gender and education Flashcards
What are the differences in achievement between boys and girls at key stages 1 to 3?
Girls do consistently better than boys. Especially in English, and despite the gap being narrower in maths and science, girls still do better.
What are the differences in achievement between boys and girls at GCSE?
Although, achievement between both sexes has risen, girls are still doing significantly better.
What are the differences in achievement between boys and girls at AS and A-Level?
Girls are most likely to sit, pass and get higher grades than boys, though the gap is much narrower than at GCSE.
What are the differences in achievement between boys and girls on vocational course?
A larger proportion of girls achieve distinctions in every subject, including more ‘masculine’ subjects such as engineering.
How has the impact of feminism affected gender differences achievement? EXTERNAL
McRobbie found that in the 70s, magazines encourage girls to get married, whereas magazines nowadays show images of assertive, independent women.
How have changes in the family affected gender differences achievement? EXTERNAL
There have been major changes in the family since the 1970s inc :
- An increase in divorce rate
- An increase in cohabitation
- A decrease in the number of first marriages
- An increase in the number of lone-parent families
- Smaller families
How have changes in women’s employment affected gender differences achievement? EXTERNAL
Since 1975, the pay gap between men and women has halved.
The 1970 Equal Pay Act makes it illegal to pay women less than men for work of equal value.
How has changing ambitions affected gender differences achievement? EXTERNAL
Sharpe did a study spread across 20 years. She interviewed a group of young girls in the 70s and a young group of girls in the 90s.
In the 70s, women had low aspirations and believed that they should just find themselves a husband. Whereas, in the 90s, women were career-driven and had ambitions.
How have equal opportunities policies affected gender differences in achievement? INTERNAL
Policies such as GIST and WISE encourage girls and women to get jobs in non-traditional areas.
What is GIST?
Girls Into Science and Technology
What is WISE?
Women Into Science and Engineering
How have positive role models in schools affected gender differences in achievement? INTERNAL
Women teachers are more likely to be an important role model in girls’ educational achievement as, to become a teacher, the individual must undertake a lengthy and successful education herself.
How has GCSE and coursework affected gender differences in achievement? INTERNAL
Mitsos and Browne say that when GCSEs were introduced was when the gap in gender achievement began to increase. They found that girls were more successful and better suited to the GCSE and coursework system because they: Spend more time on their work ;Take more care in the way that their work is presented; Are better at meeting deadlines and Bring the right materials and equipment to lessons
How has teacher attention affected gender differences in achievement? INTERNAL
Francis found that even though boys get more attention from their teachers, they are disciplined more harshly and feel picked on by teachers, who tended to have lower expectations of them.
How has challenging stereotypes in the curriculum affected gender differences in achievement? *INTERNAL
Weiner found that gender stereotypes have been challenged in learning materials. This has been done by removing sexist images from textbooks.
