5. Gender and educational achievement Flashcards
What are the 5 external explanations for girls improved performance?
-Changing attitudes and expectations
-Women’s movement and feminism
-Growing employment opportunities
-Female character traits
-Earlier maturity
Changing attitudes and expectations - What were the main priorities of women in the 70s and then 90s? (Sue Sharpe)
70s: Love, marriage, husbands and children
90s: Job, career, being able to support themselves
Changing attitudes and expectations - What were girls like in the 1990s?
Girls were more confident, assertive and ambitious seeing education as the main route to a good job and financial independence
Changing attitudes and expectations - What representations was there more of in magazines and the media?
Far more role models of successful career women in magazines (McRobbie)
Changing attitudes and expectations - What does Wilkinson suggest women underwent?
Wilkinson suggests women underwent a ‘genderquake’ aspirations no longer restricted to the home.
Changing attitudes and expectations - Impact of parents and school encouragement
Parents increasingly expected exam success and in schools encouraged pushed girls to study STEM subjects
Women’s movement and feminism - What did the women movement improve?
Improved rights of women as well as raising expectations and self esteem/ motivation of women.
Women’s movement and feminism - What has happened to many of the rights that feminism and the women’s movement fought for?
Many of the rights they fought for are now translated into law eg Equal Pay Act
Women’s movement and feminism - What do many feminists still argue to today?
That true equality has not been achieved yet but many agree the position of women has greatly improved
Growing employment opportunities - What had there been a decline in (Mitos and Browne)
Decline in heavy industry jobs
Growing employment opportunities - What jobs have there been a growth in?
The service sector (e.g health care, hospitality, teaching)
Growing employment opportunities - What arises at the same time new work opportunity
Flexible, part time work meaning women could combine children and work
Growing employment opportunities - What professions do women now aim for?
Aim for ‘highest professions’ which require degree qualifications such as doctors and solicitors
Female character traits - What are girls more than boys in their studies?
More motivated in their studies than boys
Growing employment opportunities - Girls generally:
-Work harder
-Are more likely to meet deadlines
-Have better concentration
Earlier maturity - When are girls more mature than boys?
Girls are more mature than boys by the time they sit their exams
Boys Lower expectations- What is their evidence to show bout teachers?
Teachers are not as strict with boys as with girls
Boys: Lower expectations- What do lower expectations of boys create?
A self fulfilling prophecy as they perform less well than they otherwise might
Boys: Lower expectations- Why might they loose classroom learning time?
Lose classroom learning time because they are sent out or sent home
Masculinity and anti-learning subculture - What does peer group pressure do?
Encourages boys to maintain a dominant masculine identity developed through resistance to schools
Masculinity and anti-learning subculture - What cred to boys gain?
‘Street cred’ through not working and developing a ‘laddish’ anti-education subculture
Masculinity and anti-learning subculture - What do boys view school work as?
School work is seen as ‘girly’ and ‘un-macho’
Masculinity and anti-learning subculture - What do boys that concentrate and do school work risk?
Risk of bullying and being labelled gay
Masculinity and anti-learning subculture - What is teaching seen as?
Teaching is seen as a ‘female profession’ due to lack of positive male role models which contributes to negative attitude to schools and schooling
Declining employment opportunities - What has the decline in employment opportunities explained?
Explains why many boys underperform as they lack motivation and ambition and feel like they have limited prospects - getting qualifications won’t get them anywhere
Feeling and behaving differently - What do boys do about their ability?
Boys over estimate their ability thinking their more capable than they are.
Feeling and behaving differently - What do boys do if they fail?
If they fail they blame everyone but themselves
Boys and reading - What do boys view reading as?
Feminine
Boys and reading - Who is more likely to read to children?
Women are more likely to read to children
Boys and reading - When have studies shown boys to stop reading?
Age of 8
Boys and reading - What do boys read compared to girls?
Girls read fiction and boys non fiction
Leisure preferences - How do girls relate to each other?
Girls relate to each other through talking which enhances speech which improves school work
Leisure preferences - How do boys relate to each other?
Boys relate to each other through actions
What did the Education reform act aim to do?
aimed to remove gender differences in educational provision and experiences
What happened after the education reform act 1988?
-GCSE exams and coursework
-Girls achievement became higher
What is WISE?
Women into science and engineering
What is GIST?
Girls into science and technology
What did government policies such as WISE and GIST encourage?
These government policies encouraged females to enter subject areas that are traditionally dominated by males - opened up employment opportunities in ‘male stream’ careers
What did the National Curriculum mean Boys and girls studied?
Males and females study the same core subjects - created a more meritocratic education system
Feminisation of schools: What are teachers more likely to do?
Teachers more likely to help girls
Feminisation of schools: What does the school environment emphasise?
Emphasises neatness and tidiness (advantages girls)
AO3 Feminisation of schools: What has little impact on learning?
The gender of teacher
What did the removal of coursework do?
Made grades dropped for both genders - girls results still remain higher than boys
What has research shown about GCSE andA-level subject choices?
Subject choices commonly still gendered
What did GCSE and Courswork do to girls?
-Girls begin to outperform boys
-Girls more thorough with organisation and presentation, spend more time on coursework
-Advantages girls as they are more conscientious and organised.
More female Role Models effect on girls?
-Increase in females taking up heat teacher, senior staff roles acts as role models for girls showing they can achieve positions of importance and power
-Role models means girls more likely to work hard to achieve goals
Pupil teacher interactions with girls
-Girls more likely to be seen as ideal pupil due to socialisation
-More passive and polite so receive positive attention from teachers
Lack of primary male teachers
-Shortage of male teachers
-No role models for boys
-Male teacher better at motivating and disciplining boys
-Policies put in place for recruitment of male teachers across the country to help improve boys performance.
Subject choices
-Gender socialisation can channel different subject choices at school
-Gendered subjects have less impact in single sex schools showing subject genderisation is a social construct
-Subjects choices commonly gendered
-Girls choose humanity and languages, boys choose science, maths and business
What are the internal factors for girls improved achievement?
-GCSE and Coursework
-Female role models
-Pupil teacher interactions
-Social policies
-Feminisation of education
What are the external factors for boys underachievement?
-Hegemonic masculinity & anti-learning subcultures
-Declining employment
-Felling & behaving differently
-Leisure preferences
-Reading
Internal factors for boys underachievement?
-Teacher lower expectations
-Lack of role models
-Feminisation of education
-Disruptive behaviour
