Gender & Achievement Flashcards
1
Q
Feminism
A
A social movement campaigning for equal rights between men and women in all areas of society.
2
Q
Genderquake
A
Where the power has shifted from men to women, with women believing today that they can be whatever they want to be.
3
Q
Divorce Reform Act
A
An act which made divorce easier as there was no need to prove “matrimonial offence”
4
Q
Feminisation of the economy
A
Where women have far greater access to employment opportunities.
5
Q
Equal Pay Act
A
Women have the right to be paid the same wage as men.
6
Q
Sex discrimination Act
A
Safeguards women from harassment and differential treatment to male employees.
7
Q
Individualism
A
Where women value self-sufficiency above servitude to a husband and a family.
8
Q
Bedroom culture
A
Where girls socialise indoors and subsequently are more likely to pursue activities such as reading.
9
Q
Globalisation
A
The idea that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected
10
Q
Crisis of masculinity (Mitsos & Browne)
A
In the past, working class men’s role was to be the provider & the breadwinner for their family. However, the lack of employment opportunities for males combined with the surge in opportunities for females has undermined this role.
11
Q
GIST
A
Girls Into Science and Technology.
12
Q
WISE
A
Women into Science & Engineering.
13
Q
Hyper-heterosexual feminine Identity
A
Where working class girls place a lot of value on appearance and being sexually attractive to the opposite sex.
14
Q
Symbolic capital
A
Where a person has been made to feel that they have a sense of worth.
15
Q
Habitus
A
The taken-for-granted ways of thinking and behaving
16
Q
Symbolic violence
A
Where a person is made to feel that they are worthless and of less value.
17
Q
Gender Domains
A
Certain areas of social life which are dominated by either men or women.
18
Q
Male gaze
A
A way of portraying and looking at women that empowers men while sexualising and diminishing women
19
Q
Idealised feminine Identity
A
Where girls show loyalty to other girls.
20
Q
Sexualised identity
A
Where girls must compete for the attention of boys.
21
Q
Boffin identity
A
Where girls are judged for being too academic & not focused enough on friends or boys.
22
Q
Patriarchy
A
A system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women
23
Q
Glass ceiling
A
The invisible barrier that prevents women from achieving the higher level professional and managerial jobs
24
Q
Cohabitation
A
When a couple live together in a household but are not legally married
25
Lone parent family
A parent living with their dependent children without a partner
26
Gender socialisation
The process of learning the behaviour that is expected of males and females in society
27
Gender stereotypes
A simplistic generalised view or preconception about typical feminine and masculine behaviours and roles
28
Sexism
Prejudice or discrimination against an individual or group based on the view that one sex or gender is better than the other
29
Literacy
The ability to read, write, speak and listen in a way that lets us communicate effectively
30
Which gender outperforms the other?
Girls do better than boys at every stage in the National Curriculum Tests in English, science, language and literacy.
31
Evidence how girls outperform boys at GCSEs?
- 2014 English GCSE
- Girls: 70% of A*-C
- Boys: 54% of A*-C
32
What higher proportion of which gender stay on in higher and further education?
Females
33
Females are more likely to get what degrees?
- 1st class degrees
- Upper 2nd class degrees
34
What are female A-level leavers more likely to get than males?
- 3+ A level passes
- Achieve higher average point scores
35
Evidence how more women than men apply for and get accepted for full time university degree courses.
- 2014: Women made up 57% of applications
- 2013: Women made up 55% of students who were accepted
36
What was the concern until the 1980s?
- Underachievement of girls
- Despite outperforming boys in early education, they then fell behind
- Were less likely to get 3 A-levels and go to uni
37
What are the 4 external factors impacting the difference in gender achievement?
1. Impact of feminism
2. Changes in the family
3. Changes in women’s employment
4. Girls’ changing ambition
38
What are the 6 internal factors impacting the difference in gender achievement?
1. Equal opportunity policies in schools
2. Positive role models in schools
3. GCSEs & coursework
4. Teacher attention
5. Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
6. Selection & League Tables
39
Summarise McRobbie’s study.
- A study into girl’s magazines
- 1970s: Magazines emphasised importance of getting married and being a homemaker
- 1990s: Magazines contained images of assertive and independent career women
40
How does McRobbie’s study help explain why girls are now doing better?
- Shift in girls’ ambitions
- Impacted their self-image and can see themselves being in a career and independent
41
What are the four major changes in the family since the 1970s?
- Increase in divorce rate is approximately 40% of new marriages end in divorce
- Increase in cohabitation and a decrease in the number of first marriages
- An increase in the number of lone parent families
- Smaller families
42
How has an increase in female headed loan parent families affected girls attitudes towards education?
- More women need to take on the role of 'breadwinner'
- The financially independent woman has become a new role model for girls
- To achieve financial independence, women need well paid jobs and good qualifications.
43
How has an increase in divorce affected girls attitudes to education?
- It suggests to girls that it is unwise to rely on a husband to support them financially.
- This may encourage girls to be self-sufficient and to do this they need good qualifications.
44
What attitudes are girls now more likely to adopt from other women due to changes in the family?
Girls are more likely to see other young women around them put their careers before getting married or having a family and adopt this attitude also.
45
What are 4 changes in women’s employment?
- 1970 Equal Pay Act
- 1975 Sex Discrimination Act
- Since 1975, the gender pay gap has halved from 30% to 15%
- The proportion of women in employment has risen from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013
46
How has changes in women’s employment affect girls’ attitude towards education?
- Encouraged girls to see their future in terms of paid work rather than as housewives.
- Greater career opportunities, better pay and more role models provide a motivation for girls to gain qualifications.
47
Summarise Sharp’s study
- Interviewed girls about to leave school in the 1970s and 1990s and saw a major shift in ambition
- 1974: Priorities in order were: love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs and careers. They viewed education as undermining and appearing to ambitious was unattractive.
- 1990s: Priority was having a career and being able to support themselves. Girls were more likely to see their future as an independent woman with a career rather than dependent on a husband.
48
What did Fuller find about girls’ changing ambitions?
- Girls saw educational success as a central part of their identity
- They believed in meritocracy and aimed for a professional career that would enable them to support themselves.
49
What does Reay argue is the reason as to why there are class differences in how far girls’ ambitions have changed?
- Some working class girls continue to have gender-stereotyped aspirations
- Reflects the reality of the limited job opportunities they perceive as being available to them.
- They feel a traditional gender identity (being a wife / mother) is attainable and offers them status.
50
What are teachers & careers advisors much more aware of today?
- Sexism and the need to avoid gender stereotypes
- Career advisors ensures that girls are given the full range of courses and careers available
51
How have policies like GIST & WISE impacted girls achievement in education?
Encouraged girls to pursue careers in traditionally male-dominated areas.
52
What has the introduction of the National Curriculum meant for gender and achievement?
Ensured that boys and girls studied the same subjects, which previously wasn't the case.
53
What does Boaler argue the key reason for the change in girls’ achievement is?
- Impact of equal opportunities policies
- Argues that as schools have become more meritocratic, girls who generally work harder, achieve more.
54
What has an increase in the proportion of female teachers and headteachers impacted girls’ achievement?
They act as role models for girls, showing them that women can achieve positions of importance and giving them non-traditional roles to aim for.
55
What did Goraed find happened in 1989, which he argued is the reason that the gender gap in achievement increased?
Introduction of coursework
56
What do Mistis & Browne believe about the impact of coursework on why girls outperform boys?
- Girls are more successful in coursework because they are more conscientious and better organised
- Girls spent more time on their work, took more care with presentation, were better at meeting deadlines and brought the right materials to lessons.
57
Sociologists argue that the characteristics Mitsos and Browne put forward as to why girls are better at coursework are a result of what?
Early gender socialisation in the family as girls are encouraged to be neat and tidy at home, and so are more likely to present their work carefully at school.
58
How does Elwood criticise the argument that the introduction of coursework is why girls outperform boys?
This factor is unlikely to have a great deal of influence, as exams now have much more influence than coursework on final grades especially since the removal of coursework from most GCSEs and A-Levels.
59
What did French & French find about teacher attention?
Boys received more attention from teachers because they attracted more reprimands.
60
What did Francis find about teacher attention?
Whilst boys got more attention, they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers, who tended to have lower expectations of them.
61
What did Swann find about the difference between boys and girls in discussions or group work?
- Boys tended to dominate whole-class discussion, whereas girls preferred pair work and group work, and were better at listening and cooperation.
- Boys were more likely to interrupt others, rather than taking turns to speak.
62
How do Swann’s findings help explain the gender gap in achievement?
- Teachers see girls as more cooperative, so respond to them positively
- Teachers see boys as disruptive.
- This may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, in which teachers promote girls' self-esteem and raise their achievement.
63
Give evidence from textbooks in the 1970s which shows why the challenging of stereotypes on the curriculum has removed a barrier to girls achievement?
- Reading schemes portrayed women mainly as housewives and mothers.
- Physics books showed women as frightened by science
- Maths books showed boys as more inventive.
64
According to Weiner, how has the challenging of gender stereotypes and sexist images being removed from textbooks helped raise girls’ achievement?
Presenting them with more ambitious role models of what women can do
65
According to Jackson why has the introduction of league tables improved opportunities for girls?
- Girls are attractive to schools as they are statistically more likely to be high-achieving, whereas boys, who are more likely to be low-achieving, are not.
- This tends to create a self-fulfilling prophecy, because girls are more likely to be recruited by good schools, they are more likely to do well and the opposite happens for boys.
66
According to Slee why are boys less attractive to schools?
- They are more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties
- 4x more likely to be excluded.
67
According to the Departmenrs for Chikdren, Schools and Families (DCFS) what is the gender gap in education mainly the result of?
Poorer literacy and language skills amongst boys
68
Name 2 reasons as to why boys may read less
- Parents spend less time reading to their sons.
- It is often mothers who do most of the reading to young children, who then come to see reading as a feminine activity.
69
How do boys and girls leisure activities develop literacy skills?
- Boys' leisure activities (e.g football) often do little to develop their language and communication skills.
- Girls tend to have a 'bedroom culture', centred on staying in and talking with their friends.
70
What has been done in response to how poor language and literacy skills are negatively affecting boys' educational achievement across a range of subjects?
- Reading Champions scheme, which uses male role models to celebrate reading
- Dads and Sons campaign which encourages fathers to be more involved with their sons' education.
71
Name the 5 reasons why boys underachieve
1. Boys & Literacy
2. Globalisation & the decline in traditional male jobs
3. The feminisation of education
4. Male primary teacher shortage
5. Laddish subcultures
72
Evaluate the crisis of masculinity
- Manufactured jobs like mining didn’t require many if any qualifications
- Therefore it is questionable that the decline of masculine jobs is the leading factor in boys underachievement
73
Explain the feminisation of education
- Schools don’t nurture 'masculine' traits such as competitiveness and leadership anymore
- They celebrate more feminine qualities such as listening attentively, group work, and a methodical approach to school work.
74
Give 2 statistics evidencing the shortage in male primary school teachers
- Only 14% of primary school teachers are male
- 39% of 8-11 yr old boys have no lessons whatsoever with a male teacher
75
What did most of the boys surveyed by Yougov believe that having a male teacher meant for their attitude towards education?
- Most said having a male teacher made them behave better
- 42% said it made them work harder.
76
How does Francis criticise the view that the absence of male teachers is the most significant factor?
Francis found that two-thirds of 7-8yr olds believed that the gender of the teacher does not matter.
77
Evaluation: Read and Haase’s argue what in terms of the shortage of male teachers?
- Read: Examined the type of language teachers used to show disapproval of pupil' work and behaviour. She found that most teachers used a traditionally 'masculine' discourse (even if they were female), which consisted of shouting, sarcasm and exasperation.
- Haase (2008) states that although women may make up most primary teachers, it is better to think of schools as 'male-dominated'
78
What does Epstein argue about laddish subculture being the cause of male underachievement?
- Working class boys are more likely to be harassed, labelled as sissies and become targets for homophobic verbal abuse if they appear to be 'swots."
79
What does Francis argue about laddish subculture being the cause of male underachievement?
- Boys were more concerned than girls about being labelled by their peers as ‘swots' because this label is more of a threat to their masculine identity than it is to girls' femininity.
- In working class culture, masculinity is often associated with being tough and doing manual work, and so schoolwork is seen as effeminate and inferior.
80
Why does Francis argue that laddish subculture is increasing?
- Girls move into more traditionally masculine areas for their careers
- Boys respond by "becoming increasingly laddish in their efforts to construct themselves as non-feminine."
81
Name the 4 reasons why boys and girls choose different subjects?
- Gender role socialisation
- Gendered subject images
- Gender identity & peer pressure
- Gendered career opportunities/ advice
82
What does Norman state about gender role socialisation
From an early age, boys and girls are dressed differently, given different toys and encouraged to take part in different activities.
83
What do Murphy and Elwood argue leads to different subject choice?
- Boys and girls develop different tastes in reading as a result of gender socialisation
- Boys tend to read hobby books and information texts - explains why boys often take more STEM subjects
- Girls are more likely to read stories about people - explains why girls often take English
84
What do Brown and Ross argue leads to different subject choice?
- Children’s beliefs about 'gender domains' are shaped by their early experiences and expectations of adults.
- Children are more confident when taking part in a task they see fits in their gender domain
85
What did Murphy find boys and girls pay attention to on the same task and how does this impact subject choice?
- Girls focus more on how people feel - explains why girls choose humanities & arts
- Boys focus more on how things are made and work - explains why boys choose STEM
86
What 3 ways does Kelly argue why science is seen as a boys’ subject?
- Science teachers are more likely to be men
- Examples in science textbooks often reflect boys' interests rather than girls
- In science lessons, boys take greater control of the equipment and dominate the lab, acting as if it is 'theirs.'
87
What 2 ways does Colley argue why computer science is seen as a boys’ subject?
- It involves working with machines and part of the male gender domain
- Tasks tend to be abstract and teaching styles formal with little opportunities for group work, which is off-putting for girls
88
What did Leonard find about the difference in subject choice in same sex vs mixed sex schools?
- Girls in girls' schools were more likely to take maths and science at A-level compared to mixed schools
- Boys in boys' schools were more likely to take up English and languages compared to mixed schools
89
What did Paechter find about gender identity, peer pressure?
- Pupils see sport as mainly within the male gender domain
- Sporty girls have to cope with an image that goes against the conventional female stereotype
90
What did Dewar find about gender identity, peer pressure?
- Male students would call girls who did sport lesbian
91
In terms of peer pressure impacting subject choice, how does this differ in same sex or mixed sex schools?
- Mixed schools: Peers police one another into subjects which fit within gender domains
- Same-sex schools: Girls are more likely to choose subjects which may fit within the male gender domain because they don't have the same pressure to conform to the restrictive stereotypes of what they should study.
92
How do gender stereotypes associated with different occupations influence subject choice?
- Students get an idea about what jobs is possible and acceptable based on their gender
- This explains why vocational courses are much more gender specific
93
Name the three ways schools shape, reinforce and reproduce gender identities
- Peer groups
- Teacher-pupil interaction
- Gendered expectations and behaviours
94
What do male peer group promote the idea of?
- Hegemonic masculinity as being the norm
- Use of verbal abuse reinforce ideas of 'what it is to be a man
- E.g "macho lads" by Mac an Ghail
95
What did Mac an Ghail find male pupils' and sometimes teachers judged?
- They made judgements on girls' appearance
- Saw them foremost as a sexual object
- Described as the male gaze
96
What did Archer find about female peer groups?
Working class girls gain symbolic capital from their peers by performing a hyper-heterosexual identity
97
What did Francis find about female peer groups?
Some girls' adopted a boffin identity
98
What did Ward find about peer groups and pupil identity?
Some males didn't conform to the hegemonic masculinity of the boys but chose a more gender-neutral identity in becoming geeks
99
According to Archer, name the 3 groups teachers subconsciously categorise pupils into
- The ideal pupil
- The pathologized pupil
- The demonised pupil
100
What do the categorisation of pupils lead to according to Archer?
- Leads to a self fulfilling prophecy
- The internalisation of the demonised pupil makes pupils live up to the expectations of dominant male heterosexuality
101
What did Mac an Ghail find about teacher-pupil interactions and the impact it has on pupils' identities?
- Male teachers told boys off for 'behaving like girls' and teased them if they got lower marks in tests than girls.
- Teachers tended to ignore boys verbal abuse of girls and even blamed them for attracting it
102
How do the gendered expectations and behavours impact students' gender identity according to Franicis?
- Teachers and pupils had expectation based off of traditional behaviours of each gender.
- E.g boys were allowed to dominate talk in the classroom
- This reinforces patriarchal ideas as it confirmed the view that men are more important than women
- Girls become invisible in the classroom as the gender socialisation of girls encourages them to be passive.
103
How do the gendered expectations and behavours impact students' gender identity according to Skelton?
- Boys and girls act out their gender roles as opposites
- Children act out these deep-seated gender roles often unconciously
- What is seen as inappropiate or appropiate boy or girl behaviour can take different forms throughout their education
104
Evaluation: Has gender socialisation changed?
There has been a move towards more gender neutral parenting recently
105
Evaluation: Has any programmes tried to reduce the inequality between subject choice?
GIST and WISE
106
Evaluation of the idea that education programmes has encouraged subject choice into opposite gender domains?
While there is GIST & WISE, there isn't any programmes for boys to be encouraged into female dominated subjects
107
How does Wiener criticise female role models in education?
Calls the history curriculum a women free zone
108
Evidence the of patriarchy in education
1/3 of 16-18 year olds girls said they've experienced unwanted sexual touching
109
Evaluate the view that the impact of feminism has benefitted everyone
Feminism has mainly benefitted white middle class women
110
What percentage of women in 2013 weren't in paid employment?
43%
