They also argue that a male teacher could help boys develop a more adaptive form of masculinity and promote more positive behavioral attitudes towards school (Split). This may help to explain the hypothesis that male teachers can manage boys better, however this has been criticized as an oversimplification of gender theory (Cushman, 2010: Skelton, 2003). It is commonly believed that boys perform worse in primary school because the workforce is predominantly female. Studies have found that the influence of same-sex teachers on both children's cognitive and behavioral development is not significant, however Split says it is possible that there is a positive correlation between same-sex teachers and children's interpersonal skills. For example, Split states that “relatively high levels of conflict with male teachers may be less harmful to boys' school adjustment than high levels of conflict with female teachers, because male-to-male conflict may arise from male-typical (i.e. gender normative) behaviors and attitudes.”