Education - Gender Flashcards
By the end of year 1, how much further ahead are girls than boys?
7-17%
DfE (2013) and special educational needs:
In state primary schools, boys are 2.5x more likely than girls to have statements of special educational needs.
What was the gender gap before and after 1987?
1986: 1%
1989: 6%
- intro of national curriculum and course work
What are the 4 external factors explaining girls’ achievement in education?
- The Impact of feminism
- Changes in the family
- Changes in women’s employment
- Girls’ changing ambitions
How has feminism affected girls’ achievement in education?
The feminist movement has worked to create equal opputunities for women and men, compared to the comprehensive requirements for girls. They have also changed the way women are represented, likely pushing up their self esteem - affecting effort in education.
McRobbie (1994) and girls’ magazines:
In the 1970’s, they emphasized the importance of getting married and how to be a good wife, such as Jackie magazine; nowadays, they contain images of assertive, independent women.
How has feminism affected the achievement of boys?
It hasn’t, boys have been unaffected so have not experienced the changes that girls have experienced to increase self esteem and open up oppurtunities
How have changes in the family affected girls’ achievement?
The rise in matrifocal families (22% of all) may mean more young girls have a female role model that is financially independent, this motivates young girls to achieve the same by getting well-paid jobs that require higher education.
How have changes in the family affected boys’ achievements?
The increase in matrifocal families have caused boys to lose a stable familiar role model of educational or financial success, with many online role models (like Bill Gates) not promoting higher education, so are less inclined to care for education.
Give two examples of changes in women’s employment.
- The 1970 Equal Pay Act made it illegal to pay women less than men for work of equal value
- The 1975 Sex Discrimination Act outlawed discrimination on the basis of sex at work
How have changes to women’s employment affected girls’ achievement?
Girls are now being encouraged to see their futures in terms of financial success and paid work rather than as a housewife, encouraging them to get better qualifications for better jobs and put more effort into school
Sharp (1974; 1994) and girls’ ambitions:
- In 1974, girls had low aspirations, viewing educational success and ambition as unattractive and unfeminine, and their highest priorities being love and marriage.
- By the 90’s, girls were more likely to prioritise careers and independence with an aversion to being dependant on their husband and his income.
Why have girls’ ambitions change?
Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (2001): this is due to a rise in individualism as careers promise recognition and economic self-sufficency.
Fuller (2011) and girls’ identities:
Girls are more likely now to see educational success as part of their identities and believe in meritcocracy - this enables them to try harder in education.
How does class affect girls’ ambitions? Why?
Working-class girls are more likely to have gender-sterotyped aspirations of marriage and expect to enter low paid ‘women’s work’. This is because of the reality of their position: Reay (1998) found they have percieved limited job opputunities so turn to traditional gendier identity as an attainable source of status.
What are the 6 internal factors affecting different gender’s achievement?
- Equal opportunity policy
- Positive role models in school
- GCSE and coursework
- Teacher attention
- Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
- Selection and league tables
Give two examples of policies that encourage girls to pursue careers in non-tradional fields and how.
- GIST (Girls into science and technology)
- WISE (Women into science and engineering)
These bring female scientists to schools and attempt to ameliorate teacher sexism, that encourages girls to go into these careers and view them as feasible.
How did the introduction of the national curriculum in 1988 affect girls’ achievement?
Girls began to do better as they were now in the same classes as boys rather than classes like home sciences.
Boaler (1998) and equal oppurtunity policies:
equal oppurtunity policies are a key reason for girls’ achievement.
How has the precentage of female headteacher and teachers in secondary schools changed?
1992
Heads: 22
Teachers: 49
2012
Heads: 37
Teachers: 61
How doe the change in number of female teachers and headteachers affect girls’ achievement?
Women in senior positions act as role models to young girls, and subconciously normalise the idea of feminine success and independence.
How do Mitsos and Browne (1998) argue the 1988 education reform act caused boys to underachieve and girls to achieve?
GCSEs have coursework as a large component; girls, on average, spend more time on work and are more organised due to socialisation into tidyness and patience, giving them an advantage in education. Girls also do better in oral exams due to having better developed langage skills.
Give a criticism of the theory that the intro of coursework cause boys to underachieve.
Elwood (2005): exams still take precidence so it can’t be the sole cause.
How and why do teachers percieve different gender students differently?
Teachers are more likely to percieve girls as cooperative and paying attention; Swann (1998) found that boys are more likely to dominate in whole-class discussions and interrupt one another during paired work, whereas girls will take turns and paired or group work.
How do teacher perceptions affect girls’ and boys’ success?
Because teachers are more likely to see girls as cooperative and boys as diruptive, they will give girls more help and reprimand boys more frequently (Francis (1993)) creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
How have stereotypes in curriculum changed?
Reading schemes and textbooks in the 70’s and 80’s largely portrayed women as housewives and mothers and boys as more inventive.
How have the removal of stereotype in curriculum caused girls to achieve?
Weiner (1995) argues this presents girls with positive images of themselves and subconciously raises their self image and normalizes women succeeding.
How has marketisation benefitted girls?
Jackson (1998) argues the introduction of competition makes girls (who usually get better grades) an asset whereas boys become ‘liablity students’ due to their lower grades and higher rates of exclusion. This creates a self fulfilling prophecy.
What is the liberal feminist perspective on girls’ achievement?
LibFems celebrate the progress and see it as a symptom of an ever more equal society, believeing that further progress can be achieved with policies that overcome sexist attitudes and equal oppurtunity policies.
What is the radical feminist perspective on girls’ achievement?
To focus on girls higher achievement ignores the patriarchal education system that still subjugates young girls by sexually harassing them or restricting their subject choices.
What % of girls eligible and non-eligible for FSM achieved an A*-C at GCSE? What does this show?
41% of those eligible
68% of those not eligible
- To focus on girls achievement overall would be to ignore the stark class differences
Archer et al (2010) and W/C girls symbolic capital:
W/C girls gain symbolic capital (status and self-worth) from performing a W/C feminine identity but get into conflict with the school because of it, inhibiting them from gaining economic and educational capital in the future through well paying jobs.
What are Archer et al’s (2010) 3 methods for W/C girls to create self worth?
- Hyper-heterosexual feminine identities
- Boyfriends
- Being ‘loud’
How and why do W/C girls construct ‘hyper-heterosexual feminine gender identities’?
Girls will spend money combining black urban American styles with unisex sportswear and ‘sexy’ makeup and hair to gain status from female peer groups and avoid being labelled a ‘tramp’.
How do W/C girls’ identities come into conflict with the school?
Teachers saw the girls preoccupation with appearance as preventing them from engaging with education, leading them to ‘other’ the girls and view them as incapable of educational success - also known as ‘symbolic violence’.
How does having a boyfriend affect a W/C girl’s educational experience?
A boyfriend brings symbolic capital from a girl’s peer group but often gets in the way of schoolwork and lowers aspirations, many abandoning ‘masculine subjects’ to ‘settle down’.
