Education - Gender Differences In Education

Question 1

DuWhat do Official Statistics show about differences between male and female achievement at different stages in their education?

Answer 1

On the whole, girls outperform boys at every stage of formal education.
-On starting school in 2013, teacher assessments of pupils at the end of the year showed girls ahead of boys by between 7 and 17 percentage points in all seven areas studied.
-In KS1-3 girls do consistently better than boys, especially in English
-At GCSE the gender gap stands at around 10 percentage points
-At AS and A-Level girls are more likely to sit, pass and get higher grades than boys, though the achievement gap is much narrower than at GCSE

Question 2

Impact of Feminism on achievement?
(External Factors)

Answer 2

Although feminists argue we have not yet achieved full equality between the sexes, the feminist movement has had considerable success through changes in the law. More broadly , the movement has raised female self esteem and expectations. The media reflects a lot of these changes , one example being McRobbie’s (1994) study of girls’ magazines. In the 70s they emphasised the importance of getting married , whereas nowadays they contain images of assertive, independent women. The changes encouraged by feminism may effect girls’ ambitions and self image, in turn explaining improvements in educational achievement.

Question 3

Changes in the family’s effect on achievement? (External Factors)

Answer 3

Since the 1970s there have been major changes in the family:
-Increase in divorce rate
-Increase in cohabitation and decrease in number of first marriages
-Increase in the number of lone parent families
-Smaller families
These are changing girls’ attitudes towards education in man ways, as women now can take on a breadwinner role, lead a Lone parent family, be independent, or favour not marrying in order to focus on a career. These new cultural changes in the family have influenced girls to succeed in education to achieve independence with good qualifications.

Question 4

How have changes in Women’s employment effected achievement?
(External Factors)

Answer 4

There have been important changes in women’s employment in recent decades -
-The 1970 Equal Pay Act
-Since 1975 the pay gap between men and women has halved from 30% to 15%
-The proportion of women in employment has risen from 53% in 1971to 67% in 2013. The growth of the service sector and flexible part time work has offered opportunities for women
-Some women are now breaking through the ‘glass ceiling’ - the invisible barrier that keeps them out of high level professional and managerial jobs

These changes have allowed for women to see their future in paid work rather than as a housewife, having a knock on effect on female achievement in education.

Question 5

How have Girls’ changing ambitions effected their achievement? (External Factors)

Answer 5

Sue Sharpe’s (1994) research shows how vastly female attitudes have changed from the 1970s and the 90s. In 1974 interviews, the girls had low aspirations - they though educational success was unfeminine and unattractive.They gave their priorities as “love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs and careers, more or less in that order”. By the 1990s, girls’ ambitions had changed and they had a different order of priorities - careers and being able to support themselves. Sharpe found that girls were now more likely to see their futures an independent woman with a career rather than as dependent on their husband and his income.

Question 6

How does class effect students ambition? (External Factors)

Answer 6

Some working class girls continue to have gender stereotyped aspirations for marriage and children and expect to go into traditional low paid women’s work. Diane Ray (1998) argues this reflects the reality of the girls’ class position. Their limited aspirations reflect the limited job opportunities they perceive as being available to them. By contrast a traditional gender identity is both attainable and offers them a source of status.

Question 7

How do Equal opportunity policies effect achievement? (Internal Factors)

Answer 7

Feminist ideas have had a major impact on the education system. Policymakers are now much more aware of gender issues, and the belief that boys and girls are entitled to the same opportunities is now part of mainstream thinking and it influences educational policies. For example the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1988 removed one source of gender inequality by making girls and boys study mostly the same subject, which was often not the case previously.

Question 8

How do Positive role models in schools effect achievement? (Internal Factors)

Answer 8

Due to an increase in female teachers and female heads, these women in senior positions may act as role models for girls, showing them women can achieve positions of importance and giving them non-traditional goals to aim for. This helps girls in the aspect of educational achievement as in order to become a teacher, or have any successful job the individual must undertake a lengthy and successful education herself.

Question 9

How does GCSE and Coursework affect achievement? (Internal Factors)

Answer 9

Some Sociologists argue that changes in the way pupils are assessed have favoured girls and disadvantaged boys. For example Stephen Gorard (2005) found that the gender gap in achievement was fairly constant from 1975 until 1989, when it increased sharply . This was the year in which GCSE was introduced , introducing coursework into almost every subject as a major part. Gorard concludes the gender gap is a ‘product of the changed system of assessment rather than any more general failing of boys’. Mitsos and Browne (1998) support this view by saying that Girls:
-Spend more time on their work
-Take more care with presentation
-Are better at meeting deadlines
-Bring the right equipment and materials to lessons
These factors arguably are what help girls achieve higher on GCSE, AS and Level coursework than boys.

Question 10

How does Teacher Attention affect achievement? (Internal factors)

Answer 10

The way teachers interact with boys and girls differs. When Jane and Peter French (1993) analysed classroom interaction , they found that boys recieved more attention because they attracted more reprimands. Becky Francis (2001) also found that while boys got more attention , they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers, who tended to have lower expectations of them. Swann (1998) also found gender differences in communication styles. Boys dominate in whole-class discussion, whereas girls prefer pair-work and group-work and are better at listening and cooperating. When working in groups , girls’ speech involves turn taking and not the hostile interruptions that often characterise boys’ speech. This may explain why teachers respond more positively to girls , whom they see as cooperative, than to boys , whom they see as disruptive

Question 11

How has challenging stereotypes in the curriculum affected achievement? (Internal Factors)

Answer 11

Some sociologists argue that the removal of gender stereotypes from textbooks, reading schemes and other learning materials in recent years has removed a barrier to girls’ achievement. Research in the 1970s and 80s found that reading schemes portrayed women mainly as housewives and mothers, that physics books showed them as frightened by science, and that maths books depicted boys as more inventive. Gaby Weiner (1995) argues that since the 1980s, teachers have challenged such stereotypes . Also, in general, sexist images have been removed from learning materials. This may have helped to raise girls’ achievement by presenting them with more positive images of what women can do.

Question 12

How have League Tables affected achievement? (Internal Factors)

Answer 12

David Jackson (1998) notes that the introduction of league tables has improved opportunities for girls: high achieving girls are attractive to schools whereas low achieving boys are not. This tends to create a self-fulfilling prophecy - because girls are more likely to be recruited by good schools and therefore are more likely to do well. Boys also more commonly than girls suffer from behavioural issues, and are four times as likely to be excluded than girls, making them even less attractive to schools.

Question 13

Liberal Feminist view of Female achievement?

Answer 13

They celebrate the progress made so far in improving achievement. They believe that further progress will be made by continuing development of equal opportunities policies, encouraging positive role models and overcoming sexist attitudes and stereotypes. This is similar to the functionalist view that education is a meritocracy where all individuals , regardless of gender , ethnicity, or class, are given an equal opportunity to achieve

Question 14

Radical Feminist view of Female achievement?

Answer 14

They take a more critical view. While they recognise that girls are achieving more, they emphasise that the system remains patriarchal and conveys the clear message that it is still a mans world. For example:
- Sexual harassment of girls in schools continues
- Education still limits girls’ subject choices and career options
- Male teachers are still more likely than women to be head teachers
- Women are under-represented in many areas of the curriculum (e.g. their contribution to History is largely ignored. Weiner (1993) describes the secondary school history curriculum as a ‘women free zone’)

Question 15

What percentage of girls eligible for FSM achieve 5 A*-C grades?

Answer 15

In 2013, only 40.6% of girls eligible for FSM achieved five A*-C grades, whereas over two thirds (67.5%) of those not on free school meals did so.

Question 16

What is Symbolic Capital?

Answer 16

Symbolic Capital refers to the status, recognition and sense of worth that we are able to obtain from others.

Question 17

What does Archer (2010) say about class differences in girls’ achievement?

Answer 17

Archer believes that differences in girls’ achievement mostly stems from the conflict between working class girls’ feminine identities and the values and ethos of the school. Archer found that by performing their working class feminine identities, the girls gained symbolic capital from their peers. However this brought them into conflict with school , preventing them from acquiring educational capital (qualifications) and economic capital (middle class careers). Archer identified several strategies that girls use for a symbolic capital. These include:
-Adopting a hyper hetero-sexual feminine identitity
-Having a boyfriend
-Being loud

Question 18

Hyper-heterosexual feminine identities - Archer (2010)

Answer 18

Many of the girls invested considerable time, effort and money in constructing ‘desirable’ and ‘glamorous’ hyper-heterosexual , feminine identities. For example one girl spent all 40 pounds a week she earned from babysitting on her appearance. They constructed identities that combined black urban American styles with unisex sportswear and ‘sexy’ clothes, make-up and hairstyles. The girls performance of this identity gave them praise from peers and immunity from being ridiculed or being called a ‘tramp’. However the school saw it as a distraction from succeeding in education, and they were often punished for wearing too much jewelry , wrong clothing or makeup etc. This led to the school “othering” the girls, and seeing them as incapable of educational success and thus less worthy of respect. Bordieu refers to this as Symbolic Violence, as their culture was deemed “worthless” by the school essentially. According to Archer, the school’s ideal pupil is a de-sexualised and middle class girl.

Question 19

Boyfriends - Archer (2010)

Answer 19

While having a boyfriend brought symbolic capital , it got in the way of schoolwork and lowered girls’ aspirations. This included losing interest in going to university , in studying ‘masculine’ subjects such as science or in gaining a professional career. Instead these girls aspired to ‘settle down’ , have children and work locally in working-class feminine jobs such as childcare. One girl had to drop out of school after becoming pregnant.

Question 20

Being ‘loud’ - Archer (2010)

Answer 20

Some working-class girls adopted ‘loud’ feminine identities that often led to them being outspoken, independent and assertive, for example questioning teachers authority. This failed to conform to the school’s stereotype of the ideal female pupil identity as passive and submissive to authority and brought conflict with teachers, who interpreted their behaviour as aggressive rather than assertive.

Question 21

Working-class girls’ dilemma - Archer (2010)

Answer 21

Working class girls are thus faced with a dilemma:
-Either gaining symbolic capital from their peers by conforming to a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity
-Or gaining educational capital by rejecting their working-class identity and conforming to the school’s middle class notions of a respectable, ideal feminine pupil. Some girls tried to cope with this dilemma by defining themselves as ‘good underneath’ despite their teachers negative views of them. This good underneath self image reflects the girls’ struggle to achieve a sense of self worth within an education system that devalues their working class feminine identities. Thus Archer argues working class feminine identities and educational success conflict with one and other.

Question 22

‘Successful’ Working class girls

Answer 22

Although working class girls in general are likely to underachieve, some do succeed and go on to higher education. However even they may be disadvantaged by their gender and class identities, as Sarah Evans (2009) shows in her study of 21 working-class sixth form girls in a South London comprehensive school. She found that the girls wanted to go to uni to increase their earning power. However this was not for herself , but for her family. The girls’ motivation reflected their working-class feminine identities. As Skeggs (1997) notes ‘caring’ is a crucial part of this identity, and the girls in Evans’ study wished to remain at home and to contribute to their families. This limits their capability of higher education as there will be fewer courses and universities in which it is also possible to spend most of their time at home. This demonstrates how a girls’ working class identity can affect her chances at higher education.

Question 23

Why are boys worse at literacy than girls?

Answer 23

According to the DCSF (2007) , the gender gap is mainly as a result of boys’ poorer literacy and language skills . One reason may be parents are spending less time reading with their children, another being that mothers do most of the reading to young children who thus come to see reading as a feminine activity. In addition , boys’ leisure pursuits like football do little to help their language development.

Question 24

Globalisation and the decline of traditional men’s jobs

Answer 24

Since the 80’s many traditional “Mens” jobs like factory work etc. has been moved to China and other cheap countries to capitalise off labour costs. Mitsos and Browne claim that this decline of employment opportunity has led to a male identity crisis. Many boys have little prospects of getting a proper job. This undermines their motivation and self-esteem and so they give up trying to get qualifications. While this being true, this mostly applies to manual labour and therefore mostly applies to working class pupils who would’ve had less motivation in the first place.

Question 25

Feminisation of Education - Sewell (2006)

Answer 25

Sewell claims boys fall behind in education because it has been feminised. He claims schools don’t nurture ‘masculine’ traits such as competitiveness and leadership. Instead they celebrate qualities more closely associated with girls, such as methodical working and attentiveness in class. Sewell also entertains the idea that coursework is a major component to the gender gap in achievement.

Question 26

Shortage of male primary school teachers

Answer 26

The lack of male role models both at home and at school is said to be a cause of boys’ underachievement. For example, large numbers of boys are being brought up in the 1.5 million female-headed lone parent families in the UK. Similarly only 14% of primary school teachers are male and according to Yougov (2007) 39% of 8-11 y/o boys have no lessons with a male at all, but most boys surveyed said the presence of a male teacher makes them behave better, and 42% said it makes them work harder. Some argue this is because of the feminisation of these teaching roles. In this view, male teachers are better at imposing strict discipline required to succeed in education on young boys, supposedly suggesting we need more male primary school teachers.

Question 27

Are more male teachers really needed?

Answer 27

Research suggests that the absence of male teachers may not be a major factor in boys’ underachievement. For example, Becky Francis (2006) found that two thirds of 7-8 year olds thought the gender of their teacher didn’t matter.

Question 28

Moral panic about boys

Answer 28

Feminist critics argue that policies to promote girls are no longer needed, and they believe girls have succeeded at the expense of boys who are now disadvantaged. Feminist Jessica Ringrose (2013) believes these views have contributed to a ‘moral panic’ about boys which has shifted educational policy negatively:
-By narrowing equal opportunities policy down simply to ‘failing boys’ , it ignores the problem if disadvantaged minority and working class pupils
-By narrowing gender policy down to solely to the issue of achievement gaps, it ignores other problems faced by girls in school e.g. sexual harassment.
Audrey Osler (2006) notes that the focus on boys has allowed girls to slip in education, as it often comes in the form of silent disengagement, whereas in boys it comes in the form of displaying a ‘laddish’ persona.

Question 29

Gender, class and ethnicity

Answer 29

It would be wrong to assume all boys are a ‘lost cause’ however, as in recent years both genders have been performing much higher than previously. Furthermore Tracy McVeigh (2001) notes that the similarities in girls’ and boys’ achievement are far greater than the differences, especially when compared with class or ethnic differences. For example the class gap in achievement at GCSE is three times wider than the gender gap. As a result , girls and boys of the same class generally produce similar results. At GCSE in a typical year, the gender gap within any given social class is rarely greater than 12 percentage points.

Question 30

Explanations of Gender Differences in subject choice - Gender Role Socialisation

Answer 30

Due to differences in socialisation, boys and girls develop different tastes in reading. Patricia Murphy and Jannette Elwood (1998) show how these lead to different subject choices. Boys read hobby boys and information texts, while girls are more likely to read stories about people. This helps to explain why boys prefer science subjects and why girls prefer subjects like English .

Question 31

Gender domains - Browne and Ross (1991)

Answer 31

Browne and Ross argue that children’s beliefs about ‘gender domains’ are shaped by their early experiences and expectations of adults. By gender domains they mean the tasks and activities that boys and girls see as male or female territory and therefore as relevant to themselves. For example , mending a car is seen as falling in the male gender domain, but looking after a sick is not.

Question 32

How do gender domains impact children

Answer 32

Children are more confident when engaging in tasks within their gender domain. For example when they are set the same mathematical task, girls are more confident tackling it when it is presented as being about food and nutrition, whereas boys are more confident if it is about cars.

Question 33

What is the impact of gendered subject images

Answer 33

The gender image of a subject affects who will want to choose it. Sociologists have tried to explain why some subjects are seen as boys’ or girls’ subjects in the first place. If a boy wanted to choose a subject with a female gender image like Drama or Food Tech, they may shy away from it in order to prevent being ridiculed by friends and being seen as emasculate.

Question 34

Why does Kelly argue science is seen as a boys’ subject?

Answer 34

-Science teachers are more likely to be men
-The examples teacher use and those in textbooks often draw on boys rather than girls interests
-In science lessons, boys monopolise the apparatus and dominate the laboratory, acting as if it is theirs

Question 35

Why does Anne Colley (1998) think computer studies is seen as a masculine subject?

Answer 35

-It involves working with machines - part of the Male gender domain
-The way it is taught is off putting to females. Tasks tend to be abstract and teaching styles formal, with few opportunities for group work, which girls favour

Question 36

How do single sex schools differ in gendered subject choices?

Answer 36

Pupils who attend single sex schools tend to hold less stereotyped subject images and make less traditional subject choices. Analysing data on 13,000 individuals, Diana Leonard (2006) found that compared to pupils in mixed schools, girls in girls schools were more likely to take maths and science A levels, while boys in boys schools were more likely to take English and languages.

Question 37

What impact does peer pressure have on girls’ subject choices

Answer 37

Paechter (1998) found that because pupils see sport as mainly within the male gender domain, girls who are ‘sporty’ have to cope with an image that contradicts the conventional female stereotype. This may explain why girls are more likely than boys to opt out of sport. Similarly, Alison Dewar (1990) found that male students would call girls ‘lesbian’ or ‘butch’ if they appeared to be interested in sport.

Question 38

How does social class impact choice of vocational courses?

Answer 38

Carol Fuller’s (2011) research showed that most working class girls had ambitions to go into jobs such as child care, hair or beauty. This reflected their working class habits - their sense of what is a realistic expectation for ‘people like us’.

Question 39

What is ‘hegemonic masculinity’? (Bob Connel, 1995)

Answer 39

The dominance of heterosexual masculine identity and the subordination of female and gay identities.

Question 40

What are double standards?

Answer 40

A double standard exists when we apply one set of moral standards to one group but a different set to another group

Question 41

What double standard does Sue Lee (1993) identify in boys’ and girls’ sexual morality?

Answer 41

Boys boast about their sexual experiences , and in some cases are praised amongst male peers, but would call a girl a ‘slag’ if she doesn’t have a steady boyfriend or if she dresses and speaks a certain way

Question 42

What do sociologists argue about verbal abuse reinforcing male dominance?

Answer 42

What Connell calls a “rich vocabulary of abuse” is one of the ways in which the dominant gender and sexual identities are reinforced. Lees (1986) found that boys would call girls ‘slags’ if they appeared sexually available but ‘drags’ if not. Paechter sees name calling and the use of labels like ‘gay’ , ‘queer’, and ‘lizzie’ are ways in which sexual identities are policed.

Question 43

What is the “male gaze”?

Answer 43

The way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down , seeing them as sexual objects and making judgements about their appearance.

Question 44

What did Mac and Ghaill say about the male gaze?

Answer 44

They see the male gaze as a form of surveillance through which dominant heterosexual masculinity is reinforced and femininity devalued. It is one of the ways boys prove their masculinity to their peers and is often paired with constantly telling their friends about their sexual conquests. Boys who don’t display their heterosexuality in this way run the risk of being labelled as gay.

Question 45

How do male peer groups use verbal abuse to reinforce their definitions of masculinity

Answer 45

Studies from Epstein and Willis show that boys in anti-school subcultures often accuse boys who want to do well at school of being gay or effiminate. Mac and Ghalil’s study of Parnell school found that the working class ‘macho lads’ were dismissive of other working class boys who worked hard and wanted to do well. By contrast , middle class ‘real Englishmen’ projected an image of ‘effortless achievement’ - of succeeding without trying.

Question 46

How do female peer groups police each other’s identity?

Answer 46

Archer explained how working class girls gain symbolic capital through performing a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity, constructing a glamorous or ‘sexy’ Nike appearance. Girls who don’t conform to this identity may be at risk of being labelled as a ‘tramp’ by others.

Question 47

What did Ringrose’s (2013) study of a working class girls’ peer group of a school in South Wales find about identity?

Answer 47

Ringrose’s (2013) small scale study of a 13-14 year old working class group of a South Wales school found that being popular was crucial to a girls’ identity. As the girls made a transition from a girls’ friendship culture into a heterosexual dating culture , they faced a tension between:
- An idealised feminine identity
- A sexualised identity

Question 48

What is an idealised feminine identity?

Answer 48

Showing loyalty to the female peer group, being non competitive and getting along with everybody in the friendship group

Question 49

What is a sexualised feminine identity?

Answer 49

This involves competing for boys In the dating culture

Question 50

What did Curry et al (2007) argue about relationships’ impact among girls?

Answer 50

They argue that while relationships with boys can confer symbolic capital , this is a high risk game. This is because girls are forced to perform a balancing act between two identities:
- Girls who are too competitive and/or think themselves better than their peers risk ‘slut shaming’
- On the other hand , girls who don’t compete for boyfriends may risk being labelled as ‘frigid’

Question 51

What is a ‘boffin’ identity?

Answer 51

Girls who want to be successful educationally may feel the need to conform to the school’s notion of the ideal feminine pupil identity. Reay (2001) identity, presenting themselves as lacking any interest in boyfriends or popular fashion. As a result the ‘boffin’ label may be given, leading to exclusion by other girls.

Question 52

What does research show about teachers’ involvement in reinforcing dominant definitions of gender identity.

Answer 52

Research from Chris Haywood and Mac and Ghalil (1996) shows that they play a big role in reinforcing these definitions. They found out that teachers often tell of boys for ‘behaving like girls’ and teased them when they gained lower test scored than girls. Teachers tended to ignore boys’ verbal abuse of girls and even blamed girls for attracting it.