Gender Flashcards
What were the main priorities of working-class girls in the 1970s according to Sue Sharpe’s study?
Love, marriage, husbands, and children
Based on unstructured interviews comparing attitudes over decades.
What shift occurred in the main priorities of girls from the 1970s to the 1990s according to Sue Sharpe?
From ‘love, marriage, husbands and children’ to ‘job, career and being able to support themselves’
Education became the main route to a good job.
How have changes in the family structure influenced female educational achievement?
Increased independence, education, and employment due to divorce, cohabitation, and single parent families
Girls are more concerned with standing on their own two feet.
What societal change has directly impacted female educational performance?
The impact of feminism
Feminism challenged traditional gender stereotypes and raised aspirations.
True or False: Boys have historically outperformed girls in educational achievement.
True
Up until the 1980s, boys consistently did better than girls.
Fill in the blank: Girls are now more _______ and ambitious compared to girls from the 1970s.
confident
Reflects a shift in attitudes and aspirations influenced by societal changes.
What was a major finding of McRobbie’s 1994 study regarding girls’ magazines?
Magazines in the 70s emphasized marriage, whereas later they featured assertive, successful women
Illustrates changing societal expectations for women.
What percentage of females achieved a First & Upper 2nd class degree in 2012?
68%
Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (2013)
What has been a consequence of girls witnessing adult relationship breakdowns?
Increased wariness of marriage
Influences their commitment to education and independence.
What is the glass ceiling?
An invisible barrier preventing women from achieving higher positions in employment
The term often refers to the challenges women face in career advancement despite qualifications.
How do teachers interact differently with boys and girls?
Teachers spend more time interacting with boys than with girls
This disparity can affect students’ self-esteem and academic performance.
What did Spender (1983) find regarding teacher interaction?
Teachers spend more time interacting with boys
This may lead to differences in academic achievement.
What impact do feminist ideas have on the National Curriculum?
They promote equal opportunities for boys and girls
The curriculum aims to reduce gender inequality.
What are GIST and WISE?
Policies encouraging girls to pursue science and engineering fields
GIST stands for Girls into Science and Technology, WISE stands for Women into Science and Engineering.
How did the introduction of coursework in 1989 affect the gender gap?
The gender gap increased as girls are more conscientious and organized
Gorard (2005) argues that this change in assessment methods favored girls.
What conclusion did Gorard (2005) reach regarding the gender gap?
The gender gap is a product of the changed system of assessment
It is not due to a failing of boys.
Why are high-achieving girls considered desirable recruits for schools?
They achieve better exam results
This leads to improved opportunities for girls in popular schools.
What effect does marketisation and selection have on boys and girls?
Girls are more likely to secure places in popular good schools; boys may end up in unpopular schools
This creates self-fulfilling prophecies regarding academic success.
What role do positive female role models play in education?
They demonstrate that women can achieve positions of importance
An increase in female teachers and head teachers provides non-traditional goals for girls.
What is the implication of the self-fulfilling prophecy in education?
Students may internalize expectations based on teacher interactions and school reputation
This can lead to a cycle of underachievement or overachievement based on perceived capabilities.
Fill in the blank: The Equality Act 2010 and Shared Parental Leave 2015 are examples of ______.
[legislation promoting gender equality in employment]
What is the main argument of Sewell (2006) regarding boys’ underachievement in education?
Education has become ‘feminised’, not nurturing ‘masculine’ traits like competitiveness and leadership
Sewell argues that schools celebrate qualities associated with girls, leading to boys falling behind.
What percentage of primary school teachers in the UK are male, according to the DfES (2016)?
15%
This shortage of male role models is linked to boys’ underachievement.
What is the impact of ‘laddish’ subcultures on boys’ education?
Boys reject schoolwork to avoid being labelled as swots, which threatens their masculinity
This is particularly significant in working-class culture, where masculinity is associated with toughness.
