School Context and Gender Inequalities in Reading Achievement

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present new findings regarding the impact
of the characteristics of the school environment on the gender gap in
education. Based on data from the Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA), the extent to which the existing gender gap in reading
comprehension scores is conditioned by different school contexts and the
level of gender equality in each country is assessed. Using multi-level
analysis, we find that the social composition of the school and the
behaviour of students has a significant impact on the gender gap, though
in a differentiated manner. The gender gap in education increases when
the school climate is worse, and it decreases when the concentration of
parents with low education levels is low. In societies with higher levels of
gender equality, girls see their scores in reading comprehension increase
more than boys.