gender and differential achievement Flashcards
patterns of gender and achievement
girls outperform boys at all levels of education, but this has not always been the case
feminism and education in the past
in the past women achieved fewer qualifications than men and feminists suggested that this was due to education being sexist towards women in the past, such as by denying women access to education by arguing they were biologically less capable than men
Sue Sharpe “Just like a Girl”
interviewed w/c girls in London in the 1970s and found their priorities were marriage and family life, providing little incentive to achieve high quality qualifications
when she repeated these interviews in the 90s most girls saw themselves as independent and having a career, so education is now more relevant to their aspirations
Lobban - reading gender roles
in a sample of 179 stories Lobban found that women usually portrayed in traditional domestic roles so girls are taught from an early age that males are superior to females
Spender - invisible women
evidence of a gender regime where 60% of teachers’ time was spent dealing with boys and they were allowed to mock girls’ contributions unpunished
Stanworth - boys names
found in sixth form that lecturers were more likely to know boys’ names and favoured them with their attention
French - disciplining boys
although infant teachers spent more time with boys this was mainly due to disciplining their unruly behaviour
McRobbie - girls’ magazines
in the 1970s magazines emphasised getting married and relationships while in the 1990s they featured strong independent women
changes in the family
since the 1970s there have been major changes including increased divorce, cohabitation and SPFs leading to more adult role models for girls
changes in female employment
- the 1970 equal pay act made it illegal for men and women to be paid differently in the same job
- the 1975 sex discrimination act made women feel less threatened at work
- the growth of service sector jobs, flexible hours and paid maternity leave has meant 70% of women work in 2013 compared to just 47% in 1959
strengths of external factors in explaining improved achievement of girls
- genderquake - wealth of evidence that there has been a massive change in female attitudes and paid work making education more relevant
weaknesses of external factors in explaining improved achievement of girls
- overgeneralising that external factors are the same for all girls when class plays a clear role
- ignores internal factors
equal opportunities policies
- national curriculum meant girls were given equal opportunity to study all subjects
- GIST and WISE have encouraged teachers to be aware of sexism in the classroom
role models in education
61% of teachers and 37% of heads in secondary schools are female, which may inspire women to do well in education
Weiner - women in textbooks
positive and inspirational images of women now exist in textbooks rather than traditional stereotypes
Mitosis and Browne - coursework
girls do better since the introduction of coursework due to their bedroom culture meaning they are more organised and meet deadlines, as well as being more mature than boys so taking it more seriously
Francis - teacher interactions
boys are more harshly treated by teachers and have low expectations of them, with teachers responding more positively to girls, which could lead to self fulfilling prophecies which promote female achievement
strengths of internal factors theory in explaining improved achievement of girls
- liberal feminists suggest challenging stereotypes and creating equal opportunities has made school a more equal environment for women
