Boys and achievement Flashcards
why might boys have poorer literacy and language skills?
parents spend less time reading to their sons and mothers may do most of the reading, meaning it comes to be seen as a feminine activity.
Why do MITSOS and BROWNE believe boys are experiencing an ‘‘identity crisis’ and how does this affect achievement?
globalisation has led to relocation of manufacturing industry to developing countries.
decline of traditional male employment opportunities which undermines the motivation/self-esteem of boys - they give up trying to get qualifications
why is it unlikely that the decline in traditional male jobs has impacted boys’ motivation?
they were manual W/C jobs and require few qualifications
what has education become according to SEWELL?
feminised
how has education become feminised?
doesn’t nurture ‘masculine’ traits such as competitiveness and leadership
coursework favours girls
what % of primary teachers are male?
14%
who found that 42% of boys said the presence of a male teacher makes them work harder?
Yougov
what does the National Literacy Strategy include a focus on?
improving boys’ reading
what does the Dads and Sons campaign encourage?
fathers to be more involved in son’s education
why might the absence of male teachers not be a major factor in boys’ underachievement?
FRANCIS found that 2/3 of 7-8 year old believed the gender of teachers doesn’t matter.
what is READ critical of?
claims that primary school is becoming feminised and that only male teachers exert the discipline boys need to achieve.
what two types of discourse did READ identify?
disciplinarian discourse - teacher’s authority is explicit e.g. shouting/sarcasm
liberal discourse - teacher’s authority is implicit. child-centred discourse involves ‘pseudo-adultification’
how many teachers did READ study?
51
what discourse did the teachers in READ’s study favour?
the ‘masculine’ disciplinarian discourse.
what two conclusions did READ draw from her findings?
- most teachers favoured the masculine disciplinarian discourse showing primary school hasn’t become feminised as is argued by SEWELL
- female teachers as likely to use ‘masculine’ discourse to control behaviour - disproves claim that only male teachers provide strict classroom culture in which boys thrive.
who claims that the socialisation of boys leads them to be over-confident. When they fail exams, they are surprised and put it down to bad luck>lack of effort.
BURNS and BRACEY
how does W/C culture affect the achievement of boys according to FRANCIS and EPSTEIN?
masculinity is equated with being tough/manual work
W/C boys avoid schoolwork to avoid being called ‘gay’
why is the laddish subculture becoming widespread according to FRANCIS?
as girls move into traditionally masculine areas, boys become ‘increasingly laddish in their effort to construct themselves as non-feminine’
why has a moral panic about ‘failing boys’ emerged?
critics of feminism arguing policies to help girls have disadvantaged boys and women are now taking mens jobs
why has the shift in policy, in reaction to the moral panic about failing boys, been negative?
- narrowing equal opportunities policy down to ‘failing boys’ it ignores problem of disadvantaged W/C and EM pupils.
- narrowing gender policy down to the issue of achievement gaps. it ignores other problems faced by girls in school e.g. sexual harassment, stereotyped subject choices.
why has the focus on underachieving boys led to neglect of girls according to OSLER?
girls often disengage from school quietly, while boys’ disengagement takes the form of public displays of ‘laddish’ activity which attracts attention of policymakers.
what example does OSLER give to support the idea that girls are being neglected?
mentoring schemes aimed at reducing school exclusions of black boys ignores increasing exclusion of girls.
why is it wrong to describe boys as a ‘lost cause’?
their perfomance has improved in recent years, despite remaining behind girls.
how much wider is the class gap in achievement at GCSE than the gender gap?
3 times
girls from the highest social class are …points ahead of girls from the lowest class.
44 points
what does CONNOLLY suggest?
certain combinations of gender, class, ethnicity have more effect than others. being female raises performance when ‘added’ to being black more than when ‘added’ to being white.
