Explanations of gender subject choice

Question 1

What four points are raised that would explain gender subject choice?

Answer 1

1. early socialisation (aka. influenced from young age)
2. gendered subject image (aka. which gender do we associate?)
3. peer pressure (aka. outside factors influencing)
4. gendered career opportunities (aka. what can this subject do for my future?)

Question 2

1. early socialisation

What does Norman observe about gender role socialisation?

Answer 2

• from an early age: boys and girls are treated very differently
• given different toys, activities
• can channel their development/ interest into different subjects/ careers

Question 3

1. early socialisation

How do teachers reinforce gender roles?

Answer 3

• encourage girls = quiet, passive, helpful, tidy

- expect boys = tough, noisy, rough

Question 4

1. early socialisation
   Many sociologists argue that as a result of gendered socialisation patterns, girls/ boys develop different reading tastes. How does this influence subject choice?

Answer 4

• boys come to prefer information texts etc - more likely to prefer the sciences
• girls tend towards books about people and lives - more likely to prefer humanities

Question 5

1. early socialisation

When is the ‘gender domain’ shaped and how does it influence subject choice?

Answer 5

• shaped as a result of early experiences
• children are most comfortable and confident engaging in activities/ roles within their gender domain ie. gendered subjects

Question 6

2. gendered subject image

The gender image is the image that the subject ‘gives off.’ Why might science be seen as a boys’ subject?

Answer 6

• boys appear in the textbooks, examples draw on male experiences
• boys monopolise the lab equipment
• science teachers tend to be male

Question 7

2. gendered subject image
   While a subject might ‘give off’ a certain gendered image, what study might show that it is more a case of peer pressure?

Answer 7

• girls in girls schools were more likely to take maths and science (compared to a mixed school) + more likely to study male-dominated subjects at university
• boys in boys schools were more likely to take foreign languages or English (compared to a mixed school)

Question 8

3. peer pressure

Why might other boys and girls apply pressure to an individual?

Answer 8

• if they don’t approve of his/ her choice

Question 9

3. peer pressure

Why might girls opt out of sport?

Answer 9

• ‘sporty’ girls have to cope with an image contradicting the conventional stereotype
• pupils tend to see sport as falling within the male gender domain

Question 10

4. gendered career opportunities
   Employment is highly gendered. Give some example of how women are concentrated in a narrow range of occupations. What is the effect of this?

Answer 10

• 50% of all female employment falls into clerical, secretarial, public services etc
• sex-typing of jobs influences pupils’ ideas about what jobs are attainable/ acceptable

Question 11

4. gendered career opportunities

Why are vocational courses much more gender specific?

Answer 11

• because vocational studies are more closely linked to the pupil’s career