The Paula Principle

International

The PP applies across many countries. It’s a sign of developepd status when women outperform men educationally.

Closing the Gender Gap

Welcome to 2013.  I didn't switch off Paula completely, but steered clear of blogging etc.  One xmas party conversation led to an interesting hypothesis:  that male CEOs  who have daughters will get it (the PP, that is, or gender issues generally) , but won't if they don't.   The reason my cocktail acquaintance gave for her idea is that those with no children won't get it anyway, and those with sons will think that no one can combine professional work with children, because sons take up so much organisational energy.  Only those with daughters will see that work and parenting can be combined with (relative) ease if things are sensibly managed.   She…
Read More

Resilience, conscientiousness, openness – do these matter more than cognitive skills?

We're all  told, and most of us believe, that education makes a  big difference to people's lives;  but what exactly is it about the education that has such an impact?  I've just been at a meeting organised by the OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, where I used to work.   One of the meeting's primary topics was how far so-called 'non-cognitive' skills/characteristics such as resilience, conscientiousness or ability to relate to others contribute to individuals' success, as compared with traditional cognitive skills such as levels of literacy or numeracy. The project is looking particularly at the social outcomes of learning,  ie how education does (or doesn't) affect issues such as crime, health…
Read More

Demography, price-earnings ratios – and the PP

The  Money section of the weekend's FT - yes, a regular read for me, though usually as a bit of financial anthropology more than anything else -  carried a piece by Norma Cohen which suggests that the investment growth of the late C20 will not be recovered for a long time, if at all.  The reason for this is the change shape of Western populations:  the passage of baby-boomers from middle age into retirement, and the shrinkage of the youth population.  The proportion of people aged 65+ in the UK has risen to 17%, and is projected to go up to nearly 25% in the next two decades. Conversely the 35-54 group is declining.  This…
Read More

It’s not just OECD countries

The Paula Principle emerged for me from looking at OECD data. This shows conclusively how general the trend is for girls and women to do better than boys and men in education. But OECD countries are relatively wealthy, and not typical of all countries. I'm in Morocco at a meeting of the World Committe on Lifelong Learning. I've just learnt that girls here already outperform boys at the level of the baccalaureate. Moreover Faoud Chafiqi, a researcher who also works in the education ministry, reported that girls' aspirations for higher education are far stronger than boys. I assume, obviously, that the same tide is happening here as we have seen…
Read More

Closing the Gender Gap

Welcome to 2013.  I didn't switch off Paula completely, but steered clear of blogging etc.  One xmas party conversation led to an interesting hypothesis:  that male CEOs  who have daughters will get it (the PP, that is, or gender issues generally) , but won't if they don't.   The reason my cocktail acquaintance gave for her idea is that those with no children won't get it anyway, and those with sons will think that no one can combine professional work with children, because sons take up so much organisational energy.  Only those with daughters will see that work and parenting can be combined with (relative) ease if things are sensibly managed.   She…
Read More

Resilience, conscientiousness, openness – do these matter more than cognitive skills?

We're all  told, and most of us believe, that education makes a  big difference to people's lives;  but what exactly is it about the education that has such an impact?  I've just been at a meeting organised by the OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, where I used to work.   One of the meeting's primary topics was how far so-called 'non-cognitive' skills/characteristics such as resilience, conscientiousness or ability to relate to others contribute to individuals' success, as compared with traditional cognitive skills such as levels of literacy or numeracy. The project is looking particularly at the social outcomes of learning,  ie how education does (or doesn't) affect issues such as crime, health…
Read More

Demography, price-earnings ratios – and the PP

The  Money section of the weekend's FT - yes, a regular read for me, though usually as a bit of financial anthropology more than anything else -  carried a piece by Norma Cohen which suggests that the investment growth of the late C20 will not be recovered for a long time, if at all.  The reason for this is the change shape of Western populations:  the passage of baby-boomers from middle age into retirement, and the shrinkage of the youth population.  The proportion of people aged 65+ in the UK has risen to 17%, and is projected to go up to nearly 25% in the next two decades. Conversely the 35-54 group is declining.  This…
Read More

It’s not just OECD countries

The Paula Principle emerged for me from looking at OECD data. This shows conclusively how general the trend is for girls and women to do better than boys and men in education. But OECD countries are relatively wealthy, and not typical of all countries. I'm in Morocco at a meeting of the World Committe on Lifelong Learning. I've just learnt that girls here already outperform boys at the level of the baccalaureate. Moreover Faoud Chafiqi, a researcher who also works in the education ministry, reported that girls' aspirations for higher education are far stronger than boys. I assume, obviously, that the same tide is happening here as we have seen…
Read More

Closing the Gender Gap

Welcome to 2013.  I didn't switch off Paula completely, but steered clear of blogging etc.  One xmas party conversation led to an interesting hypothesis:  that male CEOs  who have daughters will get it (the PP, that is, or gender issues generally) , but won't if they don't.   The reason my cocktail acquaintance gave for her idea is that those with no children won't get it anyway, and those with sons will think that no one can combine professional work with children, because sons take up so much organisational energy.  Only those with daughters will see that work and parenting can be combined with (relative) ease if things are sensibly managed.   She…
Read More

Resilience, conscientiousness, openness – do these matter more than cognitive skills?

We're all  told, and most of us believe, that education makes a  big difference to people's lives;  but what exactly is it about the education that has such an impact?  I've just been at a meeting organised by the OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, where I used to work.   One of the meeting's primary topics was how far so-called 'non-cognitive' skills/characteristics such as resilience, conscientiousness or ability to relate to others contribute to individuals' success, as compared with traditional cognitive skills such as levels of literacy or numeracy. The project is looking particularly at the social outcomes of learning,  ie how education does (or doesn't) affect issues such as crime, health…
Read More

Demography, price-earnings ratios – and the PP

The  Money section of the weekend's FT - yes, a regular read for me, though usually as a bit of financial anthropology more than anything else -  carried a piece by Norma Cohen which suggests that the investment growth of the late C20 will not be recovered for a long time, if at all.  The reason for this is the change shape of Western populations:  the passage of baby-boomers from middle age into retirement, and the shrinkage of the youth population.  The proportion of people aged 65+ in the UK has risen to 17%, and is projected to go up to nearly 25% in the next two decades. Conversely the 35-54 group is declining.  This…
Read More

It’s not just OECD countries

The Paula Principle emerged for me from looking at OECD data. This shows conclusively how general the trend is for girls and women to do better than boys and men in education. But OECD countries are relatively wealthy, and not typical of all countries. I'm in Morocco at a meeting of the World Committe on Lifelong Learning. I've just learnt that girls here already outperform boys at the level of the baccalaureate. Moreover Faoud Chafiqi, a researcher who also works in the education ministry, reported that girls' aspirations for higher education are far stronger than boys. I assume, obviously, that the same tide is happening here as we have seen…
Read More

Closing the Gender Gap

Welcome to 2013.  I didn't switch off Paula completely, but steered clear of blogging etc.  One xmas party conversation led to an interesting hypothesis:  that male CEOs  who have daughters will get it (the PP, that is, or gender issues generally) , but won't if they don't.   The reason my cocktail acquaintance gave for her idea is that those with no children won't get it anyway, and those with sons will think that no one can combine professional work with children, because sons take up so much organisational energy.  Only those with daughters will see that work and parenting can be combined with (relative) ease if things are sensibly managed.   She…
Read More

Resilience, conscientiousness, openness – do these matter more than cognitive skills?

We're all  told, and most of us believe, that education makes a  big difference to people's lives;  but what exactly is it about the education that has such an impact?  I've just been at a meeting organised by the OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, where I used to work.   One of the meeting's primary topics was how far so-called 'non-cognitive' skills/characteristics such as resilience, conscientiousness or ability to relate to others contribute to individuals' success, as compared with traditional cognitive skills such as levels of literacy or numeracy. The project is looking particularly at the social outcomes of learning,  ie how education does (or doesn't) affect issues such as crime, health…
Read More

Demography, price-earnings ratios – and the PP

The  Money section of the weekend's FT - yes, a regular read for me, though usually as a bit of financial anthropology more than anything else -  carried a piece by Norma Cohen which suggests that the investment growth of the late C20 will not be recovered for a long time, if at all.  The reason for this is the change shape of Western populations:  the passage of baby-boomers from middle age into retirement, and the shrinkage of the youth population.  The proportion of people aged 65+ in the UK has risen to 17%, and is projected to go up to nearly 25% in the next two decades. Conversely the 35-54 group is declining.  This…
Read More

It’s not just OECD countries

The Paula Principle emerged for me from looking at OECD data. This shows conclusively how general the trend is for girls and women to do better than boys and men in education. But OECD countries are relatively wealthy, and not typical of all countries. I'm in Morocco at a meeting of the World Committe on Lifelong Learning. I've just learnt that girls here already outperform boys at the level of the baccalaureate. Moreover Faoud Chafiqi, a researcher who also works in the education ministry, reported that girls' aspirations for higher education are far stronger than boys. I assume, obviously, that the same tide is happening here as we have seen…
Read More