gender and achievement

Question 1

girls’ achievement - external - impact of feminism - mcrobbie

Answer 1

studied girls’ magazines from 1970s and 1990s and found in 1970s magazines emphasised importance of getting married while in 1990s they contained images of independent women - example of social changes brought by feminism

Question 2

mcrobbie criticism

Answer 2

reay - feminism hasn’t affected all girls - w/c have limited aspirations and see marriage as more achievable status

Question 3

girls’ achievement - external - changes in family

Answer 3

increase in divorce - more female headed LPFs - positive role model for girls as mother is financially independent - encourages girls to stay in edu to get high qualifications for well paid jobs

Question 4

changes in family criticism

Answer 4

new right - LPFs are negative role models - dependent on benefits

Question 5

girls’ achievement - external - increase in women’s employment opportunities

Answer 5

growth in number of working women due to growth of tertiary sector - tends to employ women - gives girls incentive to get qualification as there are employment opportunities for them

Question 6

increase in women’s employment opportunities criticism - biggart

Answer 6

biggart - w/c girls face instability in labour market so see motherhood as only viable option for future

Question 7

girls’ achievement - internal - equal opportunities policies

Answer 7

GIST & WISE - aim to encourage girls to choose science related edu and careers - motivates them to pursue STEM careers which they need high qualifications for

Question 8

equal opportunities policies criticism

Answer 8

despite GIST and WISE, girls still choose ‘feminine’ subjects

Question 9

girls’ achievement - internal - positive role models

Answer 9

increase in female teachers and headteachers in authoritative roles act as role models for girls - motivates them as they see that women can succeed but success requires hard work

Question 10

positive role models for girls criticism

Answer 10

most headteachers are still males - doesn’t motivate boys

Question 11

girls’ achievement - internal - classroom interactions - swann

Answer 11

difference in communication styles - girls take turns, boys interrupt and dominate class interactions - teachers respond more positively to girls - leads to SFP, increasing girls’ self esteem

Question 12

girls’ classroom interactions criticism

Answer 12

stanworth - research shows both male and female teachers pay more attention to boys

Question 13

girls’ underachievement - archer et al

Answer 13

conflict between girls’ w/c feminine identity and school’s values
girls create sense of self by:
adopting hyper heterosexual feminine identity - invest time and money into their appearance to achieve status from peers but brings them into conflict with school as it breaks rules. leads to school seeing them as incapable - symbolic violence

boyfriends - creates symbolic capital from peers, distracts studies and lowers aspirations - become focused on marriage and having children and not studies

being ‘loud’ - by being outspoken, independent and assertive, teachers perceive them as aggressive

some w/c girls define themselves as ‘good underneath’ as teachers treat them bad but they believe they are good to give themselves a sense of worth

Question 14

girls’ underachievement - evans

Answer 14

studied 21 high achieving 6th form girls - found they wanted to go to uni to help their families - reflects w/c feminine identity - caring is crucial part of identity, so they wanted to stay at home whilst studying to be with their families - limits uni choices and market value of their degree - limits career opportunities. girls self excluded from top unis by choosing to live at home so are disadvantaged by their w/c feminine identity

Question 15

boys’ underachievement - external - decline in traditional men’s jobs - mitsos and browne

Answer 15

decline in traditional men’s jobs - leads to crisis of masculinity - boys are unsure of what it means to be a man and feel their masculinity is undermined - become demotivated as they think there’s no jobs for them so give up on qualifications

Question 16

mitsos and brown criticism

Answer 16

growth of quaternary sector - tends to employ men so there are jobs out there for them yet they’re still not motivated

Question 17

boys’ underachievement - external - poor literacy skills

Answer 17

boys have poorer literacy and language skills than girls - affects achievement. studies show most reading at home is done by mothers so activity is seen as feminine - boys reject it

Question 18

poor literacy skills criticism

Answer 18

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Question 19

boys’ underachievement - external - leisure

Answer 19

boys’ leisure pursuits don’t contribute to developing literacy skills, while girls have bedroom culture - staying in and talking to friends - develops communication skiils needed for educational success

Question 20

leisure criticism

Answer 20

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Question 21

boys’ underachievement - internal - feminisation of edu - sewell

Answer 21

schools no longer promote masculine characteristics (competitiveness and leadership) and encourage feminine traits through subjects - boys put off edu as they associate it with femininity and underachieve

Question 22

feminisation of edu criticism - ringrose

Answer 22

ringrose - creates moral panic about boys’ underachievement and creates fear that they’ll become dangerous underclass - takes attention away from problems girls face like sexual harassment, gendered subject choices, bullying

Question 23

boys’ underachievement - internal - lack of positive male role models

Answer 23

hardly any male teachers so boys have no role model to look up to, female teachers can’t control boys’ behaviour and male teachers are needed to impose discipline

Question 24

lack of positive male role models to discipline boys criticism

Answer 24

read - studied primary schools - both female and male teachers use disciplinarian discourse to ensure students behaviour - female and male teachers can be authority figures to student

Question 25

boys’ underachievement - internal - laddish counter school s/cs - epstein

Answer 25

anti school s/cs contribute to boys’ underachievement - discourage educational success - high achieving w/c boys labelled as ‘swots’ by peers and are subjected to homophobic abuse just because educational success is seen as feminine

Question 26

laddish counter schools s/cs criticism

Answer 26

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Question 27

formation of gender identities - male gaze - mac an ghaill

Answer 27

sees male gaze as form of surveillance through which dominant heterosexuality is enforced - reinforces boys’ masculinity by devaluing femininity which helps keep girls ‘in their place’

Question 28

male gaze criticism

Answer 28

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Question 29

formation of gender identities - double standards - lees

Answer 29

boys boast about their sexual prowess and experiences whilst girls who are seen as dressing provocatively are labelled ‘slags’ - double standards in expectations of boys and girls’ sexual behaviour

Question 30

double standards criticism

Answer 30

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Question 31

formation of gender identities - female peer groups - ringrose

Answer 31

being popular was crucuial to girls’ identities - experience conflict between loyalty to female friends by being non competitive and supportive of each other (idealised feminine identity) and competing for boys (sexualised identity)

Question 32

female peer groups criticism

Answer 32

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Question 33

subject choice - gender socialisation - norman

Answer 33

from early age, boys and girls are socialised different - parents reward boys for being active and girls for being passive - teaches boys to be masculine and girls to be feminine

Question 34

norman criticism

Answer 34

deterministic - assumes children will follow the way they’re socialised

Question 35

subject choice - peer pressure - peachter

Answer 35

peer pressure discourages students from taking subjects - boys tend to not choose drama, dance or music due to fear of negative reaction from peers - subjects are seen as part of female gender domain

Question 36

peachter criticism

Answer 36

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Question 37

subject choice - gendered subject images - kelly

Answer 37

science - boys’ subject as science teachers tend to be men, textbooks use examples which appeal to masculine gender domains

Question 38

kelly evaluation

Answer 38

leonard - students in single sex schools tend to hold less stereotyped images of subjects so in all girls schools girls are more likely to pick sciences