Gender

Question 1

gender - what do girls do better than boys in?

Answer 1

SAT’s english & science

Question 2

gender - percentage of boys and girls that achieve 5A*-C

Answer 2

66% - girls

56% - boys

Question 3

gender - percentage of girls that applied and got accepted to university

Answer 3

applied - 57%

accepted - 55%

Question 4

gender - alevel

Answer 4

females more likely to get 3 passes

more girls stay in sixth form/further education

Question 5

gender - problems remaining for girls

Answer 5

• girls outperforming boys draws attention away from girls underachieving (social class/FSM)
• girls do arts/humanities, boys do science/technology (higher status)
• women with similar qualifications as men achieve lower levels of success in employment

Question 6

gender - women movement and feminism

Answer 6

women looking beyond traditional stereotypical role as their main role in life

Question 7

gender - equal opportunities

Answer 7

emphasis in schools on educational opportunities, monitoring gender bias
campaigns aimed to attract girls into STEP subjects (WISE)

Question 8

gender - growing ambition

Answer 8

increase in employment opportunities = more ambitious
more mother are now in paid employment - positive role models
sue sharpe - girls priorities 1976: sex, marriage, husbands, children, jobs, careers. 1994: job, career, supporting themselves

Question 9

gender - girls work harder

Answer 9

put more effort, time, care
more organised; bring right equipment, meet deadlines
feminine identity involves supporting attitudes to schoolwork via pro-school peer group

Question 10

gender - girls mature earlier

Answer 10

by 16, girls are up to 2 years moe mature than boys

more likely to view exams seriously

Question 11

gender - spend leisure time differently

Answer 11

girls talk & eat which develops their language skills

boys play sports

Question 12

gender - lower expectations (boys)

Answer 12

staff not as strict

creates self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 13

gender - boys more disruptive

Answer 13

achieve peer-group says by aggressive behaviour

3X more likely to get excluded

Question 14

gender - masculinity and the anti-learning subculture

Answer 14

peer group pressure encourages boys to develop anti-education/learning subculture to maintain dominant masculine identity
laddish culture
academic work seen as feminine
working-class boys risk labelled gay if appear hard-working
lack of positive male role models - teachers seen as feminine profession

Question 15

gender - feeling and behaving differently

Answer 15

highly achieving girls play down their abilities to appear attractive as lack confidence and undervalued in classroom
boys overestimate their ability; able but don’t work hard enough
blame teachers or lack of effort when failing

Question 16

gender - gender socialisation (subject choice)

Answer 16

• canalisation: children given different toys, activities and see parents with different roles
• gender stereotyping in books
• encourage boys and discourage girls from being interested in STEM subjects

Question 17

gender - subject counselling

Answer 17

career advisors reflect their socialisation when helping pupils decide subject choice

Question 18

gender - subject image

Answer 18

pupils have ideas of what subjects appropriate for their gender identity
females that take sport are stigmatised as butch/lesbian discouraging others
must express their femininity in other ways or seen as unfeminine
reinforce day peer-group pressure

Question 19

gender - national curriculum

Answer 19

everyone studies the same subjects throughout secondary school
education reform act

Question 20

gender - gender identity

Answer 20

children adopt gender-appropriate behaviour which conforms to gender stereotypes to fit in

Question 21

gender - gendered verbal behaviour

Answer 21

boys dominant talk, interrupt girls

verbal abuse reinforces masculinity and patriarchy

Question 22

gender - gendered physical behaviour

Answer 22

sit in different groups
girls resist schools passively (chatting), boys get into arguments
boys dominant physical space, making girls invisible (exercise of patriarchy)

Question 23

gender - gendered pursuits

Answer 23

girls focus on appearance and pleasing boys

boys construct masculinity by boasting sexual activities

Question 24

gender - gendered classroom behaviour/power

Answer 24

girls support boys (cleaning, helping)
self-confident girls that challenge their masculinity are punished by boys and ridiculed by girls - don conform to conceptions of femininity

Question 25

gender - role of teachers

Answer 25

teachers expect girls to be quite, hard-working compared to boys
girls that don’t conform are punished heavily, boys are seen as ‘boys will be boys’