Boys and Achievement

Question 1

How has boys’ socialisation affected their literacy?

Answer 1

• Boys may have lower literacy levels due to fathers reading to them less, as it is seen as a feminine activity. Their leisure pursuits, e.g. football, don’t develop their language skills, contrasting girls’ ‘bedroom culture’. This affects their performance in subjects
• National Literacy Trusts notes only 1 in 4 boys read outside of class everyday in primary

Question 2

What are attempts to improve boys’ literacy?

Answer 2

• Government has introduced many polices e.g. Reading Champions scheme have male role models expressing their interests reading.
• Modern example is the rise in graphic novels has led to more reading catered to boys.

Question 3

How has globalisation changed employment?

Answer 3

• Since the 1980s, there’s been decline in heavy industries due to globalisation of the economy, e.g. mining, which are traditionally run by men.
• Mitsos and Browne claim this decline in male employment has led to an ‘identity crisis’.

Question 4

How has globalisation affected boys’ achievement?

Answer 4

• Boys now have little prospects in getting a proper job which undermines their motivation to get qualifications.
• However, manual jobs require few if any qualifications, so it’s unlikely their decline has had much impact on boys’ motivation

Question 5

How has the feminisation of education affected boys’ achievement?

Answer 5

Sewell argues schools don’t nurture ‘masculine’ traits, e.g competitiveness, while they celebrate qualities linked to girls, attentiveness.

Question 6

Give statistics that a shortage of male primary school teachers affects boys’ achievement

Answer 6

• Only 14% of primary teachers are male.
• 42% of boys said they would behave better and work harder with a male teacher.

Question 7

How does the shortage of male primary school teachers affect boys’ achievement?

Answer 7

Some argue this is due to the feminisation of teaching. In this view, male teachers are better at imposing stricter rules as they use, what Read identifies as, disciplinarian discourse which is explicit and visible, contrasting liberal discourse that is argued to be used by female teachers.

Question 8

Why might a shortage of male primary school teachers not affect boys’ achievement?

Answer 8

• Francis found two-thirds of 7-8 year olds thought gender of teachers don’t matter
• Primary school children may not focus on the gender of their role model

Question 9

How does laddish subculture affect boys’ achievement?

Answer 9

• Francis found boys were more concerned with labels by peers than girls as it is more of a threat to their masculinity than girls’ femininity. She argues laddish subculture is becoming more widespread due to girls moving to masculine areas so boys become more laddish to assert themselves as non-feminine
• In WC culture, non-manual work, schoolwork, is seen as inferior. So WC boys reject schoolwork to avoid labels.

Question 10

Describe the impact of gender on achievement compared to class and ethnicity

Answer 10

• At GCSE, the gender gap within classes is rarely greater than 12% compared to the difference between high and lower class girls can be as much as 44%
• Fuller’s study on successful black girl and Sewell’s findings that black boys oppose education due to their masculinity

Question 11

Give evaluation for boys and achievement (polices promoting girls are not needed)

Answer 11

• Critics of feminism argue polices that promote girls’ education are no longer needed. They believe girls have succeeded at the expense of boys, who are the new disadvantaged.
• However Ringrose argues this view contributes to the moral panic of ‘failing boys’, reflects a fear that WC boys will become a dangerous, unemployable underclass that threatens social stability.
• This has caused a shift in educational policy, that focuses on ‘failing boys’, ignoring disadvantaged WC and ethnic minority pupils.

Question 12

Give evaluation for boys and achievement (neglect of girls)

Answer 12

• Osler argues the focus of underachieving boys has led to a neglect in girls as boys have more public displays of disengagement compared to girls, that attract attention.
• e.g. mentoring schemes aimed to reduce black boys exclusions, ignore that the exclusion of girls is increasing.
• Official exclusion rates also mask a wider, hidden problem of exclusion among girls, including self-exclusion and internal exclusion.