§ 17. Miss Joan Lestorasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he has taken to eliminate sex discrimination in the school curriculum.
§ Dr. BoysonMy Department issued a circular when the Sex Discrimination Act came into force, and since then we have raised the issue in a number of different publications. Our guidance document entitled "The School Curriculum", published last year, says
It is essential to ensure that equal curricular opportunity is genuinely available to both boys and girls".
§ Miss LestorIs the hon. Gentleman aware that his reply will be seen as complacent, given the mounting evidence that girls are under-performing in the sciences and in technology? Something needs to be done positively to encourage local education authorities to take women's rights seriously.
§ Dr. BoysonThe Government are concerned that some girls in certain schools are under-performing. In maths and science, it is interesting to note that girls often perform better—as boys do—in single-sex schools, or in separate classes within one school.