The role of gender
Posted February 9, 2010 · by Kris Zorigian · in Behavior, Learning disabilities
The claim
Males are more likely than females to be referred for special education services.
The facts
This week’s post is a little more straightforward and less controversial than those from the previous weeks. The claim that males are more likely than females to be referred for special education services is relatively clear in the educational literature. Although the methods used to identify students for special education services vary from study to study, the overwhelming consensus indicates that males are more often identified as having learning or behavioral disorders. The following visual representation of some special education statistics provides a useful way to understand this phenomenon:
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Learning disability | 73.4% | 26.6% |
| Emotional disturbance | 76.4% | 23.6% |
| Speech impairment | 59.5% | 40.5% |
| Mental retardation | 58.0% | 42.0% |
| Visual impairment | 55.6% | 44.4% |
| Hearing impairment | 52.0% | 48.0% |
| Deafness | 54.5% | 45.5% |
| Multiple disabilities | 65.4% | 34.6% |
| Deaf/blindness | 49.5% | 50.5% |
| All disabilities | 68.5% | 31.5% |
As you can see from the table, males constitute a much higher percentage of the population for each category of disability except for the deaf/blindness category. According to the research in this area, gender ratios vary in severity ranging from a 2:1 male-to-female ratio all the way to an astounding 15:1 male-to-female ratio. Granted, the 15:1 ratio seems to be an extreme case according to the majority of the reports, but the consensus of the literature is quite clear that males are typically more often identified for special education services.
What is the cause of this phenomenon?
This is one of the questions for which researchers in the field of special education struggle to find an answer. Studies in this area propose a wide variety of theories as to why the ratios are so lopsided. Most theories use either an environmental or biological basis as to what causes the differences between males and females. Some researchers believe that males are simply more vulnerable to the environmental factors that influence development, causing males to be negatively affected. However, there is little evidence supporting this environmental argument.
Other theories examine biological influences as the cause for this high rate of special education services for males. Some researchers believe that because boys mature more slowly than girls, both physically and mentally, that they are negatively affected in their educational development. Other researchers argue that chromosomal abnormalities that are more prevalent in boys lead to their higher rate of disabilities. And some researchers even suspect an issue in the development of boys’ brains that results in lack of plasticity, or ability for the brain to adapt. Each of these theories and more have been presented in the literature of educational research, however, each theory lacks validation from multiple studies. So, because there is no conclusive evidence supporting any of these theories, they should remain just that: theories.
Learning disabilities and emotional disturbances
As the table illustrates, there is a significant difference between males and females in the top two categories: learning disabilities and emotional disturbances. Although these categories are different and reported separately, there is support for the claim that these two categories are linked together.
Research has found that the male-to-female ratio of emotional-behavioral disorders ranges from 3:1 to 8:1. Studies investigating this phenomenon have produced extremely helpful results. One of the issues related to this topic is how a school system defines behavioral problems. The overwhelming majority describes behavior problems as actions that are physically disruptive to the classroom, fellow students, or teachers. According to research, males are more prone to the types of behaviors the school view as being categorized as behavior issues. In other words, boys are more likely to outwardly rebel against authority than girls are.
As boys develop, there is a heavier emphasis on achieving status within the classroom, being dominant and more competitive. Girls, on the other hand, are more likely to express a greater desire to be liked and therefore tend to be more cooperative and respect authority. Also, girls with behavioral issues tend to act depressed or sad, keeping their emotions inside, while boys express their emotions much more outwardly, showing visible rage, frustration, or anger. These characteristics provide support for the claim that boys are more likely to be referred for having behavioral issues.
Just as boys tend to express negative behaviors more outwardly, the same goes for their inability to keep their attention focused. Boys are more likely than girls to be visibly off task when it comes to school, which leads to more boys being referred for special education services than girls. According to research, when a student is diagnosed with an attention deficit of some kind, he or she is often identified as having learning disabilities as well. As the chart above shows, males are much more likely than girls to be diagnosed with learning disabilities, and therefore this claim by researchers should be taken seriously.
Conclusion
Studies in this area lead to the overwhelming conclusion that this week’s claim is fact. Although there is some research in the literature that argues against the claim that males are more often referred for special education services, the majority of research supports this claim. I have yet to come across a study where there are more females represented in the sample than males, although I’m sure it exists somewhere. The underlying cause for this phenomenon has yet to be determined but researchers will continue their search until the question is finally answered.
This is Great!!!! Keep the good work on.