Education Topic 4 - gender differences in achievement Flashcards
Impact of feminism (one theorist)
Feminism has improved women’s rights and opportunities which can be seen in the media.
- McRobbie’s (1994) study compared 1970s magazines emphasising the importance of marriage, to 1990s magazines which portrayed strong independent women.
- These changes may affect girls self image and ambitions
Changes in the family
Major changes in the family since 1970s. These have impacted girl’s attitudes towards education: girls may have the role models of strong independent woman, to achieve this they need a well paid job and qualifications.
Changes in women’s employment
- 1970 EPA made it illegal to pay women less than men for the same work
- The proportion of women in paid work has risen from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013
- Some women are breaking through the ‘glass ceiling’ (invisible barrier which keeps women out of high level professional jobs)
Girl’s changing attitudes (one theorist)
Sharpe (1994) interviewed girls in the 1970s and 1990s and saw a shift in how girls see their future
1974: girls had low expectations, prioritised love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs or careers
1990: girls prioritised their career and being able to support themselves
Equal opportunities policies (one theorist)
GIST (Girls into science and technology) and WISE (Women into science and engineering) which encourages girls to pursue careers in non-traditional areas.
Boaler (1998) sees the impact of equal opportunities policies as a key reason for the changes in girl’s achievement. Barriers to education success have been removed an schooling is meritocratic
GCSE and coursework (one theorist)
Gorard (2005) claims the gender gap in achievement was fairly constant from 1975 to 1989 when there was a sharp increase, which was the year GCSEs/coursework were introduced. Girls are better in exams, boys are better in coursework
Selection and league tables (one theorist)
Marketisation has created a more competitive system, in which schools see girls as more desirable recruits because they tend to do better.
Jackson (1998) found that high achieving girls are attractive to schools, whereas low achieving boys are not. This creates SFPs where girls are recruited by good schools.
Liberal feminists
- Celebrate the progress so far in relation to girl’s achievement
- Further progress will be made as a result of equal opportunities policies encouraging positive role models
- Similar to functionalism they view education as meritocratic
Radical feminists
Even though girls are achieving more, the system is still patriarchal and conveys the message that it’s a mans world:
- Sexual harassment of girls at school
- Limits girls subject choices and career options
- Male teachers are still more likely to be heads of secondary schools
- Women are underrepresented in the curriculum
Girls identities for achievement (one theorist)
Archer et al (2010) identifies the strategies girls adopted to create a sense of self:
- Hyper-heterosexual feminine identity: girls invested time, effort and money into constructing their feminine identity. Led to school ‘othering’ girls
- Having a boyfriend: brought symbolic capital, but got in the way of school work and lowered aspirations. Girls wanted to ‘settle down’, have children and work locally in w/c jobs
- Being ‘loud’: some adopted ‘loud’ feminine identities, often outspoken, independent and assertive which doesn’t meet teacher’s expectations of the ideal female pupil
Boys literacy achievement
- Mothers spend less time reading with their sons
- Reading is seen as a ‘feminine’ activity
- Boys’ leisure pursuits don’t aid language/communication skills, girls tend to have a ‘bedroom culture’
- Policies have been introduced to try and improve boys’ achievement (National Literacy Strategy)
Globalisation - decline of traditional men’s jobs
Since 1980s much manufactory industry has relocated overseas to take advantage of cheap labour. Led to an ‘identity crisis’ for men, which creates a low self esteem and lack of motivation.
Shortage of male primary school teachers (one theorist)
A lack of male role models is said to be the cause of boys’ achievement.
Only 14% of primary school teachers are male, and according to Yougov (2007), 39% of 8-11 year old boys have no lessons whatsoever with male teachers.
AO3, are more male primary school teachers really needed? (one theorist)
Francis (2006) - two thirds of all 7-8 year olds didn’t feel as though the gender of their teacher made a difference to their education
Laddish subcultures (one theorist)
Epstein (1998) - looked at how masculinity is constructed and found working class boys are likely to be harassed, labelled as sissies and subjected to homophobic abuse. W/c culture masculinity is constructed as being tough and doing manual work, whereas non manual work is seen as effeminate and inferior
Government policy to deal with underachievement
Boys: National Literacy Strategy (improving boys reading), Dads and Sons (encouraging fathers to be more involved), Teacher recruitment and raising boys achievement
Girls: Equal opportunities policies, WISE (encouraging girls to pursue careers in non-traditional areas), non-sexist stereotyping careers advice and National Curriculum
Gender and subject choices
1988 National Curriculum - DT is compulsory for all but girls tend to choose food technology and boys graphic materials
AS and A Level - gendered subjects are more noticeable at A Level as pupils have more choice, boys tend to choose maths/physics, girls choose Sociology and English Language
Vocational subjects: gender segregation is also noticeable in vocational education, for example only 1 in 100 childcare apprentices are boys
Gendered subject choices (one theorist)
Kelly argues that science is seen as a male subject for a number of reasons - science teachers are more likely to be men, examples teachers use in textbooks are often drawn on boys experiences
Gender identity and peer pressure (two theorists)
Paechter (1998) - sport is seen as a male domain, therefore girls who are ‘sporty’ have to cope with an image which contradicts their stereotypical image
Dewar (1990) - studied and American college and found male pupils would call girls ‘butch’ or ‘lesbian’ if they engaged in sports
Gendered career opportunities
- Employment is highly gendered, women are concentrated in a narrow range of occupations which may reflect gender choices in education
- This sex typing of occupations affects boys’ and girls’ ideas about jobs which are acceptable for them
- This may explain why vocational courses are more gender specific as they’re more closely related to student’s career paths
Double standards (one theorist)
When we apply a set of moral standards to one groups, but a different set to another group
- Lees (1993) identifies a double standard of sexual morality, boys boast about sexual exploit, but a girl is called a ‘slag’ if she doesn’t have a steady boyfriend
The Male Gaze (one theorist)
Mac an Ghaill refers to the ‘male gaze’ - the way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down, seeing them as sexual objects and making judgements on their appearance. This is a way for boys to prove their masculinity to their friends, boys who don’t participate run the risk of being called gay
Female peer groups: policing identity (one theorist)
Ringrose (2013) studied 13-14 year old w/c girls peer groups finding being popular was crucial to girls’ identity. Faced tension between:
- Idealised feminine identity: showing loyalty to friendship group and being non competitive
- Sexualised identity: competing for boys in the dating culture
