9. Gender and Achievement: Boys Flashcards
what type of masculine behaviour could affect boys in education
silly, macho behaviour
feel the need to be something their not
compete for the same dream
arguments and physical altercations
conform to stereotypes to stay cool
emphasis on sports
What are some factors of why Boys underachieve in education
Boys and Literacy
Feminisation of Education
Laddish Subcultures
Shortage of Male Primary school teachers
Globalisation and decline of traditional mens jobs
How does ‘Boys and Literacy’ lead to boys under performing and achieving in school?
gender gap remains mainly in literacy skills
parents read less with sons
boys pursue leisure, football, gaming etc
no development of language skills
poor language affects performance across all subjects (DCSF 2007)
How does ‘Feminisation of Education’ lead to boys under performing and achieving in school?
education is feminised as boys fall back
schools don’t nurture masculine traits, like competitivity and leadership
coursework should be replaced with exams
more emphasis on outdoor adventure
(Tony Sewell, BBC 2006, Gorad)
How does ‘Laddish Subcultures’ lead to boys under performing and achieving in school?
working class boys are harassed, verbally abused- sissies, homophobia etc
boys are more concerned by labels than girls threat to masculinity
boys appear laddish to avoid feminine aspects
(Epstein 1998, Francis 2001)
How does ‘Shortage of make primary school teachers’ lead to boys under performing and achieving in school?
1.5 million female headed families
only 16% teachers are men
39% 8-11 yo have no male teacher
42% say they work harder with a make teacher
67% 7-8 yo don’t care about gender
male teachers treat boys more harshly
(Becky Francis 2008, Myhil and Jones 2006)
How does ‘Globalisation and decline of traditional mens jobs’ lead to boys under performing and achieving in school?
decline in heavy industry like iron and steel
take advantage of cheap labour
identity crisis for men- no proper male jobs
give up trying to get qualifications
disappearance of jobs has no impact on motivation to attain qualifications in the first place
(Mitsos and Browne)
What are Reading Champions
national campaign to support reading within schools
live quiz with heats and grand final, in school challenges etc
promote reading, encourage diversity to improve literacy
What is National Literacy Struggle
balanced work and reading to allow all students to become properly literate
support literacy skills and builds confidence
help professionals increase provisions
What is Dad’s and Sons campaign
increase parental involvement in children’s education
readdress balance between girls and boys level of achievements
allow dads to spend quality time with children while still learning
What is Playing for Success
raise literacy, numeracy and ICT standards in KS2,3
uses rugby and football to encourage higher education with sports
held at football club centres and stadium training grounds
What is The raising boys achievement project
improve boys reading skills, make role models to celebrate the success
methods to give boys better chance at literacy in the world
improve motivation in boys to succeed at school
What is Moral Panic
an instance of public anxiety or alarm in response to a problem regarding threatening the moral standards of society
What is the moral panic about boys
under achieving boys will grow up to be part of the dangerous, unemployable underclass that threatens social stability
How can you see boys an girls disengaging at school
girls- do it quietly, retract themselves from the situation
boys- misbehave in laddish subcultures
What does different gender withdrawls show
boys underachieve more, it is a visible with drawl an can be helped more easily.
girls struggle quietly to remove themselves from societies gaze
teachers need to be aware of both even is girls need less help generally
Would more male teachers at primary schools help raise the achievement of boys?
yes it would allow more boys to achieve higher through seeing qualifications in human format
limits because teaching is still seen as a feminine job, so male role models won’t mean anything of there is not more male visibility generally
How are male teachers not required to raise educational achievement of boys?
Francis 06- 2/3 of 7-8 yo don’t care about gender
Read 08- not only males give the disciplinary boys need.
What did Read 08 study about language used
there are 2 types of language
disciplinary and liberal discourse
What is Disciplinarian Discourse
Authority is explicit and visible, shouting or toned voices
What is Liberal Discourse
Authority is implicit and invisible, a child centred discourse means the teacher speaks to the pupil as if they were an adult, so they respect them
Pseudo-adultification
How are boys improving in education
Boys aren’t a lost cause.
considerable performance increase over the last few years. (Since 2000)
there has been a decrease since COVID
How are there other factors to consider when boys underachieve
the class gap it 3x more than the gender gap
at GCSE, class is 44%, gender is 12%
(McVeigh 2001)
How can we understand the withdrawals of boys who underachieve
Black Caribbean students have the biggest gender gap
Girls define identity through education and achievement, boys use the opposite
How does gender play a role in wider factors of boys underachieving
Gender, ethnicity and achievement are all interlinked
Female raises performance more in combination with being black Caribbean rather than white
