DEA GENDER

Question 1

What percentage of women are more likely to apply to uni than men?

Answer 1

35%

Question 2

How does the presence of more female role models in wider society influence girls educational aspirations?

Answer 2

Role models are not limited to those occupying senior leadership positions in schools but also in other areas such as career, family and relationships.

Question 3

Explain the change in girls aspirations - Sue Sharpe

Answer 3

In 1976, girls were asked what their aspirations were for life - family, marriage and home life.
When asked again in 1994, this had changed to education, career and family.

Shift has led to higher motivation levels in girls to achieve academic success.

Question 4

Name 2 policies that have allowed for equal employment opportunities for women.

Answer 4

1975 sex discrimination act.
1970 Equal pay act.

Question 5

What is the glass ceiling effect?

Answer 5

This is when women can’t reach certain promotions or levels in the workplace due to gender barriers - the glass ceiling blocks them.

Question 6

What is GIST?

Answer 6

A project in the early 1980s to try and address gender differences in subject choice and encourage more girls to choose sciences at school.

Question 7

What is WISE?

Answer 7

A project to encourage more girls to choose STEM careers

Question 8

What is the education reform act?

Answer 8

Set up the National Curriculum in state schools and managed end of assessments at the end of each key stage.

Question 9

What does Weiner say about teachers and gender stereotypes?

Answer 9

Teachers are challenging gender stereotypes more than ever:
- sexist images removed from text books
- more positive female imagery in resources

Question 10

What is often suggested about primary schools and their gender influence?

Answer 10

Seen as a ‘feminised’ system which instils notions of a gender domain.

Question 11

What is a gender domain?

Answer 11

The tasks and activities men and women see as territory of their retrospective genders.

Question 12

What percentage of teachers in primary schools in 2012 are female?

Answer 12

81%

Question 13

What does Gorard say about the gender gap in education?

Answer 13

The gender gap in success rates increased when the introductions of GCSE’s happened - more coursework based assessments.

Question 14

What do Mitsos and Browne say about GCSE’s and coursework?

Answer 14

Assessments tend to female females more than males - coursework suits girls better.

• Girls spend more time on their work
  -Girls take more care in presentation
• Girls are more organised
• Girls develop better speaking and listening skills = useful in oral exams.

Question 15

What did Dale Spender say about male attention in school?

Answer 15

Boys received more attention in the classroom than boys, but it is negative.
Boys more likely to be disciplined than girls, and are more likely to attract teacher attention as they are more boisterous and disruptive.

Question 16

What market principles did the 1988 education act introduce?

Answer 16

Formula funding
League tables

Question 17

How does formula funding put pressure on schools?

Answer 17

Pressures them to perform well to raise their league positioning to attract students.

Schools therefore favour girls as they achieve better results.

Question 18

How do radical feminists criticise education?

Answer 18

See it as patriarchal and suggest:
- male teachers more likely to be head teachers
- female subject choices are restricted
- females are still generally paid less in employment.

Question 19

Who talked about symbolic violence?

Answer 19

Louise Archer

Question 20

What did Archer say about symbolic capital and W/C girls feminine identities?

Answer 20

Girls gained symbolic capital from their peers
Constructed a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity
Often punished by school for having wrong appearance, saw as distraction.

Question 21

What is the W/C girls dilemma?

Answer 21

They can either gain symbolic capital by conforming to a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity
OR
gain educational capital by rejecting their W/C identity.

Question 22

Why do boys have poorer literacy and language skills?

Answer 22

• parents spend less time reading to sons
• mothers do most of reading so viewed as feminine activity
• boys leisure activities - football - do not help their language skills
• girls tend to have a bedroom culture

Question 23

What is the bedroom culture?

Answer 23

Girls more likely to play in their rooms quietly, reading books.
Boys tend to go outside and play football, encouraged to be adventurous.

Question 24

How do Mitsos and Browne say de-industrialisation has affected boys’ educational performance?

Answer 24

Decline in heavy industries means many boys now believe they have little hope in getting a proper job so give up trying.

Question 25

How can mitsos and browne’s theory be criticised?

Answer 25

Decline has mainly been in manual jobs that don’t require qualifications, so little impact on their motivation.

Question 26

What does Sewell say about education?

Answer 26

It has become feminised and does not nurture masculine traits. Qualifications are heavily exam based.

Question 27

What percent of primary school teachers are male?

Answer 27

14%

Question 28

What are the 2 types of discourse identified by Read?

Answer 28

Disciplinarian discourse - teacher’s authority is explicit and visible

Liberal discourse - implicit and invisible authority

Question 29

Name 2 policies brought in to tackle boy’s educational attainment problems

Answer 29

Playing for success - improve literacy skills

Raising boys achievement project

Question 30

What does Ringrose say the result of a moral panic has been?

Answer 30

Shift in educational policy that is now concerned with raising boys achievement.

Question 31

What are the negative effects of the policy according to ringrose?

Answer 31

Narrowing down failing boys - ignore problems of W/C and ethnic pupils

• By looking at gender gaps, ignoring other issues faced by girls such as bullying and sexual harassment.

Question 32

What did Elwood say about socialisation of genders?

Answer 32

Boys and girls are socialised differently so develop different tastes in reading.

Boys read hobby books and information texts, whereas girls read novels and real-life stories.

Question 33

What do Browne and Ross argue gender domains are influenced by?

Answer 33

Influenced by their childhood experiences and expectations of adults.

Children are more confident when engaged in tasks that they feel are part of their gender domain.

Question 34

What did Murphy say about gender attention to detail?

Answer 34

Girls and boys pay attention to different details even when tackling the same task.

Question 35

What did Connell say schools reinforce and what is it?

Answer 35

Hegemonic masculinity - the dominance of heterosexual masculine identities and the subordination of female and gay identities.

Question 35

What did Lees say about double standards?

Answer 35

Double standards exist where boys boast about their own sexual exploits whereas females are negatively labelled by male teachers and called ‘slags’.

Question 35

What did Mac an Ghail say?

Answer 35

The male gaze is present - the way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down, viewing them as sexual objects.

Form of surveillance through which the dominant masculinity is reinforced and femininity is devalued.