4.gender differences in achievement(e)

Question 1

what are some A02 points for GCSE?

Answer 1

-overall, A* rates for boys was 5.9% compared to 8.1% for girls
-boys outperformed girls in biology and chemistry
-female A*-C rate was 73.1% compared to 64.3% for boys

Question 2

what are some A02 points for alevel?

Answer 2

-in 2021, 44.3% of alevel entries in england were awarded an A* or A
-2021 first year where more female students got A* grade in maths than males
-gender gap reached its highest level in 10 years, with the rate of A* and A’s standing at 46.4% for girls vs 41.7% for boys

Question 3

what is womens education?

Answer 3

-historically, womens education was designed to teach m/c and u/c girls how to be better mothers and wives
-make girls more attractive marriage material for men
-m/c taught very basics of reading, writing, maths, domestic skills
-werent encouraged to have academic aspirations
-in 1840s it was first acknowledged that if women were the first educators of children, they needed a solid education

Question 4

what are some gender differences within achievement?

Answer 4

-girls statistically do better than boys at every level o education system in english and science
-boys starting to catch up but not in GCSE english where 70% of girls pass compared to 54% of boys
-more girls stay on post 16
-more women accepted into uni
-women more likely to get 1st class degree

Question 5

if girls are doing so well, why are feminists moaning about education?

Answer 5

-feminists still concerned about girls experiences of education
-15,000 girls leave school with no qualifications
-girls less likely to take subjects like physics and maths for alevel
-girls tend to slip back a little at alevel where they were high performers at GCSE
-women still underpayed compared to men

Question 6

what was education like from 1950-1988?

Answer 6

-concerns about underachievement of girls at school
-girls did worse in exams and were less likely to progress to higher education

Question 7

what was education like in early 1990s?

Answer 7

-girls narrowed the gap and eventually eliminated it
-girls were outperforming boys at every level of national curriculum and in every subject at GCSE and alevel

Question 8

what was education like in 2006:higher education?

Answer 8

-48% of females went onto higher education vs 38% of males
-males were ahead in achieving higher classifications than women

Question 9

what is the external factor ‘feminism’?

Answer 9

-feminist movement challenged traditional stereotype of womens role as solely mother and housewife
-feminist raised womens expectations and self-esteem
-McRobbie’s (1994) study of girls magazines: in the 1970s they emphasised the importance of getting married and not being ‘left on the shelf’, whereas nowadays they contain images of independent women

Question 10

what is the external factor changes in employment?

Answer 10

-equal pay act (1970) and sex discrimination act (1975)
-growth of service sector has increased career opportunities for women
-girls have become more ambitious and are less likely to see having a family and home as their main role in life. many girls growing up today have mothers working in paid employment

Question 11

what is the external factor changing girls ambitions?

Answer 11

-Sharpe’s (1994) interviews with girls in the 1970s and 1990s show major shift in the way girls see their future. in order to achieve independence, many girls recognise they need an education. 1974: girls had low aspirations, believed educational success was unfeminine, gave their priorities as ‘love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs, careers more or less in thst order’. 1990: wanted careers and to be able to support themselves

Question 12

what is the external factor changes in the family?

Answer 12

-since 1970s, been increase in number of lone parent families which tend to be headed by women
-more women taking on breadwinner role
-increase in divorce rate, suggests to girls it is unwise to rely on a husband the be their provider

Question 13

what is the internal factor government policies and programmes?

Answer 13

-Boaler= ‘equal opportunities’ policies key to changing girls achievement. barriers removed
-Gist & Wise= encourage girls to pursue careers in non-traditional areas
-national curriculum=girls & boys study mostly same subjects, removed some gender inequality
-league tables= marketisation policies created more competition where schools see girls as desirable recruits as they do better in exams
-Jackson 1998= league table improved opportunities for girls- high achieving girls are attractive to schools whereas low achieving boys arent

Question 14

what is the internal factor role models in education?

Answer 14

-increasing number of women in senior positions in education such as headteacher and academy CEOs
-lack of male primary school teachers suggests to boys that learning is a female activity

Question 15

what is the internal factor changes in curriculum?

Answer 15

-introduction of coursework=favours girls. Gorard=argues changed system of assessment is reason behind gender gap in achievement. Mitsos & Browne= girls are more successful in coursework as theyre better organised than boys
-Elwood (2005)= exams have more influence than coursework on final grades, coursework is unlikely to be only cause of gender gap
-challenging stereotypes= removal of gender stereotypes from textbooks has removed barrier to girls achievement

Question 16

what is the internal factor labelling?

Answer 16

-teacher attention= French & French (1993) analysed classroom interaction and found boys received more attention as they attracted more reprimands. Francis (2001) found that while boys got more attention, they were disciplined more harshly
-ideal pupil=may explain why teachers respond more positively to girls. may lead to self-fulfilling prophecy. girls also spend more time on their work, take better care with presentation, meet deadlines.
-laddish sub-cultures= contributed to boys underachievement. in w/c subculture, masculinity is equated with being tough and doing manual work. Epstein (1998) found that w/c boys are likely to be harassed, subjected to homophobic verbal abuse if they appear to be ‘swats’

Question 17

what are ‘laddish subcultures’ in boys and achievement?

Answer 17

-francis (2001)- found boys are concerned about being labelled as ‘smart’ as it threatens their masculinity
-epstein (1998)- found that pro-school w/c boys were likely to be harrassed, labelled as ‘gay’ and subjected to verbal abuse by peers if they appear as ‘swats’
-some sociologists argue that the growth of ‘laddish’ subcultures has contributed to boys underachievement

Question 18

what is feminisation of schooling in boys and achievement?

Answer 18

-sewell (2006)- argues boys are underachieving bc education has become feminised.
schools no longer embody traditional masculine traits like competition and leadership.
-instead they celebrate things like methodical working and attentiveness in class
-sewell suggests coursework is major cause in gender differences in achievement

Question 19

what is lack of male role models in boys and achievement?

Answer 19

-lack of male role models within schools means education is more feminised
-some sociologists believe with the rise of female headed lone parent families, the lack of male role models at home is a contributing factor to boys underachievement
-yougov (2007)- most boys surveyed said presence of male teacher made them behave better, 42% said ti made them work harder
-some sociologists argue female teachers are unable to control boys behaviour, and male teachers are better able to impose strict discipline boys need

Question 20

what is literacy in boys and achievement?

Answer 20

-some sociologists identified boys poor literacy skills as further factor contributing to their underachievement
-one reason for their poor literacy skills may be bc parents
spend less time reading to their sons as its seen as a feminine activity
-boys leisure interests dont encourage communication & language skills, whereas girls tend to have ‘bedroom culture’ centred on staying in and talking with friends

Question 21

what is globalisation in boys and achivement?

Answer 21

-since 1980s, manufactoring industries have relocated into developing countries like china
-globalisation has led to decline of traditional male jobs in heavy industries like shipbuilding, mining, manufactoring within uk
-mitsos and browne argue that decline in heavy industry employment has lead to identity crisis among males
-many boys believe they dont have a chance at getting a job so have less motivation to gt a job

Question 22

what are some evaluations of boys and underachievement?

Answer 22

male teachers
-research suggests the absence of male teachers may not be major factor in boys underachievement
-francis (2006)- two thirds of 7-8 year olds delieved gender of teachers doesnt matter
-read (2008)- criticised idea that only male teachers can exert firm discipline. she studied types of language teachers used and found two types:
*disciplinarian discourse= teachers authority is made explicit and visible
*liberal discourse= teachers authority is implicit and invisible

Question 23

what are some evaluations of boys and achievement?

Answer 23

moral panic
-critics of feminism speak of ‘girl power’ and of girls today ‘having it all’, they believe girls have succeeded at disadvantage of boys
-ringrose (2013 feminist)- believes these views have contributed to moral panic about ‘failing boys’
-ringrose argues that this has caused a shit in educational policy:
*too focused on ‘failing boys’, ignoring problem of disadvantaged w/c and minority ethnic pupils
*by focusing on achievement gaps it ignores other issues faced by girls, like bullying, sexual harassment, self-esteem, identity issues

Question 24

what is gender role socialisation in factors affecting subject choice?

Answer 24

-process of learning the behaviour expected of males and females in society
-norman (childhood activities)- from early age, boys & girls are dressed differently, given different toys , encouraged to take part in different activities
-byrne (schools)- teachers encourage boys to be tough and show initiative whereas girls are expected to be quiet, helpful, clean, tidy
-browne and ross (gender domains)- tasks and activities that boys and girls see as male or female territory. children more confident in task when they see it as their own gender norm
-murphy and elwood (reading)- boys and girls develop different tastes in reading. boys read hobby books and informative texts, girl read stories about people

Question 25

what is gendered subject image in factors affecting subject choice?

Answer 25

-kelly- science is seen as boys subject for several reasons:
*science teachers more likely to be men
*examples teachers use, and those in textbooks, are often boys
-anne colley (1998)- computer studies seen as masculine subject:
*involves working with machines
*way its taught is off-putting for females
*pupils who attend single sex schools tend to hold less stereotyped subject choices

Question 26

what is gender identities & peer group pressures in factors affecting subject choice?

Answer 26

-paechter (sport)- sport often seen as male domain and girls will be seen as unfeminine if they opt for it
-skelton et al mitsos- both supported that different subjects appeal different genders
-dewar (bullying)- male students would call girls ‘lesbian’ or ‘butch’ if they appeared interested in sport
-peer pressure- the absence of peer pressure from the opposite sex may explain why girls in single-sex schools more likely to choose traditional boys subjects

Question 27

what is gendered career opportunities in factors affecting subject choice?

Answer 27

-jobs tend to be sex typed as ‘mens’ or ‘womens’. womens jobs often involve work similar to housewife role
-over half of all womens employment falls within 4 categories: clerical, secretarial, personal services, occupations such as cleaning
-this sex-typing affects what boys and girls see as possible or acceptable jobs

Question 28

what is ethnicity and subject choice within factors affecting subject choice?

Answer 28

-ethnocentric curriculum= BAME students may be put off from studying certain subjects which focus on white british culture
-english as an additional language= EAI students may be chanelled towards less academic subjects due to levels of english

Question 29

what is class and subject choice within factors affecting subject choice?

Answer 29

-material factors= hidden costs of curriculum- some students may fee theyre excluded from certain subjects due to cost of completing course
-cultural factors= class based subject image- w/c students may feel certain subjects arent for them as they dont possess cultural knowledge to succeed
-labelling= w/c students may be pushed towards less academic and more vocational subjects

Question 30

what is gender identity and schooling within pupils sexual and gender identities?

Answer 30

-students school experiences help to construct and reinforce their gender and sexual identity
-connell (1995)- argues schools reproduce ‘hegamonic masculinity’- the dominance of the heterosexual masculine identity and the subordinate of female and gay identities
-feminists- argue experiences in school act as a form of social control to reproduce patriarchy. several ways which this occurs

Question 31

what are double standards within pupils sexual and gender identities?

Answer 31

-exists when we apply one set of moral standards to one group but different set to another group
-lees (1986)-identified double standard of sexual morality which boys boast about their own sexual exploits, but call girls a ‘slag’ if she doesnt have a steady boyfriend or dresses in certain way
-feminists see these double standards as an example of patriarchal ideology that justifies male power and devalues women

Question 32

what is verbal abuse within pupils sexual and gender identities?

Answer 32

-name calling girls who act a certain way makes them conform to male expectations
-lees (1986)- foud boys called girls ‘slags’ if they appeared to be sexually available, and ‘drags’ if they didnt. he found no equivalent for males
-mac and ghaill (1992)- found anti school w/c boys use verbal abuse to reinforce their definitions of masculinity. they called other w/c pro school boys ‘dickhead achievers’

Question 33

what is teachers within pupils sexual and gender identities?

Answer 33

-haywood and mac & ghaill- found male teachers reinforced gender identities by telling boys off for ‘behaving like girls’ and teasing them when they gained lower marks in tests than girls. teachers tended to ignore boys verbal abuse of girls
-sue askew and carol ross- show how male teachers behaviour can subtly reinforce messages about gender e.g. male teachers often have protective attitudes towards female colleagues and come into their classes to ‘rescue’ them by threatening pupils for being disruptive, suggesting women cant cope alone

Question 34

what is the male gaze within pupils sexual and gender identities?

Answer 34

-mac and ghaill- for of social control where male pupils and teachers look girls up and down as sexual objects. boys who dont do this may be labelled as ‘gay’ which is another form of social control

Question 35

what is male peer groups within pupils sexual and gender identities?

Answer 35

-also use verbal abuse to reinforce their definitions of masculinity. as studies by epstein and willis show, boys in anti school subcultures often accuse boys who want to do well at school of being gay or effeminate

Question 36

what is female peer groups within pupils sexual and gender identities?

Answer 36

-archer= shows how w/c girls gain symbolic capital from their female peers by perfomring a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity. involves constructing a glamorous/’sexy’ nike appearance using particular brands and styles.
-jessica ringrose= study found that teen girls (13-14) faced a tension between:
*idealised deminine identity showing loyalty to female peer group
*sexualised identity involved competing for boys
-girls who are too competitive to attract boys attention risk ‘slut shaming’, whilst girls who dont compete risk ‘frigid shaming’. shaming is thus a social control device bywhich school girls police, regulate & discipline each others identities