Education - Gender & Achievement (External Factors) Flashcards
What are some changes in the trends of achievement between boys & girls?
Both boys & girls have raised their levels of achievement
Girls have overtaken boys’ level of achievement
There has been little change in subject choice (traditional ‘sex-typed subjects)
What are some changes in society that have influenced how girls achieve better than boys now?
Equal opportunity policies (EOPs)
Impact of feminism (more successful female role models)
Boys’ socialisation
Girls’ changing ambitions
What are the external factors that have influenced girls achieving higher than boys?
Impact of feminism
Changes in women’s employment
Girls’ changing ambitions
Changes in the family
What are the external factors that have influenced boys to achieve lower than girls?
Boys’ literacy
Moral panic about boys
Decline of traditional men’s jobs
SOCIOLOGIST: What did McRobbie say about the impact of feminism?
Since the 1960s the feminist movement has challenged the traditional stereotype of a woman’s role as a housewife & that they’re inferior to men through improving women’s rights & opportunities due to law changes. This has raised women’s self esteem & expectations which are reflected in the media. She took images from magazines & found that the 1970s emphasised the importance of getting married & ‘not being left out of the shelf’ however today they show images of assertive & independent women
SOCIOLOGIST: What did Sharpe say about girls’ changing ambitions?
Conducted interviews with girls in the 1970s & 1990s and saw that girls in the 1970s had low aspirations & believed educational success was unfeminine and prioritised love, marriage & children over a career. In the interviews with girls from the 1990s she found that ambitions had changed and girls aspired to have a career & be financially stable
SOCIOLOGIST: What is a criticism of Sharpe as proposed by Reay?
Class differences in girls’ ambitions are different, working-class girls continue to have stereotypical aspirations for marriage & children & expect to go into traditional low-paying women’s work.
How has changes to women’s work increased the educational achievement of girls?
1970 Equal Pay Act -> made it illegal for women to be paid less than a man for work of an equal value
1975 Sex Discrimination Act -> outlawed discrimination at work
Since 1970s the pay gap between men & women has decreased (30%-14.3% (2023)) & the proportion of women in employment has risen (53-72% (2020))
This has encouraged women to break through the ‘glass ceiling’ (the invisible barrier that keeps women out of employment) & encouraged them to seek a future of a successful career -> gives them the incentive to gain qualifications
What are some major changes in the family over time which has influenced girls to achieve educational success?
Since the 1970s, divorce rates, cohabitation, lone parent families & smaller families have all increased. This allows girls to have a successful, positive role model which allows them to be financially independent & teaches them to work hard to achieve
What are some reasons for a decline in boy’s literacy & how does this affect their achievement?
Parents may spend less time reading to their sons & their mothers might to most of the reading. This leads to reading being socialised as a feminine activity so they’re less likely to do it as the grow up
Boys traditional leisure pursuits e.g. sports dont do much to develop their language skills whereas girl’s have a ‘bedroom culture’ where they’re more likely to stay inside & talk with friends. This poor literacy & language skills means that it is more likely their educational achievement is affected negatively.
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Mac an Ghaill say about the crisis of masculinity?
A decline in traditional men’s jobs (due to globalisation) has caused men to be demotivated & lack in self-esteem. This creates a crisis of masculinity where men end up resulting to hegemonic masculine identities to gain status
Evaluation: How is Mac an Ghaill’s view supported by Mitsos & Browne?
They say the decline in male employment opportunities has led to an identity crisis for men which means many boys now believe they dont have a prospect of getting a job which undermines their motivation & self-esteem so ultimately they give up trying to get qualifications
How has a moral panic about boys arisen due to girl’s achievement overtaking boys?
Feminism has been criticised for focusing too much on girls achievement policies which aren’t no longer needed today. Critics see this as disadvantaging boys as girls end up succeeding at the expense of boys due to views e.g. ‘girl power’. Ringrose says this creates a moral panic about boys which ends up having educational policy now focuses on ‘failing boys’
What is a criticism of gender differences of achievement?
Focusing too much on on gender differences means that class & minority ethnic differences in pupils are overlooked
