proximately thirty per cent of the girls of ages 82 to 171⁄2 inclusive, stated that they would be willing to engage in any one of the three types of teaching as a life-work. Among the boys, on the other hand, only a very small per cent indicated that they would consent to engage in teaching. The above findings are corroborated by the work of several previous investigators. From a questionnaire of vocational interest submitted to a large number of high school seniors, Douglass received returns from 1,658 girls and 1,186 boys. Thirty-six per cent of the senior girls but only 1.3 per cent of the senior boys mentioned teaching as their prospective occupation. (10) Mackaye reports similarly that his six hundred recorded cases of vocational choices included no choice of teaching by boys in any grade lower than the eleventh. (11, p. 367.) One logically asks why so large a sex difference should appear in reference to teaching. It is true of course that fewer occupations may be open to girls and that for this reason there may be a tendency for girls to crowd into a few occupations. The girls, however, listed teaching among the three best-liked occupations much more frequently than did the boys. (See Table V.) It is evident that the girls have a stronger liking for school activities in general than do the boys. It is difficult to explain the reason for the girls' striking fondness for school and their favorable attitude toward teaching as a lifeendeavor. The fact that girls like reading and indulge in this activity more frequently than boys may explain in parts the attitude of the sexes toward school endeavor, since American schools are "reading schools." Books may be turned to more frequently by girls than by boys as an avenue of escape since girls engage in fewer active plays and games than boys. (12, p. 58.) Girls, too, are forced to confine their activities to a narrow geograph 3 Boys are probably also less interested in teaching because of their expressed desire to enter occupations affording large remunerative returns and Occupations demanding "red-blooded he-men." ical radius. (12, p. 93.) The girl is inhibited and restricted to a greater degree than the boy from a very early age. Therefore the restrictions of the school may not react unfavorably upon her for she has become accustomed to a certain amount of restriction by the time she enters school. Not only does society demand restriction in the activity participation of the girl and thus make her more tractile, but the female of the species appears to be able to tolerate to a greater degree than the male the thwarting of impulses and desires. This observation is in accord with the results of certain experiments which show that the female is more amenable to repression than the male. (13, p. 14.) The above evidence is at least very suggestive. It seems to indicate that the male's drives are much stronger than those of the female, and that this holds for the human species as well as for animals. In the school both boys and girls are required to suppress certain of their desires. The deprivations attendant upon school activities are probably less objectionable to girls than to boys. These same deprivations would likely condition a greater dislike among boys for the activities of the school. The resultant attitudes are undoubtedly powerful influences in determining teachers' ratings of scholarship. They may explain the girls' fondness for reading, for this activity provides an indirect avenue of escape from the restraints of home and school. The attitudes may effect also the girls' excessive preference for teaching as a life endeavor. References 1. Baltimore Bulletin of Education. Feb. 6, 1926. Baltimore, Md. 2. Crawford, C. C. "Some Comparisons of Freshmen Boys and Girls." Sch. and Soc. 1926, 24, 494-496. 3. Book, W. F. The Intelligence of High School Seniors. New York: The Macmillan Co. 1922. 4. Colvin, S. S. and MacPhail, A. H.: Intelligence of Seniors in the High Schools of Massachusetts. U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin No. 9, 1924. 5. Paterson, D. G. and Langlie, T. A. "The Influence of Sex on Scholarship Ratings." Edu. Adm. and Sup. 1926, 12, 458-469. 6. Courtis, S. A.: Why Children Succeed. Courtis Standard Tests Company. Detroit. (Quoted in the Baltimore Bulletin of Education op. cit. pp. 103f.) 7. Quoted in The School Review, 1926, 34, 648f. 8. Gale, M. L.: Pupil Achievement. Unpublished Master's thesis on file at the Watson Library. The University of Kansas. Lawrence, Kansas, 1926. 9. Lehman, H. C. and Witty, P. A. "Sex Differences in Reference to Reading Books Just for Fun." Education, 1928, 48, 602-617. 10. Douglass, A. A.: "Vocational Interests of High School Seniors." Sch. and Soc. 1922, 16, 79-84. 11. Mackaye, D. L.: "The Fixation of Vocational Interest." Amer. Jour. of Soc. 1927, 33, 354-370. 12. Lehman, H. C. and Witty, P. A. The Psychology of Play Activities. New York: A. S. Barnes and Co. 1927. pp. xviii-242. 13. Cannon, W. B. Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage. New York: D. Appleton and Co. 1920. pp. xiii-311. TABLE I. Average age equivalents derived from scores on the Advanced Examination of the Stanford Achievement Test and the Terman Group Test of Mental Ability for Grades 7, 8, and 9 of the Lawrence Junior High School. TABLE II. Sex differences in subject failures in the Lawrence Junior High School for five consecutive semesters. Spring Fall Spring 1926 1926 Fall Spring 1927 1927 G. B. G. B. 1928 Totals G. B. G. B. 356 335 326 329 324 330 319 341 322 319 1647 1654 G. B. G. B. Number of pupils F. in 1 subject only TABLE III. Number of individuals included in an investigation of vocational attitudes. Fall of 1927. |