Gender and education Flashcards
How might school shape gender identity?
- influence of males and their peer groups use verbal abuse to reinforce their definitions of masculinity
- boys in anti school subcultures often accuse boys who want to succeed as being gay or effeminate
What was the study Willis conducted?
- An ethnographic study of 12 working class ‘lads’ from a school
- All white in a school containing many pupils of multiple ethnicities
- Participant observation and interviews
- Lads prioritized having a ‘laff’ thru causing trouble over their education
Who spoke about teachers and their double standards?
Haywood and Ghail, Sue Lees
What did Haywood and Ghail say?
Teachers reinforce dominant definitions of gender identity
- male teachers told boys off for behaving like girls, ignored their verbal abuse of girls and blamed girls for attracting it
- male teachers tend to teach STEM, women teachers tend to teach humanities
What did Sue Lees say?
Found a double standard in sexual morality
- boys brag about their sexual exploits
- girls labelled as slags if they do the same
- sexual conquest approved of gaining status for boys and ignored by male teachers but classes as promiscuity in girls
What did feminists say about these double standards in sexual morality?
Creates patriarchal ideology that justifies devaluation of women and creates a subordinate gender identity
What is subject choice?
Schools determine subject choice = career options in later life
- feminine subject = likely feminine job (vice versa for masc)
Who spoke about subject choice?
Browne and Rose
Kelly
Colley
What did Browne and Rose say?
Argue that childrens belief about gender domains are shaped by expectations of adullts
- Children more confident in engaging in tasks of their own domain
- Gender image that a subject gives off affects who will want to choose it
What is gender domains
Refer to tasks that boys and girls see as their territory
What did Kelly say?
Science seen as a boys subject as teachers tend to be men
- examples in textbooks tend to draw on male experiences
What did Colley say?
Computer science seen as a masculine subject
- involves working with machines and the way it is taught often puts off females due to less group work
What is gender?
A social construct - certain things are attached to different genders
Who spoke about gender role socialization?
Oakley
What’s gender role socialization (GRS)?
A negative process of learning the behavior expected of males and females in society
- influences gender identity from early
What did Byrne find in relation to GRS?
Schools play a role, teachers encourage boys to be tough and punish feminine behaviors
- girls expected to be quiet, helpful, and punished for being rough and noisy
What about single sex schools?
Tend to have less stereotypical subject images
- Subject choice can be influenced by peer pressure due to disapproval
- Boys tend to opt out of drama and music = negatives responses from male peers
Who spoke about single sex schools
Leonard and Paetcher
What did Leonard find?
Take less traditional subjects in single sex schools
- Looked at 13,000 pupils and found that compared to mixed schools, girls more likely to pick maths and science
What did Paetcher find?
Girls who choose sports tend to be subject to taunts like bitch or lesbian
- single sex schoolgirls more likely to choose sports (doesnt receive as much ridicule)
- Absence of boys puts less pressure on girls to conform to gender stereotypes
How does employment influence gender differences in education?
Employment is highly gendered and sex typed
- Women jobs tend to mirror the housewife role (clerical, cleaning, secretarial and personal services)
- Over half of all women’s employment is within this category compared to 1/6 of men n this category
How does vocational courses contribute to gendered employment?
Gendered employment explains why vocational courses are gender specific
- more linked to students gender stereotyped career paths
What are internal factors affecting gender and achievement?
Main factor: The rise of feminism
- GIST and Wise
- Role models
- Assessment methods
- Teachers interactions
Explain the rise of feminism as an internal factor?
- had a strong impact on the education system
- Increased awareness of gender issues and stereotypes
- Policies such as GIST (girls into science and tech) and WISE (Women in science and engineering)
Explain more about GIST and WISE
- Created in the 80s
- Still a need for them today (may not work)
- Initiated to encourage and celebrate female engagement with these subjects
- Female scientists visiting schools encourages girls to pursue science
Explain how role models contribute
- increase in proportion of female teachers and head teachers in recent years
- these women required extensive education to get to that position which encourages young females to find role models who are qualified and well educated
What changes to education happened due to feminism?
National curriculum removed gender inequality by making girls and boys study the same subjects
- changed girls achievement levels
- Many barriers removed = meritocratic = girls who work harder achieve more
Who spoke about a change in assessment methods?
Gorard and Browne
What did Gorard speak about?
Found that the gender gap was constant until 1988 when GCSES and coursework was introduced
- gender gap = product of the changed system of assessment rather than all failing boys
Who spoke about teachers interactions?
Spender and French
What did Spender say?
Teachers spend more time interacting with boys
What did French say?
Boys tend to receive more negative attention for poor behavior and girls receive more positive, work related attention = achievement
How has the removal of stereotypical representations helped?
Removal of gender stereotypes from textbooks
- 70s and 80s, girls portrayed as housewives and mothers
boys as scientists and inventors
- presenting more positive images of what women can do
What did Jackson say?
Schools see girls as more desirable to achieve better results
- league tables = emphasis on academic achievements = more opportunities for girls = overachievement
- High achieving girls sought by top schools, low achieving boys end up in unpopular schools = self fulfilling prophecy
What are external factors in gender?
Main: the rise of feminism
- Political changes
- Media
- Change in family
- Change in employment
Who spoke about marketisation and gender?
Jackson
How does media relate?
McRobbie looked at magazine covers throughout years and found a shift from the promotion of women being married and cooks to nowadays where women are seen as powerful and achievement oriented
Explain political changes as a external factor
- Improved women’s rights and opportunities through changes in the law
- raised women’s expectations/aspirations and self esteem - leading them to more focus in education and career opportunities for women
Explain changes in employment as an external factor?
- Rise of service, decline in manufacturing sector = crisis of masculinity (COM)
- COM: men losing their purpose as the breadwinner in the family and as manual workers in society
- links to changes in family, employment, gender order = a more general crisis
- seen in vocational courses and difference in subject choice
What’s a critique of gender and education?
- radical feminists argue the system remains patriarchal - - sexual harassment still exists in school and education still limits girls subject choice and career options
- headmasters and head of departments remain as men
Explain changes in family
- increase in divorce rates, cohabitations and lone parents
- smaller families
- increased number of women being the head of the house
- To be financially stable women need qualifications = academic achievement
What’s another critique of gender and education?
Women are underrepresented in many areas of the curriculum as their contribution to history is ignored
- Changes in education cannot lessen the entirety of the gender gap
What do functionalists think about gender and education?
Attribute the changing nature of women in education to changes in socialization
What is differential socialization?
A positive process: girls socialized to be more passive, toys related to different subjects
- causes women and men to be in gendered roles = successful society
