EDUCATION - gender differences

Question 1

summarise the attainment gap between gender using a statistic

Answer 1

For the last 23 years, there is a higher % of girls getting better GCSEs than boys. 2021 —> 50% of girls went to uni compared to 38% of boys

Question 2

What are the 4 external factors affecting gender differences in education?

Answer 2

-impact of feminism
-changes in the family
-changes in women’s employment
-changing girls attitudes

Question 3

Explain the impact of feminism on gender differences in education

Answer 3

-since 1960s, feminism has challenged traditional female stereotypes
-boosted women’s self esteem + expectations of themselves
-more ambitious and crave equal education

Question 4

Explain how changes in the family has impacted girl’s education

Answer 4

-women can now be seen as a breadwinner + as financially independent (90% of single parent families are headed by women)
-therefore women need well paid jobs and therefore good qualifications

Question 5

How has women’s change in employment improved their educational achievements ? What major changes have occurred?

Answer 5

Major changes include:
-1970 Equal Pay Act
-75% of women are now employed
-more women in managerial roles
these encourage girls to see their future in paid work

Question 6

How has changing girl’s attitudes impacted their education ? Use a study by Sharpe

Answer 6

-Sharpe interviewed school girls 1974. Found that 67% of the girls wanted to leave school at 16 & prioritised marriage, children
-Sharpe repeated the interviews with school girls in 1994. 67% of the girls wanted to stay In education until at least 18 + prioritised their careers

Question 7

What are the SIX internal factors affecting gender differences in education?

Answer 7

-equal opportunities policies
-positive role models in school
-GCSE & coursework
-Teacher Attention
-Selection & League Tables
-Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum

Question 8

Explain how equal opportunities policies improve girls educational achievements

Answer 8

GIST - girls into Science & technology
encourage girls to pursue male-dominated careers. Boaler sees this as removing the barrier for girls and making school more meritocratic.

Question 9

How do positive role models in schools improve girls education

Answer 9

Increase in female teachers and heads. Women in senior positions can inspire girls to work hard and be ambitious. Secondary schools: 1992, 22% of headteachers were female. 2020, 40% of headteachers were female

Question 10

How do sociologists argue that GCSEs and coursework impact gender differences in education

Answer 10

Gorard found that the gender gap in achievement increased sharply in 1989 when GCSES were introduced, bringing in coursework. Mitsos&Browne support this in saying girls are more successful in coursework as they are better organised, better at meeting deadlines etc

Question 11

How does teacher attention affect gender differences in education?

Answer 11

Francis - whilst boys get more teacher attention, they are disciplined more harshly + picked on more by teachers
Swann - boys dominate whole class discussions whereas girls prefer pair work and are better at listening

Question 12

How does selection + league tables affect gender differences in educational achievement?

Answer 12

SLEE argued that boys appear less attractive to selective schools as they are more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties + are 4x more likely to be excluded than girls

Question 13

How do liberal feminists interpret the changes that have contributed to the success of girls in education?

Answer 13

They celebrate the progress made so far. They believe further progress will be made

Question 14

How do radical feminists interpret the changes that have contributed to the success of girls in education?

Answer 14

Critical - they believe the system remains patriarchal. Examples :
-uniform is policed much more for girls, more often by male teachers
-allocated sports
-male teachers still more likely to become heads of secondary schools
-women are under represented in many areas of curriculum like history

Question 15

How does Archer use the concept of symbolic capital to explain why working class girls do well

Answer 15

She suggest working class girls are performing their working class feminine identities to gain symbolic capital (status)

Question 16

What are features of hyper-heterosexual feminine identities?

Answer 16

-enjoy spending considerable time/effort on their glamorous looks. Brings status to their group
-often punished by school for having the wrong appearance, lowering expectations
-girls interested in relationships rather than their educational progress
-independent/ outspoken (loud). Question teachers authority

Question 17

How can working class identity still limit successful girl’s university success?

Answer 17

-want to help their family, caring
-fearful of debt
-preference for the local & familiar ovef the distant

Question 18

Give 3 reasons suggested as to why boys tend to underachieve in education

Answer 18

-teachers have lower expectations of boys
-boys are more disruptive for status
-anti-school subcultures dominated by working class boys
-lack of male role models in schools
-boys don’t like reading
-boys over estimate their ability

Question 19

What are the 2 external factors explaining why BOYS tend to UNDERACHIEVE in education

Answer 19

-boys and literacy. Parents spend less time reading to their sons + mothers tend to read therefore feminine activity
-since 1980s, significant decline in industries like steel. Traditionally these roles filled by men. ‘Identity crisis for men’ give us trying for qualifications

Question 20

What are the 3 internal factors explaining why BOYS tend to UNDERACHIEVE

Answer 20

-feminisation of education
-shortage of male primary school teachers
-‘Laddish’ subcultures

Question 21

What is the feminisation of education

Answer 21

-schools don’t nurture masculine traits, instead they celebrate more feminine qualities like methodical working and attentiveness in class
-too much coursework now, which
favours girls

Question 22

Why can the shortage of male primary teachers impact boy’s educational achievement

Answer 22

Yougov 2007: boys surveyed said that the presence of a male teacher made them behave better + 42% said it made them work harder
2021 - 16% of state funded primary school teachers england were male

Question 23

Explain how ‘Laddish subcultures’ impact boys underachievement in education

Answer 23

W/c boys are likely to be harrassed, called names and subjected to homophobic verbal abuse if they appeared to conform/ work hard
Therefore they reject school work to appear masculine

Question 24

What is Gender Domain

Answer 24

Tasks & activities that we see as specifically male or female territory

Question 25

What sorts of A LEVEL subjects do girls and boys tend to choose

Answer 25

Girls: humanities. Essay based
Boys: physical, mathematical, definitive

Question 26

What apprenticeship has the largest difference between girls and boys? What sort of apprenticeships does each gender tend to choose?

Answer 26

Largest difference- children’s care
Boys- physical apprenticeships
Girls- nurturing apprenticeships

Question 27

What are the 4 titles of explanations of gender differences in subject choice

Answer 27

-GENDER ROLE SOCIALISATION
-GENDERED SUBJECT IMAGES
-PEER PRESSURE
-GENDERED CAREER OPPORTUNTIES

Question 28

Explain how gender role socialisation impacts subject choice

Answer 28

-boys & girls given different toys to play with and encouraged to do different activities
-teachers at school continue this

Question 29

How does peer pressure impact subject choice between genders

Answer 29

Boys tend to opt out of music or dance because they are likely to attract a negative response from peers. Likewise for girls with sports/ DT

Question 30

What are 5 pupil experiences at school that reinforce gender and sexual identities?

Answer 30

-VERBAL ABUSE
-MALE PEER GROUPS
-TEACHERS & DISCIPLINE
-THE MALE GAZE
-DOUBLE STANDARDS

Question 31

what is hegemonic masculinity and what is its relevance here?

Answer 31

It is the dominance of heterosexual males, and the subordination of female + gay identities.
Connel argued that the 5 experiences reinforce hegemonic masculinity

Question 32

how does verbal abuse at school reinforce pupils gender and sexual identities?

Answer 32

-boys use name calling to put girls down if they dress/ behave in certain ways eg ‘slag or lezzer’ .
-Name calling helps pupils police each other’s sexual identities and therefore reinforce gender norms

Question 33

How do male peer groups reinforce pupils sexual and gender identities

Answer 33

-in male peer groups, verbal abuse is also used to reinforce masculinity
-boys who want to do well at school are often labelled as gay or feminine
-this can mix with social class ideology, where working class boys want to appear MACHO and middle class boys want to appear like ENGLISH GENTLEMEN

Question 34

How do teachers and discipline reinforce pupils sexual and gender identities

Answer 34

-Male teachers tell boys off when they step out of the gender norm eg for ‘behaving like girls’ and teasing them when they achieve less than girls.
-teachers also reinforce the idea that females cannot cope alone, male gaze backs this up

Question 35

How does the idea of the MALE GAZE reinforce pupil gender and sexual identities?

Answer 35

-male pupils/ teachers can look girls up and down, seeing them as sexual objects, and judging their appearance
-this can be seen as a surveillance, through which dominant heterosexual masculinity is reinforced + femininity is devalued. also used for status in male peer groups

Question 36

How do double standards reinforce sexual and gender identities for pupils

Answer 36

-boys are often allowed to boast about their sexual conquests whereas girls are negatively labelled for this.
-sexual promiscuity is given status amongst male peers - patriarchal dominance. Double standards controls gender identities amongst pupils