Educational Achievement with Gender

Question 1

What gender preforms better at school

Answer 1

Girls outperform boys in every subject, but maths as boys only just slightly do better in.

Question 2

Statistic on girls in university

Answer 2

In 2014, there were 58,000 more females at university than males

Question 3

What have Feminists drawn attention to

Answer 3

The stereotypical subject choices and the under-representation of females studying physics and maths and the over-representation in subjects such as English and sociology

Question 4

What is believed about the gendered subjects

Answer 4

They may negatively impact on the entry of adult males and females into the job market and may be partly responsible for both the glass ceiling and pay gap experienced by women in employment

Question 5

What are the six explanations of the higher achievement of girls compared to boys

Answer 5

• Changing attitudes
• Changes in job market and economy
• Feminism
• Individualisation
• Differences in socialisation and behaviour
• Changes in the education system

Question 6

What is evidence behind the ‘Changing attitudes’ reason behind the achievement of girls

Answer 6

Sharpe claims that the attitudes and priorities of females changed dramatically between the 70s and 90s. In the 70s the girls main priorities were love and marriage, but in the 90s they were more concerned about education and careers.

Question 7

What is evidence behind the ‘Changes in the job market and economy’ reason behind the achievement of girls

Answer 7

Major changes in the 1970s to the economy which lead to a decline in male-dominated jobs, like manufacturing.
This resulted in many more career opportunities for females.

Question 8

What is evidence behind the ‘Feminism’ reason behind the achievement of girls

Answer 8

Feminist campaigns for equality in the job market and in wider society have led many females taking for granted that they should have the same rights as men.

Question 9

What is evidence behind the ‘Individualisation’ reason behind the achievement of girls

Answer 9

Beck claims that societies have undergone a process of individualisation which means people are now more concerned about their personal needs. He claims females are putting their own need for independence before marriage.

Question 10

What is evidence behind the ‘Differences in socialisation and behaviour’ reason behind the achievement of girls

Answer 10

The socialisation of girls and boys has changed. Girls used to be prepared for domestic and maternal jobs but now parents encourage girls to have higher aspirations.

Question 11

What is evidence behind ‘Changes within the education system’ reason behind the achievement of girls

Answer 11

The introduction of coursework in the 1980s benefitted females, but the recent shift back to exams has not benefitted boys.
Also there has been a feminisation of the education system, so girls have more role models

Question 12

What did Hannahs research find

Answer 12

That the socialisation of girls emphasises girls language kills which are essential for success in education

Question 13

What did Burns and Bracey find

Answer 13

That girls mature faster than boys and this results in them working harder and being more motivated at school, putting more effort into homework and coursework.

Question 14

What girls are subject to underachieving

Answer 14

Girls from families that experience low income and poverty

Question 15

What did Archer et al find

Answer 15

That working-class girls helped bring about their underachievement by forming anti-school subcultures organised around sexualised hyper-feminine identity which entailed putting more effort into their appearance than school work.

Question 16

What was Jacksons study on and what did he find

Answer 16

Study of year 9 pupils and found that girls often opted out of education because they feared failure and did not want to appear stupid. These girls cultivated an attitude of being ‘too cool for school’

Question 17

What is the three reasons in the underachievement of boys

Answer 17

• A crisis of masculinity
• Lad culture
• Boys attitudes

Question 18

Describe how ‘A crisis of masculinity’ has an affected on the underachievement of boys

Answer 18

Mac and Ghaill suggested that boys no longer see the point of qualifications because masculine roles such as breadwinner and head of the household are less important.

Question 19

Describe how lad culture leads to the underachievement of boys

Answer 19

Most studies have identified anti-school subcultures which are mostly working-class males. The evidence suggests that these male subcultures regard schoolwork as ‘feminine’ and ‘unmanly’ and have a tendency to engage in rude disruptive behaviours. They tended to see engaging in school as soft and weak.

Question 20

Describe how boys attitudes lead to the underachievement of boys

Answer 20

Some studies have suggested that boys are often over confident about their own abilities, do not see the need to work hard and subscribe to lower academic aspirations than girls.

Question 21

What does Coffey view

Answer 21

Views society’s concern about boys underachievement as a moral panic - an over-reaction to a social problem that has been blown out of proportion by the media

Question 22

What do feminists point out

Answer 22

That subtle gender inequalities continue to exist in British education which continue to discriminate against females.