The 2nd GSA Girls’ Research Association (GRA) has progressed excellently this academic year, with students across eight schools making brilliant progress on research projects exploring the topic; Equality for women and girls in society.
Bringing together Year 7 students from GSA and non-GSA schools, the programme gives young researchers the opportunity to design and carry out their own social research while developing the skills to ask challenging questions, gather evidence and communicate their findings. Working collaboratively with a partner school, students agree a shared research question before conducting their investigations independently and comparing their findings at the end of the project.
“The Girls’ Research Association is about giving girls ownership of the questions that matter most to them. By introducing research at Year 7, we are nurturing curiosity, research skills and confidence at an early stage, while empowering girls to investigate real-world issues through evidence rather than assumption. These are skills that will benefit them throughout their education and beyond.”
Nicola Griffiths, Chair of GSA Research Committee & Head of Norwich High School
Schools making excellent progress
Schools are currently at, or ahead of, the expected stage of the project. Literature reviews have largely been completed, research instruments have been designed, and data collection is either underway or about to begin!
Bedford Girls’ School & Ellen Wilkinson School
Students are investigating “What impact does pain management bias have on secondary school girls’ physical health and well-being across three generations?”
Both schools have agreed their shared research question and are now working independently. Bedford Girls’ School is currently finalising parental consent before distributing surveys, while both schools continue preparing for data collection.
Norwich High School & Batley Girls’ High School
Students are exploring “Does gender inequality still exist in the media in the 21st century?”
The project is progressing particularly well, with Batley Girls’ High School having completed a Year 7 survey and now analysing findings alongside its literature review. Students are investigating areas including television, music, newspapers and film. Norwich High School has completed its survey and has already begun writing its report.
St Mary’s School, Colchester & Sir Jonathan North College
Students are researching “Does social media influence girls away from sport?”
Having completed their initial literature review, the students have designed surveys and interview questions, with data collection set to begin shortly following the completion of the consent process.
At St Mary’s School, students have been developing survey questions that will be shared across the school to gather views from pupils in every year group. Pictured are Ella and Megan (Year 7), who, alongside the rest of their research team, have been helping to design the survey that will underpin the next phase of the investigation.
Farnborough Hill School & St Julie’s Catholic High School
Students at these schools are asking “What are the biggest barriers preventing gender equality in sport today?”
Farnborough Hill have constructed a questionnaire that they have sent to staff with a decent response rate. They will take away this data to analyse alongside their research over the summer.
Looking ahead
At the beginning of the new school year, students will continue collecting and analysing their data before preparing presentations to share with fellow participants later this year.
The enthusiasm shown by the students, alongside the quality of the research questions they have developed, has been hugely encouraging. The Girls’ Research Association is already demonstrating the value of giving girls the opportunity to investigate issues that directly affect their lives through rigorous, evidence-informed research.