Educational achievement- Gender differences

Question 1

Explain Gender Patterns in Achievement between KS1-3

Answer 1

Girls constantly do better than boys, especially in English, but in Science and Maths the gap is lower.

Question 2

Explain Gender Patterns in Achievement at AS/A Level

Answer 2

> Girls more likely to get top grades.

> Girls even do better in traditional boys subjects e.g. Physics and Maths

> More girls than boys go on to university.

Question 3

Explain Gender Patterns in Achievement at Vocational Courses

Answer 3

More Girls achieve distinctions, incl. in engineering and construction, where there’s small girl population

Question 4

External Factors on Gender Differences in Achievement

Answer 4

• Impact of Feminism
• Changes in the Family
• Changes in Women’s Employment
• Changing Ambitions

Question 5

External Factors Female Achievement Theorists

Answer 5

> McRobbie (Impact of Feminism)

> Mitsos and Browne (Changes in Women’s Employment)

> Sharpe (Interviews 70’s and 90’s) - Girls Changing Ambitions

Question 6

What’s the impact of Feminism on Girls Education?

the feminist movement has changed the traditional stereotype of a women’s role as solely that of mother and housewife in a patriarchal nuclear family

Answer 6

> The feminist movement -Improved womens rights
raised opportunities through changes in law
e.g sex discrimination act, equal pay,
raising expectations, self-image & motivation of women.
No longer strictly bound to domestic role.
So more motivated to do well in Education.

Question 7

McRobbie’s Study of Girls Magazines -Impact of Feminism on Girls Education

Answer 7

> Study of girls’ magazines in 1970s emphasised importance of marriage & not being “left on the shelf”
But today there are many images of assertive independent women.
these changes encouraged by feminism affect girl’s self-image & ambitions with regard to family &careers
explains improvements in their educational achievement.

Question 8

Outline 3 Changes in Family that have impacted Girls Education?

Answer 8

• Primary Socialisation
• Increased Divorce Rates
• More Dual Earner Families and Lone Parent Families headed by women

Question 9

Changes in the family

Explain Primary Socialisation of Girls in the Family and impact on their education? Norman

Answer 9

> Norman-In the family girls are socialised by their parents to engage in bedroom culture encourage her in relatively passive, quiet activities
more suited to education than ‘Male’ socialisation-boys encouraged to be loud & activeThrough bedroom culture girls pick up quiet, submissive attitudes favoured in school e.g. ideal pupil-SFP

Question 10

Changes in the family

Explain impact of Increased Divorce Rates - impact on education?

Answer 10

Show girls it’s unwise to rely on men for financial support, motivates them to well at school, so they can get good jobs & qualifications

Question 11

Changes in the family

Explain the impact of More Dual Earner Families and Lone Parent Families and its impact on their education?

Answer 11

increase in lone parent families-means women have to take on breadwinner role
Give girls image of strong independent role model and Dual Earner Families raises girls aspirations.

Question 12

A03 of changes in the family

How do Feminists criticise the idea of Changes in the Family have an impact on Girls Achievement?

Answer 12

Many still hold to traditional gender roles, where do triple shift.

Question 13

outline how Changes in Employment had an impact on Girl’s Achievement?

Mitsos & browne

Answer 13

> Women’s employment risen since 1950, due to expansion of service sector, Economy created more ‘feminised’ career opportunities for women e.g in healthcare,hospitality
So see future as more than housewives having greater career aspirations and independence.
women now breaking though’glass ceiling’(barrier that keeps them out of high level jobs

Question 14

Changing girls ambitons

Explain Sue Sharpe’s Interviews between 70’s and 90’s show major shift in way girls see future

Answer 14

> 70s: Educational success was unfeminine being ambitious was unattractive.
90s: Girls’ ambitions changed, saw future as independent woman with careers rather than dependent husbands.

Question 15

A03 Criticisms of Ext Factors Girl Theorists

Answer 15

> Feminists (Changes in the Family)
Fuller & Reay (Girls Changing Ambitions)
Biggart (Girls Changing Ambitions)

Question 16

Explain how Fuller and Reay criticise the Idea of Change in Girls Ambitions?

Answer 16

> Some WC girls continue to have gender stereotyped aspirations for marriage & children& expect to go into traditional low paid womens work
e.g childcare
As it’s attainable and offers a desirable status.

Question 17

Explain how Biggart criticises the Idea of Change in Girls Ambitions?

Answer 17

WC girls face insecure position in labour market and see motherhood as only option in their future, so see less point doing well at school.

Question 18

Internal Factors explaining Gender Achievement in School

Answer 18

• Equal Opportunities Policies
• Role Models
• GCSE and Coursework
• Teacher Attention
• Challenging Stereotypes in curriculum
• Selection & League Tables

Question 19

Equal opportunity policies

Explain Impact of Feminist Ideas on Equal Opportunities Policies-

Internal factor

Answer 19

> Feminist ideas now widespread in Education
Equal Opportunities Policies promote gender equality, as policymakers aware of gender issues believe boys and girls should have same opportunities-part of mainstream thinking

Question 20

Outline the 2 schemes introduced for equal opportunities policies

Internal factor

Answer 20

> policies- GIST (Girls into Science and Technology)
WISE (Women in Science and Engineering)
encouraged girls persue careers in non traditional areas
female scientists visited scools, acting as role models, encouraging Girls into Sci and Tech

Question 21

Equal opportunity policies

Outline how introduction of national curriculum promoted equal opportunities policies -Girls’ achievement in School?

Internal facotr

Answer 21

Introduction of national curriculum 1899 removed one source of gender inequality by making girls & boys study same subjects

Question 22

Internal Factor Theorists for Girls Achievement

Answer 22

> Boaler (EOP’s)

> Gorard (Impact of Coursework)

> Jane & peter (Teacher Attention)

> Swann (Teacher Attention Impact on Girls)

> Francis (Teacher Attention Impact on Boys)

> Weiner (Removal of Gender Stereotypes)

> Jackson & Slee (Intro of League Table and Impact on girls and boys

Question 23

E

Boaler’s view on equal opportunities policies

Internal

Answer 23

> Equal opportunities policies key reason for changes in Girls achievement
Barriers removed, so schools meritocratic, girls who work harder than boys do better.

Question 24

Positive role models in school-internal facotr

Positive Role Models in explaining Girls’ achievement in School?

Internal

Answer 24

> Increase in number of Female Teachers and Heads, acts as role models for girls
Motivating them to see they’re able to get positions of importance & power.
So Girls work harder to achieve educationally.
Presence of female teachers feminises learning environment, seeing school as part of female gender domain, so see it as desirable female characteristic.

Question 25

GCSE & Coursework

Gorard’s View on GCSEs and Coursework

Internal

Answer 25

> found Achievement gap was constant from 1979 - 1989
but when coursework introduced gap widened, as it was major part of most subjects.
So Boys underachievement because of introduction of
coursework, not general failing of boys.

Question 26

GCSE & Coursework

Mitsos and Browne View on GCSEs and Coursework

Internal factor

Answer 26

> Girls more successful in coursework:
better organised,
spend more time on work,
meet deadlines and concerned with presentation than boys placing them at advantage.
Also, GCSE has more oral exams - better for girls as they’ve got better language skills, due to bedroom culture

Can link internal facors with external-girls in gcse better due to bedro

Can link internal facors with external-girls in gcse better due to gender role socilaisation in family -bedroom culture
​

Question 27

Explain Jane & Peter View on Teachers Attention

Internal factor

explaining girls achievement in schools

Answer 27

ways teachers interact with boys & girls differ
Teachers spend more time interacting with boys than girls.
>Boys get more attention but it’s negative attention, as they attracted more cautions-teachers had low expectations for them

Question 28

Swann -Teachers Attention

Internal

Internal Factors explaining Girls’ achievement in School?

Answer 28

> Boys dominate whole class discussions, but girls prefer group work & better listening , cooperating,
in groups girl speech involves taking turns unlike boys.
Girls favoured by teachers, leading to self-fulfilling prophecy, promoting girls self esteem & achievement.

Question 29

Challenging stereotypes in curriculum

In relation to Stereotypes within the Curriculum how were Girls portrayed in 70’s and 80’s and what was the effect?

Internal factor

explaining how removal of gender stereotypes from textbooks,reading schemes-removed barriers to girls achievement

Answer 29

> In ’70-’80s girls were portrayed as housewives & scared of science reinforced by textbooks putting girls off science and maths.
math books depicted boys as more invetive

Question 30

Explain Weiner’s Findings on Challenging of Stereotypes since 80’s in Curriculum?

Answer 30

> Removal of gender stereotypes in learning materials, removed a barrier girls achievement.

> From 80’s big change w/ teachers and textbooks challenging stereotypes.

> Removing sexist images, presenting girls with more positive images of what they can do, thus raising their aspirations.

Question 31

Selection & league tables

Jackson & Slee’s findings on Selection & League Tables

Internal

in relation to Internal Factors explaining Girls’ achievement in School?

Answer 31

> Intro of league tables benefits girls as they achieve higher so more attractive to schools.
Boys achieve low and worse behaved, four times more likely to be excluded,
as girls likely to be recruited by popular schools-, creates SFP
Boys are seen as liability students
give school a rough image, deterring high achieving girls applying.

Question 32

A03 Evaluation of Girls Internal Factor Theorists

Answer 32

> Elwood (Mitsos & Browne and Gorard)
Liberal Feminists
Radical Feminists