Education: Differential Achievement Gender

Question 1

What are the 5 internal explanations for girls educational achievement?
HINT: SCIRT

Answer 1

Role Models
Teacher attention
Coursework
Stereotypes in Learning 
Identity and Class

Question 2

What is the impact of role models on girls achievement?

Answer 2

The presence of more female teachers encourages girls to see school as part of their gender domain. It is become a part of desirable feminine characteristics.

Question 3

What is the impact of teacher attention on girls achievement?
HINT: Studies

Answer 3

French and French (1993) - Found boys and girls were paid equal amounts of attention, but note received more punishments for misbehaviour.

Swann (1998) - Found boys dominate class discussion because girls prefer group work and are better listeners. Teachers however are more encouraging to girls.

Question 4

What is the impact of coursework on girls achievement?

Answer 4

Mitsos and Brown (1998) - Found girls do better than boys in coursework because they’re more methodical and organised.

The gender gap increased when the GCSE’s (1988) were introduced alongside coursework.

Question 5

What is the impact of stereotypes in learning on girls achievement?

Answer 5

Since 1980 sexist images have been removed, replaced with positive female images of what women can do and become, thus raising aspirations.

Question 6

What is the impact of identity and Class on girls achievement?

Answer 6

Archer 2010 - Working class girls underachieve because of a conflict between the school habits and their feminine identity.

Question 7

What are the four ways (According to Archer 2010) girls gain symbolic capital and challenge the school habitus?

Answer 7

• Boyfriends: these achieve symbolic capital but get in the way of schoolwork
• Ladettes: They adopt tomboyish “Nike” identity being sporty, truanting and getting excluded.
• Being Loud: They adopt outspoken, assertive identities
• Hyper Heterosexual Feminine identities: They construct glamorous identities that gain them symbolic capital but cause conflict at school in which they view as worthless.

Question 8

Why is it mainly working class girls that underachieve?

Answer 8

They face a choice between gaining symbolic capital by conforming to a working class feminine identity or gaining educational capital by conforming to schools middle class notions of ideal feminine pupil.

Question 9

What are the 4 external explanations for girls educational achievement?
HINT: CICT

Answer 9

Influence of Feminism
Changes in the family
Changing perceptions
Types of job

Question 10

What is the impact of influence of feminism on girls achievement?

Answer 10

• Feminists have had an impact on women’s rights through campaigns like the Equal Pay Act and Divorce Laws
• Secondly feminists ideas are likely to have affected girls self image and aspirations

Question 11

What is the impact of changes in the family on girls achievement?

Answer 11

Since the 1970’s there has been major changes in the family.
- An increase in divorce, 40% of marriages end this way
- Increase in lone parent families, 90% headed by women
- Smaller families with more women staying single
This means that women have more need and opportunity to be economically independent.

Question 12

What is the impact of changes perceptions on girls achievement?

Answer 12

Sharpe 1994 Found girls in the 1970s prioritised prioritised family and marriage whereas in the 1990s they prioritised education and a career

Question 13

What is the impact of types of jobs on girls achievement?

Answer 13

There are now more employment opportunities for women that previously. Changes in laws have helped. This has led to changes in ambition, with the gender pay gap halving.

Question 14

Suggest two policies that has helped girls in education?

Answer 14

GIST (Girls in Science and Technology) and WISE (Women in Science and Engineering)

National Curriculum - Equalises opportunity

Question 15

What are the two external explanations for boys achievement?

Answer 15

Literacy

Decline in traditional male jobs

Question 16

What is the impact of literacy on boys achievement?

Answer 16

Mothers primarily read to their sons and this feminists reading

Boys leisure activities (sport) don’t develop language skills like girls “bedroom culture)

Question 17

What is the impact of decline in traditional male jobs on boys achievement?

Answer 17

1980s globalisation men have been Ellet with on identity crisis with a loss of motivation and self esteem

Question 18

What are the three internal explanations for boys achievement?

Answer 18

Laddish subcultures
Lack of male role models
Feminisation is education

Question 19

What is the impact of laddish subcultures on boys achievement?

Answer 19

Manual work is equated with masculinity. School is feminine so peer pressure is put on boys to act as part of an anti school subculture.

Question 20

Give two studies in Laddish Subcultures

Answer 20

Francis 2001

Epstein 1998

Question 21

What did Francis 2001 say about Laddish Subcultures?

Answer 21

Working class see non manual work as inferior

Question 22

What does Epstein say about Laddish Subcultures?

Answer 22

Found pro school working class boys were likely harassed and labelled as “gay” alongside other verbal abuse.

Question 23

What is the impact of lack of male role models on boys achievement?

Answer 23

The increase in lone parent families means boys lack male role models growing up. 1/6 of primary school teachers are male.

Question 24

What is the impact of feminisation of education on boys achievement?

Answer 24

Sewell 2006 argues education doesn’t nurture masculine traits like leadership but instead methodical working which are female.

Question 25

Suggest three policies that has helped boys in education?

Answer 25

Reading champions
Dads and Sons campaign
Playing for success

Question 26

What is meant by the policy “reading champions”

Answer 26

Policy targeted at boys where male role models celebrate reading.

Question 27

What is meant by the policy “dads and sons campaign”

Answer 27

A policy targeted at getting dads involved in their sons education

Question 28

What is meant by the policy “playing for success”

Answer 28

A policy targeted at boys where sports are used to boost learning.

Question 29

What is a problem with the policies designed at helping boys on education?

Answer 29

Moral Panic

Ringrose 2013 said that the moral panic has lead to the neglect in girls problems like sexual harassment.

Question 30

What was the average attainment 8 school for boys in 2016?

Answer 30

48%

Question 31

What was the average attainment 8 school for girls in 2016?

Answer 31

52%

Question 32

What are the thee ways in which girls and boys follow different gender routes?

Answer 32

National curriculum - although mist is compulsory, when given a choice girls and boys choose differently for example in DAndT girls choose food technology whereas boys choose resistant materials

Post 16 - more choice available and bigger gender differences emerge. Boys choose maths and physics while girls choose MFL and English

Vocational subjects - gender segregation peak. Only 1% of construction apprentices are female

Question 33

What are four factors explaining gender differences in subject choice?

Answer 33

Early Socialisation
Gendered subject domains
Identity and peer pressure
Gendered career opportunities

Question 34

How has early Socialisation lead to gender subject differences?

Answer 34

Learning the behaviour expected of males and females.

Family - from an early age genders dress differently and given different toys. Boys are rewarded for being active girls for being passive

School - teacher encourage boys to be tough while girls are encouraged to be quiet helpful and tidy

Literacy - Murphy and Elwood 1998 found boys read hobby books and information texts so prefer science whereas girls read stories about people and prefer English

Question 35

How do gender domains lead to gender subject differences?

Answer 35

Gender domains - tasks and activities seen as male or female. They are shaped by children’s early experiences and adults expectations.

Gendered subject images - subjects have a gender image where they are seen as male or female. Science is mainly taught by men and features textbooks using mainly boys interests.

Question 36

How does gender identity and peer pressure affect gender subject differences?

Answer 36

Boys and girls pressurise each other to conform.Boys opt out of music and conform because of the negative response. Girls who choose sport are labelled as lesbians or butch because it is seen as masculine.

Question 37

How do gendered careers lead to gender subject differences?

Answer 37

Many jobs are seen as male or female and are dominated by that gender. Working class pupils may make decisions about courses based on traditional gender identity.

Question 38

What are the four ways school can reinforce gender identity

Answer 38

Teachers
The male gaze
Double standards
Female peer groups policing identity

Question 39

How do teachers reinforce gender identity?

Answer 39

Mac and Ghaill 1996 found that male teachers reinforced gender identities by telling boys of for behaving like girls and ignoring boys verbal abuse of girls

Question 40

How does the male gaze reinforce gender identity?

Answer 40

A social control where male pupils and teachers look girls up and down as sexual objects, those who don’t participate are labelled as gay another social control

Question 41

How do double standards reinforce gender identity

Answer 41

This applies when one set of moral standards is applied to one group and a different set to another. For example Lees 1993 found boys boast about their own sexual exploits but label girls negatively for same behaviour

Question 42

How to female peer groups reinforce gender identity?

Answer 42

Archer found working class girls gain symbolic capital by performing a hyper heterosexual identity. Female peers police this identity and girls risk being called a tramp if the fail to conform. 
Ringrose found that there was conflict between idealised feminine identity and sexualised identity. Slut shaming and frigid shaming are social controls used to police each other’s identity.