Learning the Hard Way

by Edward W. Morris

In "Learning the Hard Way," Edward W. Morris explores and analyzes detailed ethnographic data to examine the purported gender gap between boys and girls in educational achievement at two low-income high schools--one rural and predominantly white, the other urban and mostly African American. He explains how race, class, and geographic location combine to influence and complicate the construction of gender identities in high school students and affect the respective academic performance of the students he studied.

Genres: Gender

226 pages, ebook

First published September 15, 2012

Reviews

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really interesting study! The conclusions are fascinating and consistent with others I have read. They are fairly well-supported, but this book is missing definitions and, in some cases, stronger supports, especially regarding girls in the classroom. I read this for a class and a number of my classmates came out of this book with the understanding that biological determinism is a valid explanation for the gender gap in schools, so I think Morris may have needed to make it even more clear that it is not a legitimate explanation.

[Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars