HAVE WE LOST OUR DIRECTION?: THE INTERSECTIONALITY BETWEEN THE GENDER GAP, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND THE ROLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Is there a ‘gender gap’ in academic ‘achievement’ if we analyse this ‘apparent’ phenomenon based on the larger philosophical framework on the role of higher education2? Does one achieve excellence just because of good grades or by repeatedly getting a first class honours in the university? This paper attempts to discuss the conceptual framework of the intersectionality between the gender gap, academic achievement and the role of higher education so as to elicit a broader and nuanced understanding of this ‘phenomenon’ from feminist theories of education. This discussion will be juxtaposed against historical philosophy of undergraduate education within the context of the University of Malaya. The paper argues that there is little ‘reward’ in today’s universities for equipping students with the knowledge and the habits of mind that will make them wise, critical thinkers, balanced human beings possessing living skills. Rarely do the structures framing undergraduate education speak of critical questioning, responsible citizenship, ethics of care and nurturing, self-actualisation, transformative process or simply an obligation to leave the world as a better place. Most higher educational institutions including University of Malaya seems to construct the role of higher education in the university by over-linking it with entrepreneurship, employability and marketability.