable to nervous strain than boys, they were more handicapped by the absence of quiet and other necessary facilities for private study in poorer homes. (33) The household duties performed by girls must often tend to have the effect of making them more physically tired, and therefore less mentally receptive than boys.

B. The influence of social ideas and financial considerations upon the attitude of parents in regard to the education of boys and girls respectively

85. There is much evidence to show that the old idea that the highest aim for a girl was to be a married woman of leisure and means still survives in many middle-class families. This view, whether consciously or subconsciously present in the minds of parents, explains the fact that many of them are still disinclined to spend so much on the education of their girls as on that of their boys. This condition of things is, of course, being rapidly modified owing to changed views of the capabilities and functions of women and to the provision of scholarships for girls by local education authorities. On the other hand, it must be pointed out that at the women's colleges and hostels at Oxford, Cambridge, London, and the other universities, and at institutions such as the London School of Medicine for Women, there is still a relative lack of entrance scholarships which is in striking contrast to the numerous scholarships available for boys, especially at the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge and at medical schools attached to the great hospitals. There is thus very severe competition among girls for the few available scholarships of this type.

Again many parents, though they are not prepared to spend so much on their daughters' education, are nevertheless unwilling to let them go like their brothers to a public elementary school, and prefer to keep them at home under the care of a governess or to send them to a private school till they are old enough to enter a high school. Many parents also, especially in industrial areas, show a disposition to keep their daughters at school longer than their boys, who are frequently withdrawn at the age of 16 or 17 to take advantage of openings in local businesses. Many, again, think that the girls should help their mothers in household duties and take a large share in the social life of the home. Thus girls are often encouraged by their parents to concentrate on music, art, and literature, which are still regarded in many quarters as subjects specially suitable for girls.

In some families, too, girls are expected to take a part in the social life of the home and to sing, play, and recite at afternoon parties.

Several women witnesses pointed out that in the towns, boys and girls, but more especially girls, were often expected to share in the evening life of their relatives and friends who were engaged in offices by day and had free time in the evenings. Their parents frequently took them, or encouraged them to go, to picture palaces, dancing classes, theatres, concerts, and parish entertainments, which tended to distract and over-excite them and were often deleterious to their health on account of the late hours spent in vitiated [corrupted] air. Girls were more affected by such distractions than boys, as they were more liable to nervous strain. It would appear from the available evidence that parents are partly to blame in this matter, as they often take their girls and boys as companions to picture palaces and other places of amusement, or do not exert sufficient parental authority to curtail too frequent dissipation.

C. The influence of ideas regarding the social functions of boys and girls on educational theories and on methods of education adpoted by teachers

86. On the whole, it would seem that the idea of future vocation has been more clearly present to the minds both of teachers and pupils in boys' schools than in schools for girls. Most parents impress on their sons that they will have to earn their own living and that it will be necessary for them to choose a profession or vocation. It is doubtless partly due to this consideration that the teaching of many subjects in boys' schools is, on the whole, more practical and less 'academic' than in girls' schools, though several witnesses were of opinion that even boys' schools were still too much affected by the academic tradition derived from the older endowed schools, and that there was a noticeable tendency in many quarters to disregard the fact that the majority of the pupils would at a comparatively early age enter commerce or industry, or one of the professions, without proceeding to the university. The influence of current ideas in regard to the necessity of preparing boys for some definite occupation largely accounts for the relative neglect of the aesthetic subjects in most schools for boys, which is justified on the ground that boys, owing to the pressure of work and of external examinations, have no time for the study of 'ornamental' subjects. The persistent tradition that the more difficult school subjects, such as classics, mathematics, physics, mechanics and chemistry, are studies peculiarly fitted for boys is another aspect of the 'practical' view of boys' education. On the other hand, the greater attention that has always been paid to literature and the arts in girls' schools rests largely on the commonly accepted assumption that the natural function of girls is to marry, have a home, and cultivate, if possible, the arts and graces of life. The claims of the home also account for the prominent position assigned to needlework and domestic subjects in girls' schools. Many witnesses, however, pointed out that girls' schools, too, were still unduly influenced by the academic tradition. This is due to the fact that, when the first girls' schools of the modem type were founded in the middle of the last [nineteenth] century, the principal, and indeed, almost the only career open to girls was the teaching profession in its various branches. Indeed, as we have shown in Chapter 1, the movement for the higher education of women partly sprang from an effort to improve the education of governesses. In order to qualify for the different branches of the teaching profession it was, and is, necessary to possess certain certificates and academic qualifications, and, as we have shown in Chapter 1, Miss Buss, and other pioneers of the women's movement, attached very great importance to external examinations. These considerations largely account for the fact that there has been until recently a noticeable tendency in many girls' schools to arrange the work, especially in the upper part of the school, to suit those pupils who have to sit for the various academic and professional examinations. (34) A like tendency may be traced, in a less degree, in some of the new county and municipal secondary schools, where a considerable proportion of the senior pupils aim at qualifying as teachers in elementary schools. (35) This condition of affairs is now to some extent being modified by the fact that many other avocations are open to women, such as the legal and medical professions, secretarial posts, and clerical work in the offices of the central government and of local authorities and in industrial and commercial concerns. Nevertheless, there is probably some truth in the statement, which was made by many of our witnesses, that the authorities in girls' schools are still inclined to pay too much regard to the requirements of those girls who are going to the university, or are preparing for professional examinations, rather than to the requirements of those who will be living at home after leaving school.

Another feature of girls' schools which is largely based on social convention is the fact that girls are not yet given, and perhaps cannot be given, the same freedom as boys to go where they will unaccompanied. Parents and teachers consider that they require more watchful care than boys, and this probably partly explains the noticeable tendency of many mistresses to supervise the girls' studies and games to a much greater extent than is customary in boys' schools.

Footnotes

(1) See the full statement of the anatomical and physiological differences between the sexes in the Memorandum by Dr JG Adami (Appendix V).

(2) cf. Stanley Hall Adolescence (1904), Chapter 1. (New York, D. Appleton & Co.)

(3) Havelock Ellis Man and Woman 5th ed., pp. 266-270. (Walter Scott Publishing Co). cf. Leichtenstern Untersuchungen uber den Hamoglobingehalt des Blutes Leipzig 1878.

(4) They are, too, more liable to certain nervous or partly nervous disorders - notably chorea, hysteria, and hyperthyroidism. See H Campbell Differences in the Nervous Organisation of Men and Women 1891. (HK Lewis & Co)

(5) Welton Psychology of Education (1911), p. 137. (London, Macmillan & Co) Contrast this with Mr Burt's view quoted in Section 64 of this chapter.

(6) L'Education de la Femme (1908). p. 175.

(7) See, however, footnote 14.

(8) The Mental Traits of Sex p. 182. (University of Chicago Press, 1903.)

(9) Burt and Moore The Mental Differences between the Sexes reprinted from the Journal of Experimental Pedagogy (1911).

(10) A similar conclusion, based chiefly upon tests of higher intellectual processes, is expressed by Cohn and Dieffenbacher Untersuchungen uber Geschlechts-, Alters-, und Begabungs-Unterschiede bei Schulern pp. 169 foll.

(11) Thorndike Educational Psychology (1914), Vol. III, p. 184, and Educational Psychology (Briefer Course), (1914), pp. 345-346. (Published by Teachers' College, Columbia University.)

(12) Educational Psychology (1914), Vol. III, p, 205.

(13) Educational Psychology (1914). Op. cit. III, pp. 202-203.

(14) This view as to the greater development of the emotional side in woman was emphasised by Dr Blair Bell, who was of opinion that, whereas a man can be healthy and happy in work in which the emotions play no part, a woman is rarely happy unless her emotions are able to find some scope.

(15) Educational Psychology (1914), Vol. III, p 205.

(16) Psychological Review Vol. III, page 68. Compare also A Wreschner Vergleichende Psychologie der Geschlechter Wissen und Leben 1911, IV, xi, pp. 731 foll., xii, pp. 823 foll.

(17) An interesting review of emotional and moral differences, based on a statistical analysis of replies to questionnaires, will be found in Heymans Die Psychologie der Frauen.

(18) Educational Psychology (1914), Vol. III, p. 194. cf. however K Pearson The Chances of Death Vol. I, Chapter viii, p. 256.

(19) This difference in variability entirely invalidates the common comparison of conspicuous individuals. If men varied more widely in mental power, we should naturally expect them to produce historic personalities of greater eminence, quite apart from any other sex differences among the general mass of men and women, and quite apart from their superior opportunities. For this reason in comparing groups selected from the upper part of the intellectual scale, e.g. children in secondary schools, we might expect to find sex differences apparently much larger than if we compared groups drawn from the average population.

(20) The measures of variability given for boys and girls respectively in Burt Mental and Scholastic Tests Tables XXXIX-LXII, confirm this general view by statistical data.

(21) cf. Burstall English High School for Girls (1907), p. 13. 'Boys are probably more original, girls more imitative; a boy will find a new way to do a thing, a girl accepts what she is taught.'

(22) These differences seem to be confirmed by experimental observations, see Journal Exp. Ped. Vol. V, pp. 121-122, The Development of Reasoning in School Children.

(23) See Appendix III.

(24) See Section 64.

(25) The statistical evidence on which these conclusions are based is given in Journal Exp. Ped., loc. cit. sup.. p. 121.

(26) cf. Stanley Hall Adolescence II, p. 617 foll. (New York, 1904).

(27) This agrees on the whole with the observations of several foreign authorities on education. Dr P Drtina, for example, in a memorandum sent to the Committee writes: 'It is generally known that girls dislike mathematics and science, while on the other hand they have better talent for and knowledge of languages and composition.' cf. Burstall English High Schools for Girls (1907), p. 13. 'It appears that boys do better, caeteris paribus, in mathematics, chemistry and physics; girls in literature, history and biology.'

(28) See Burt Distribution of Educational Abilities p. 65, and Mental and Scholastic Tests Tables XXXIX to LXII.

(29) It may be noted that the advanced courses in science recognised by the Board of Education in girls' schools are more often in the biological than in other branches of natural science, and also that geology is hardly ever taught in secondary schools.

(30) cf, Burt Mental and Scholastic Tests p. 326. 'Tests of drawing ability, applied under standardised conditions, show that at any rate up to the age of 13 boys definitely surpass girls. After that age the differences become a matter of quality rather than of mere degree. Girls show a keener eye for colour; boys for form. Girls are more decorative, more conventional, and excel in delineating detail; boys give a better general impresssion of the whole.'

(31) See Chapter 1, Section 23.

(32) The Boy Scout and Girl Guide organisations form a valuable element in out of school activities. The two organisations seem to provide the degree of differentiation required for the sexes.

(33) cf. Annual Report of the London County Council for 1910, Vol. III, p. 146 (Homework and Nerve Strain).

(34) Several head mistresses told us that this tendency had been intensified by the Board's requirement that whole forms should be presented for external examinations (Article 35 (a) and (c) of the Regulations for Secondary Schools, 1922).

(35) It is worth pointing out that there are at present many more girl bursars than boy bursars in secondary schools in England and Wales. The figures for 1920-21 were 3,851 girls and 791 boys.