Proved yet again: Girls are better than boys!

A survey by two educationists on how personality impacts career choices concludes that students remain tense and don’t choose less-paying careers; and of course, that girls are more intelligent

By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, May 04, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20100504201005040253184652c92a68)
Who’s better? Girls or boys? Urban kids or rural children? What is the deciding factor when it comes to choosing a career? How different is a student’s body language from his actual personality?

The study ‘Personality and Its Impact On Career Choices at Higher Secondary Level’ by AG High School principal Dr Nirav Thakkar and Baal Prasun School’s educational director Nandan Pandya tries to find out all this and much more. The study has compared girls with boys; urban wit rural students and Science students with Commerce counterparts.

Among several conclusions the survey, among 625 students in seven schools in Ahmedabad city and Ahmedabad rural, has shown that girls (like always) score one up over boys in intelligence.

They are “quicker than boys in grasping ideas, have better scholastic mental capacity and possess extraordinary potential to work”. And these traits make industries prefer them. Fields like finance, sales and marketing, which were earlier predominantly a man’s domain, are seeing a large number of girls.

Boys, be prepared to face some tough competition from girls. The study also says that boys are temperamentally independent; girls on the other hand prefer to work and take decisions in consultation with others, and may lack in individual resolution.

PERSONALITY = CAREER ?

The sole purpose of the study was to find out what goes into decision regarding their career. Dr Thakkar says, “All major decisions about their lives are taken by parents and teachers. However, at the threshold of their careers, the children are left to decide on their own.”

Qualities like behaviour, character, habits cannot be tested by written examinations. “These HSPQ tests allow students to become aware of themselves,” he says.

Dr Thakkar says that those who are not familiar with the nature of a specific occupation or activity do not develop an interest in them. At the same time, personality and attitude can contribute to high success in unfamiliar occupations.

URBAN VS RURAL

The study concludes that there is no major intellectual difference between urban and rural students. Both are equally undemonstrative, demanding and unrestrained. They share common traits when it comes to jealousy, adaptability, cheerfulness.

Rural students however, score when it comes to independent decision-making while some urban kids have been found to be “moody and needing group support”.

SCIENCE VS COMMERCE

According to the study, not many students from either streams want to become teachers. A large number of science students preferred IITs over medical and para-medical courses. Commerce students, meanwhile, chose dropping B Com and enrolling for CA and CS courses. Bright students from both lines prefer MBA.

THE CONCLUSION

The HSPQ (High School Personality Questionnairre) standarised test which measures 14 traits through 142 questions was used to conduct the detailed study.

The overall conclusion says that students are tensed and frustrated and hence don’t prefer careers that do not assure good income. And yes, girls are better!