EDUCATION: Feminism and Education - BRIEF Flashcards
What is the definition for feminism
A theory based on the division and inequalities of genders where females are dominated by the oppression of men in a patriarchal society
What is the main role of education according to feminism
- To maintain gender inequality
What are the ways in which the education system achieves gender inequality
(6)
- Lobban
- Stanworth
- Gendered language - using male pronouns in textbooks such as ‘he’ ‘him’ to make women seen invisible
- Gendered roles/stereotypes- Promotion of stereotypical women work like caring for children or cooking, particularly in reading schemes in the 1960’s and 70’s. Women were also presented more as followers than as leaders (LOBBAN, 1974)
- Women’s oppression in the curriculum - Women have been hidden the curriculum or simply left out
- Subject choice - subjects have been genderised (female subjects are less logic and less valued)
- Further and higher education - the number of women going onto FE and HE is less than that of men. Evidence teachers gave more encouragement to males than females to go onto a university (STANWORTH, 1983)
- Reduction of coursework - takes away the advantage females had due to their organisation skills of their work
What are some reasons for gender differences in education achievement
- Males
- Laddish subcultures (males creating anti-school subcultures)
- Changes in the job market (decline in traditional jobs for men, reducing motivation)
- Feminism of education (More female teachers, less role models for males)
- Leisure pursuits (girls can associate themselves with activities involving ‘bedroom culture’ like gossiping for example, developing communication skills)
What and when was the evidence showing females were essentially downgraded?
- When the 11+ exam was introduced in the 1940’s
- Passmark for boys set lower than girls to equalise the number of males and females going into grammar (high achieving btw) schools, meaning girls were artificially ‘set up to fail’.
Give a contemporary evaluation of feminism in education
Today, women have overtaken men in educational achievement
- females grades at GCSE and A level are significantly higher than males
- The 2019 GCSE results show 71.7% of females achieving a grade 4/ C or above, compared to only 62.9% of males
What are the 4 types of feminism
Radical, Marxist, Liberal and Difference
Radical feminism - Brief overview
- What
- How
- Radical - libertarian feminist
- Radical - cultural feminists
- Says society is patriarchal and the exploitation of women is based on men
- Men use means of control like pornography to exploit women
- Radical - libertarian feminists: believe gender differences can be educated or at least reduced
- Radical - cultural feminists: believe in the superiority of females
Marxism feminism
- What
- How
Capitalism rather than patriarchy is the source of women oppression
- Women reproduce the labour force
- In a communist society, its believed gender inequalities will disappear
Liberal feminism
- What
- How
Nobody benefits - both men and women are harmed
- Due to societies cultures and values
Difference / postmodern feminism
Do not see women as a single homogenous group of the (same kind; alike)
- Concerned with he relationship between power compares to the ‘politics and opportunities’
What are some examples of gender inequality in the Uk in contemporary society
Sexism in the office; female employees may be asked to do tasks that are a share of ‘office work’ like taking notes, mentoring other workers and bringing food to office celebrations
Why might there be gender differences in subject choice
- Peer group pressure = boys and girls would pick a subject reflecting gender identities
- Career advice
- Subject counselling = teachers channeling genders into certain subjects
- Gender of teachers = males may pick a subject because teachers are more likely to be men
