Boys and achievement Flashcards
Reasons why boys underachieve: Boys and literacy
What is a major reason for the gender gap in boys’ achievement?
Boys’ poorer literacy and language skills contribute to the gender gap in achievement.
According to the DCSF (2007), this may be due to parents spending less time reading to sons. . Another may be that it is mothers who do most of the reading to young children, who thus come to see reading as a feminine activity.
How do boys’ leisure activities affect their language skills?
In addition, boys’ leisure pursuits such as football, do little to help develop their language and communication skills . By contrast have a ‘bedroom culture’ centred on staying in and talking with friends.
Poor language and literacy skills are likely to affect boys’ performance across a wide range of subjects. In response to this problem has introduced a range of policies to improve boys’ skills.
Reasons why boys underachieve: Globalisation and decline of men jobs
What has happened to traditional men jobs?
Since the 1980s there has been a significant decline in heavy industries such as iron and steel , shipbuilding, mining and engineering. This had been partly the result of the globalisation of the economy, which has led to much manufacturing of industry relocating to developing countries such as China to take advantage of cheap labour.
What impact does globalisation have on traditional men’s jobs?
Traditionally, these sectors of the economy mainly employed men. Mitsos and Browne claim that this decline in male employment opportunities has led to an ‘identity crisis for men’. Many boys now believe that they have little prospect of getting a proper job. This undermines their motivation and self-esteem and so they give up trying to get qualifications.
What is a criticisms of the globalisation and decline of traditional male jobs explanation for why boys underachieve?
While there may be some truth in this claim, we should note that the decline has largely been in manual working-class jobs that require few if any qualifications. Thus it seems unlikely that the disappearance of such jobs would have much impact on boys’ motivation to obtain qualifications.
Reasons why boys underachieve: Feminisation of education.
What does Tony Sewell argue about the feminisation of education?
Sewell claims that education has become ‘feminised’, not nurturing ‘masculine’ traits like competitiveness and leadership. Instead they celebrate qualities more closely associated with girls, such as methodical working and attentiveness in class.
What does Sewell suggest to address gender differences in achievement?
Sewell sees coursework as a major cause of gender differences in achievement. He argues that some coursework should be replaced with final exams and a greater emphasis placed on outdoor adventure in the curriculum. He argues: “we have challenged the 1950s patriarchy and rightly said this is not a man’s world. But we have thrown the boy out with the bathwater”.
Reasons why boys underachieve: Laddisih subcultures
What are ‘laddish’ subcultures and what happens to W/C boys who are labeled as ‘swots’??
‘Laddish’ subcultures are groups where boys may reject academic success to conform to masculine norms, often leading to underachievement. Epstein (1998) examined the way masculinity is constructed within school. She found that working-class boys are likely to be harassed, labelled as sissies and subjected to homophobic (anti-gay) verbal abuse if they appear to be ‘swots’.
How does Epsteins findings supports Becky Francis’s findings?
This supports francis’ finding that boys were more concerned than girls about being labelled by peers as swots, because this label is more of a threat to their masculinity than it is to girls’ femininity.
This is because in working-class culture, masculinity is equated with being tough and doing manual work. Non-manual work, and by extension schoolwork, is seen as effeminate and inferior. As a result, working-class boys tend to reject schoolwork to avoid being ‘gay’. As Epstein observes, ‘real boys dont work’-and if they do they get bullied.
What subjects do boys and girls typically choose?
Boys tend to opt for subjects like Maths and Physics, while girls are more likely to choose modern languages.
Explanations of differences in subject choices: Gender and subject
What is gender role socialisation?
Gender role socialisation is the process of learning expected behaviors for males and females in society. Early socialisation shapes Children’s gender identity- As Fiona Norman notes from an early age, boys and girls are dressed differently, given different toys and encouraged to take part in different activities.
Eileen Byrne shows that teachers encourage boys to be tough and show initiative and not be weak or behave like sissies. Girls on the other hand are expected to be quiet, helpful, clean and tidy.
How does early socialisation affect boys’ and girls’ reading preferences?
As a result of differences in socialisation, Boys often read hobby books and information texts, while girls are more likely to read stories about people. This helps to explain why boys prefer science subjects and why girls prefer subjects such as English.
Explanations of differences in subject choices: Gender and subject
What factors contribute to the perception of science as a boys’ subject?
Sociologists have tried to explain why some subjects are seen as boys’ or girls’ subjects in the first place. For example, Kelly argues that science is seen as a boys’ subject for several reasons:
* Science teachers are more likely to be men.
* The examples teachers use, and those in textbooks, often draw on boys’ rather than girls’ interests.
* In science lessons, boys monopolise the apparatus and dominate the laboratory, acting as if it is ‘theirs’.
Similarly, Anne Colley notes that computer studies is seen as a masculine subject for two reasons:
* It involves working with machines-part of the male gender domain.
* The way it is taught is off-putting to females. Tasks tend to be abstract and teaching styles formal, with few opportunities for group work, which girls favour.
Explanations of gender differences in subject choices: Gender domain
What are gender domains?
Browne and Ross argue that children’s beliefs about ‘gender domains’ are shaped by their early experiences and the expectations of adults. By gender domains they mean the task and activities that boys and girls see as male or female ‘territory’ and therefore as relevant to themselves. For example, mending a car is seen as falling within the male gender domain, but looking after a sick child did not.
Children are more confident when engaging in tasks that they see as part of their own gender domain. For example, when they are set the same mathematical task, girls are more confident in tackling it when it is presented as being about food and nutrition, whereas boys are more confident if it is about cars.
Pupil identity
What is a double standard in gender identity?
A double standard exists when moral standards are applied to boys and girls differently regarding sexual behavior. Sue Lees identifies a double standard of sexual morality, in which boys boast about their own sexual exploits, but call a girl a ‘slag’ if she doesn’t have a steady boyfriend or if she dresses and speaks in a certain way. Sexual conquest is approved of and given status by male peers and ignored by male teachers, but ‘promiscuity’ among girls attracts negative labels.
Feminist see these double standards as an example of a patriarchal ideology that justifies male power and devalues women. Double standards can be seen as a form of social control that reinforces gender inequality by keeping females subordinate to males.
Pupil identity
What is the ‘male gaze’?
There is also a visual aspect to the way pupils control each other’s identities. Mac an Ghaill refers to this as the ‘male gaze’ : the way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down, seeing them as sexual objects and making judgements about their appearance.
Mac an Ghaill sees the male gaze as a form of surveillance through which dominant heterosexual masculinity is reinforced and femininity devalued. It is one of the ways boys prove their masculinity to their friends and is often combined with constant telling and retelling of stories about sexual conquests. Boys who do not disp;ay their heterosexuality in this way run the risk of being labelled gay.
Pupil identity
How do teachers reinforce gender identities?
Research shows that teachers also play a part in reinforcing dominant definitions of gender identity. Haywood and Mac an Ghaill found that male teachers told boys off for ‘behaving like girls’ and teased them when they gained lower marks in tests than girls. Teachers tended to ignore boys’ verbal abuse and even blamed girls for attracting it.
