Gender and achievement Flashcards
Which gender does better in education?
Girls
What are the external factors affecting gender achievement?
Impact of feminism Changes in the family Changes in women's employment Changing girls ambitions Class, gender and ambition
What impact has feminism had?
It has raised women’s expecations and self-esteem so they have bigger ambitions for a career.
McRobbie found women’s magazines in the 70’s emphasized marriage but in the 90’s they showed strong role models
What did McRobbie find about the impact of feminism?
McRobbie found women’s magazines in the 70’s emphasized marriage but in the 90’s they showed strong role models
How have changes in the family affected gender achievement?
An increace in divorce rate and lone parent families mean that girls have more role models of female bread winners. To acheive this independance themselves they must do well in school
What impact have changes in employment had on gender achievement?
Equal pay and sex discrimination acts mean employment is more equal.
Better pay and opportunities give girls more incentive to do well in school
What laws have helped to equalise employment for women?
1970 Equal Pay Act
1975 Sex Discrimination Act
What impact do girl’s changing ambitions have on gender and acheivement
Sharpe found a shift where careers were now becoming priority over traditional goals.
Beck linked this to individualisation as careers give recognition.
Fuller found educational success was a key part of girl’s identity.
What did Sharpe find about girl’s changing ambitions?
Between the 70s and the 90s girls ambitions shifted away from traditional goals to their careers.
What did Beck and Beck- Gernsheim find about girl’s changing ambitions
Linked it to individualisation as a career provides recognition and self-sufficency. To do this, they recognise the importance of education.
What did Fuller find about girl’s changing ambitions?
Fuller found educational success was a key part of girl’s identity.
How are class, gender and ambition linked?
Working class girls still have gender-stereotyped aspriations for marriage and children, expecting to be in low-paying jobs as it's seen as more attainable. Biggart found that working class girls are more likely to face uncertainty in the labour market so there's less point in acheiving
What did Biggart find about the link between gender, class and ambition?
Biggart found that working class girls are more likely to face uncertainty in the labour market so there’s less point in acheiving
What are the internal factors affecting gender and achievement?
Equal opportunities policies
Positive role models in school
GCSE and coursework
Teacher attention
How have equal opportunities policies affected gender and achievement?
GIST and WISE give girls positive role models in male-dominated careers. They also get non-sexist careers advice.
Boaler: Girls previously had to work a lot harder to acheive educational sucess so now that the barriers have been removed, they over achieve.
How does Boaler say that equal opportunities policies have affected gender and achievement?
Boaler: Girls previously had to work a lot harder to acheive educational sucess so now that the barriers have been removed, they over achieve.
How have positive role models in schools affected gender and achievement?
There has been an increace in female teachers which show students that females can acheive positions of importance
How has GCSEs and coursework affected gender and achievement?
Gorard: The gender gap was constant until 1989 when GCSEs and coursework were introduced
Mitsos and Browne: Girls are better at coursework as they are better organised and meeting deadlines
There is a greater use of oral exams which is good for girls as they have more developed language skills
How does Gorard say coursework has affected gender and achievement?
Gorard: The gender gap was constant until 1989 when GCSEs and coursework were introduced
How does Mitsos and Browne say coursework has affected gender and achievement?
Mitsos and Browne: Girls are better at coursework as they are better organised and meeting deadlines
How does teacher attention affect gender and achievement?
French: Boys get more attention as they get reprimanded for behaviour. They are diciplined more harshly and teachers have lower expectation Swann: Boys dominate whole class discussions and girls work better in pairs. Teaches respond better to girls so this creates a self-fufilling prophecy
How does French say teacher attention affects gender and achivement?
French: Boys get more attention as they get reprimanded for behaviour. They are diciplined more harshly and teachers have lower expectation
How does Swann say teacher attention affects gender and achivement?
Swann: Boys dominate whole class discussions and girls work better in pairs. Teaches respond better to girls so this creates a self-fufilling prophecy
What effect have legue tables had on gender and achievement?
Jackson: Girls get into better schools as they are seen as more attractive as they outperform boys.
Slee: Boys are less attractive as they are more likely to suffer behavioural problems.
What factors are linked to identity, class and acheivement?
Symbolic capital Hyper-heterosexual feminine identity Boyfriends Being loud Working class girld dilemma Sucessful working class girls
How is symbolic capital affected by class and identiy?
Archer: They get symbolic capital from peers by portraying working class feminine identities This brings them into conflict with schools so stops them getting economic capital
What is the hyper-heterosexual feminine identity?
Spending time and effort on their appearance gets them positive attention from peers but is seen as a distraction by the teacher that prevents them from engaging. They then commit symbolic violence as they deem their culture less worthy of respect
How do boyfriends affect identity, class and achievement?
Having a boyfriend gets in the way of schoolwork and lowers aspirations. If a girl gets pregnant, she has to drop out
How does being loud affect identity, class and achievement?
Teacher interpret them being loud as questioning their authority. They are far from the ideal pupil which is quiet and passive
What is the working class girl’s dilemma?
They have to choose between gaining symbolic capital or educational capital so sometimes are ‘good underneath’
How are sucessful working class girls influanced by class and identity?
Evans: Girls wanted to go to university to help their families. Shows their working class identity where family is central. Many wanted to live at home while studying which excludes many unis Archer: They show a perferance for local over distant
What was Evans’s study into sucessful working class girls?
Evans: Girls wanted to go to university to help their families. Shows their working class identity where family is central. Many wanted to live at home while studying which excludes many unis
What factors affect boys and achievement?
Boys and literacy The decline of traditional male jobs Feminisation of education Shortage of male primary school teachers Laddish subcultures Moral panic
How does literacy affect boy’s achievement?
Boys have less developed language and literacy skills as parents spend less time reading to their sons. It’s normally the mother that reads to them so it’s seen as a feminine activity.
Girls have a bedroom culture of reading and playing with friends which offers more development
How does a decline of traditional male jobs affect boy’s achievement?
Mitsos and Bowne: Led to an identity crisis which undermines motivation and self-esteem. They give up on gaining qualifications
How has the feminisation of education affected boy’s achievement?
Sewell: Schools no longer nurture masculine traits, favouring feminine traits. Coursework is the main cause for underachievement and it should be replaced by exams and outdoor activities to nurture male traits
How is the shortage of male primary school teachers affecting boy’s attainment?
Boys have a lack of male role models. They say they behave better with male reachers as females can’t control ther behaviour.
Why are male teachers better at controling the behaviour of male students?
They use a diciplinarian discourse where the teacher’s authority is explicit and obvious.
Females are thought to use a liberal discourse where they speak to children as adults and expect them to be respectful
How does Francis disprove the idea that male teachers are best for boy’s acheivement?
Both male and female teachers use a diciplinarian discourse
2/3 of 7 and 8 year olds think the gender of the teacher isn’t important
How do Laddish subcultures affect boy’s acheivement?
Boys are harassed and labelled as effeminate if they like school. Boys stay away from this to avoid negative attention as girls are moving towards more masculine areas
How is there a moral panic about boys?
Ringrose: Shift in policy now preoccupied with raising boys attainment
Ignores the problem of disadvantaged working class and minority ethnic groups
Ignores problems girls face
How do gender, class and ethnicity interact?
McVeigh: The class gap is wider than gender Girls in the highest social class acheive 44% better than those in the lowest Size of the gender gap depends on ethnicity- largest with Afro-Carribean
What affects gender and subject choice?
When given options in the national curriculum, boys and girls choose different subjects. This increaces at A level
What factors affect gender role socilisation?
Gender domains Gendered subject images Single-sex schooling Gender, identity and peer pressure Gendered career opportunities Gender, vocational choice and class
What is gender role socilisation?
Early socilisation affects children’s gender identities. Schools encourage boys to be tough and girls to be helpful. Boys are more likely to read non-fiction books while girls are more likely to read fiction
What are gender domains?
Browne and Ross: What tasks are seen as male and female
Children are more confident in their own domain
Murphy: Boys and girls play attention to different details in the same question
Why does Kelly argue girls are less likely to choose science?
Most teachers are male
Examples in textbooks draw on male interests
Boys dominate the labratory and monopolise equiptment
How does peer pressure shape gender identity?
Boys opt out of music and dance to avoid a negative response from peers. The absence of peer pressure in single sex schools explains why girls are more likely to choose masculine subjects
What factors affect gender identity?
Double standards Male gaze Verbal abuse Male peer groups Female peer groups
