Boys doing less home learning than girls

BOYS have done less schoolwork during lockdown than girls, a study has found.

Almost a third (31 per cent) of primary school aged boys are doing less than an hour a day of home learning compared with a quarter (24 per cent) for their female peers, according to researchers from Sussex University.

Secondary school aged boys are also doing less work than their female classmates, with 16 per cent of male students doing less than an hour a day compared with 13 per cent of girls.

Academics analysed the results of a survey of more than 3,000 parents and teachers about the amount of work that young people have carried out at home in May and June. They found that disadvantaged children did less work at home than their wealthier peers, and that primary school pupils did less work than secondary school pupils.

Over a third (36 pet cent) of primary school pupils who are eligible for free school meals spend one hour or less a day on home learning, compared with a quarter of their peers. The difference is even more pronounced in secondary schools, with a quarter of pupils who are eligible for free school meals spending one hour or less a day on home learning, compared with just 13.5 per cent of other pupils.

Dr Matthew Easterbrook, a senior lecturer in psychology and the project’s lead researcher, said: “The disruption to pupils’ education caused by the school closures is dramatic.

“But the consequences are likely to be different for different pupils depending on their home environment and the support they receive from the school and their parents.”