Education: Gender Differences Flashcards
The gender gap in a achievement: Official stats - Starting school
2013, teachers assessments of pupils at the end of year one showed girls ahead of boys between 7 & 17% in all 7 areas of learning assessed.
-Girls we’re also better at concentrating.
-A DfE 2013 study found that in state primary schools, boys were 2 and a half times likelier than girls to have special ed needs.
The gender gap in a achievement: Official stats - KS1-3
Girls consistently did better than boys, especially in English & the gap widened with age.
Gap in science & maths is narrower, but girls still do better.
The gender gap in a achievement: Official stats - GCSE
Gap is about 10%.
The gender gap in a achievement: Official stats - As/A-level
-Girls are likelier to sit, pass & get higher grades than boys, though the gap is narrower.
-2013, 46.8% of girls gained A/B grafes but only 42.2% of boys.
-Even in “boys subjects” (maths/physics) girls were likelier to gain A-C grades.
The gender gap in a achievement: Official stats - Vocational courses
Larger proportion of girls acheieve distinctions in every subject, including engineering & construction where girls are a tiny minority.
Internal factors & gender differences in achievement: Equal opportunities policy
-policymakers are more aware of gender issues & teachers are more sensitive to avoid stereotyping.
-belief that boys & girls are entitled to the same opportunities is not part of mainstream thinking.
Equal opportunities policies: GIST & WISE
(Girls into science & technology)
(Women into science & engineering)
-Encourages girls to outside careers in non-traditional areas.
-female scientists have visited schools & acted as role models.
-efforts made to raise science teachers awareness of gender issues & provide non-sexist career advice.
-learning material reflecting girls’ interest have been developed.
Equal opportunities policies: National curriculum 1988
Removed one source of gender inequality by making girls & boys study the same subjects.
Equal opportunities policies: Boaler (1998)
-Sees the impact of equal opportunities as key reason for changes in girls achievement.
-Many of the barriers have been removed so schooling has become more meritocratic so girls who work harder than boys, achieve more.
Internal factors & gender differences in achievement: Positive role models in schools
-Increase in proportion of female teachers and heads.
-These women in senior management positions may act as role models for girls showing them women can achieve importance & giving them non traditional goals.
-To be a teacher, woman has to undertake a lengthy successful education which can influence other girls.
Positive role models in schools: Stats
Head teachers in nurseries/primaries: 1992 - 50%, 2012 - 71%.
Head teachers in secondaries:
1992 - 22%, 2012 - 37%
Teachers in nurseries/primaries:
1992 - 81%, 2012 - 86%
Teachers in secondaries:
1992 - 49%, 2012 - 61%
Internal factors & gender differences in achievement: GCSE & coursework (Gorard 2005)
Some argue that changes in the way pupils are assessed have favoured girls & disadvantaged boys.
-Gorard found the gender gap was constant 1975-1989, fhen it increased sharply.
-This was the year GCSE was introduced & coursework with it.
Concludes gender gap is “product of the changed system of assessment rather than any more general failing of boys.”
LGCSE & coursework (Mitsos & Browne 1998)
Conclude girks are more successful in coursework because they’re more conscientious & organised:
-spend more time on their work.
-better presentation.
-better with deadlines.
-bring correct materials to lesson.
Argue this helps them benefit from the introduction of coursework.
& because they have better developed language skills.
This then results in early gender role socialisation & girls are more neat, tidy & patient & achieve better.
GCSE Coursework (Elwood 2005)
Argued although coursework has influence, its unlikely to be the only course of gender gap since exams have more influence on final grades.
Internal factors & gender differences in achievement: Teacher attention (French & Francis)
-French & French (1993) analysed classroom interaction & found that boys received more attention because they attracted more reprimands.
-Francis (2001) found that while boys got more attention, they were disciplined more harshly & tended to have lower expectations by teachers who they felt picked on them.
Teacher attention - Swann (1998)
Found gender differences in communication.
-Boys dominate in whole class discussion while girls prefer pair work/group work & are better at listening & cooperating.
-Girls turn-take & don’t interrupt.
Teacher attention: What does this lead to?
Positive response form teachers to girls whom view girls as cooperative & boys as disruptive.
May lead to a self fulfilling prophecy where girls self esteem is promoted & therefore their achievement.
Internal factors & gender differences in achievement: Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
Some argue the removal of gender stereotypes from textbooks, reading scheme & material removed a barrier to girls achievement.
Research in 70-80s found the schemes portrayed women as mothers & housewives & that physics books showed them as frightened by science & math books showed boys as more inventive.
Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum: Weiner (1995)
Argued since 80s, teachers have challenged stereotypes.
Sexist images removed & may help raise girls achievement by presenting more positive images of what women can do.
Internal factors & gender differences in achievement: Selection & League tables
Marketisation policies have created a more competitive climate where schools see girls as desirable recruits due to their better exam results.
Jackson 1998 notes intro of exam league tables improved girls opportunities & high achieving girls are attractive to schools compared to low achieving boys.
Self fulfilling prophecy (good schools accept girls).
-Slee 1998 argues boys are less attractive to schools as they’re likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties & 4X likelier to be excluded.
-Boys seen as “liability students” obstacles to school improving league scores.
Internal factors: Liberal feminist views of girls achievement
-Celebrate progress made & believe more will be made through continued development of equal opportunities policies which encourage positive RMs & overcoming stereotypes.
-Similar to functionalist view of meritocracy.
Internal factors: Radical feminists view of girls achievement
Critical view & recognise that girls are achieving more but system is patriarchal & it’s a man’s world:
-sexual harassment of girls continues at schools.
-education limits girls options in subjects & careers.
-males likelier to be heads of secondaries.
-women are underrepresented in the curriculum, Weiner described secondary school curriculum as a ‘women free zone’.
Identity, class & girls’ achievement: Stats
2013, only 40.6% of girls from poorer families (those eligible for FSM) achieved 5 A*-C GCSEs, whereas over
2/3rds (67.5%) of those not on free school meals did so.
Identity, class & girls’ achievement: Symbolic capital (Archer 2010)
-Differences in achievement are due to the conflict between W/C feminine identities & values and ethos of the school.
-Archer uses the concept of symbolic capital to understand the conflict.
-This referred to the status, sense of worth that we obtain from others.
-Archer found that by performing their W/C identities, girls gained this from peers which brought them into conflict with school, preventing them from acquiring educational & economic capital.
-Qualifications & middle class careers.
Identity, class & girls’ achievement: Hyper-heterosexual feminine identities
-Many girls invested time into constructing ‘desirable’ & ‘glamorous’ identities.
-They bright status from their female peer group & avoided them being ridiculed or called a ‘tramp’ for wearing the wrong brand.
-However, they punished for having the wrong appearance (too much jewellery, makeup).
-Teachers saw this as a distraction preventing them engaging with education.
-Led to school saying the girls were ‘not one of us’ & Bordieu described this process as symbolic violence.
Archer says the ideal female pupil is de-sexualised & MC.
Identity, class & girls’ achievement: Boyfriends
-While having a bf brought symbolic capital, it got in the way of schoolwork & lowered girls aspirations.
-Included losing interest in Uni, studying masculine subjects or in gaining a professional career.
-Instead, they wanted to ‘settle down’ have children & work locally.
Identity, class & girls’ achievement: Being ‘loud’
-some W/C girls adopted loud identities leading them to be outspoken, independent & assertive.
-fails to conform to schools stereotype of the ideal pupil identity as passive and submissive.
-brought conflict with teachers who interpreted their behaviour as aggressive.
Identity, class & girls’ achievement: W/C girls’ dilemma
Faced with dilemma:
-either gaining symbolic capital from peers by conforming to hyper heterosexual feminine identity.
-or gaining educational capital by rejecting identity & confirming to the schools M/C notions of a respectable, ideal female pupil.
W/C girls’ dilemma: ‘good underneath’
-some coped by defining themselves as this reflecting their struggle to achieve a sense of self worth 2&5!8& an education system that devalues their W/C identities.
-Archer argues the W/C feminine identity & educational success conflict with each other.
Identities, class & girls’ achievement: ‘Successful’ W/C girls (Evans 2009)
Some W/C do succeed & enter higher education.
-however, they may be disadvantaged by their gender & class identities.
-Evans shows in her study of 21 W/C sixth form girls.
-found girls wanted to go to Uni to increase family’s earning levels.
-“give something back to my family.”
Successful W/C girls: Skeggs (1997)
-Notes ‘caring’ is a crucial part of this identity & the girls wanted to remain at home and contribute to their families.
-economic necessity was another reason they lived (limits their Uni choice).
-cost & fear of debt
Successful W/C girls: Archer (2010) & Conclusions
Living at home was a positive choice & part of their W/C identities.
-preference for local is part of W/C habitus.
-Archer says this hyper heterosexual identity puts W/C at odds with the school.
-Evans says the ‘caring’ aspect of W/C girls produces desire to live with families.
Results in their self exclusion from elite universities & limits success.
External factors & gender differences in achievement: The impact of feminism
-Since 60s, Denise’s challenged stereotypes of a women’s role of mother & housewife in patriarchal NF.
-Femisists argue that though we have not achieved full equality, women’s rights have been improved & opportunities.
-Women’s self esteem & expectations have been raised.
The impact of feminism: McRobbie (1994)
These changes are partly reflected in media images & messages.
-McRobbie studies girls’ magazines.
-in the 70s, they emphasised the importance of getting married & not being ‘left on the shelf’, whereas nowadays there’s pictures of assertive & independent women.
Changed encouraged by feminism may affect girls’ self image & ambitions with regard to the fmaily & careers.
May explain improvements to their educational achievement.
External factors & gender differences in achievement: Changes in the family
-increase in divorce rate.
-increase in cohabitation & decrease in number of 1st marriages.
-increase in lone parent families.
-smaller families.
Changes in the family: The impact
Affecting girls’ attitudes towards education.
-e.g. Increased number of female headed lone parent families may mean more women taking breadwinner role. This creates a RM for girls - financially independent women.
-to achieve this, women need qualifications to get well paid jobs.
-e.g. Higher divorce rate means people are likelier to depend on husband to be their provider. Encourages women to look to themselves for qualifications.
