Gender And Educational Achievement

Question 1

What gender does better at every stage of the national curriculum test in English and science, and outperform in language and literacy.

Answer 1

Girls

Question 2

What is the percentage of girls getting A*-C at gcse compared to boys in 2013?

Answer 2

Girls- 70%, boys- 54%

Question 3

What was the percentage of girls getting 5 or more GCSEs (A*-C) grade compared to boys in 2014?

Answer 3

Girls- 66%, boys- 56%

Question 4

Effect of class and gender?

Answer 4

Perry and Francis found in 2010 that girls entitled to free school meals continue to do less well than girls and boys that aren’t entitled to free school meals, and middle class boys even if they are outperformed by girls achieve more highly than working class girls

Question 5

Percentage of women applying and being accepted for a full time university degree in 2014

Answer 5

57%

Question 6

Are girls or boys more like to achieve a 1st class and upper 2nd class degree?

Answer 6

Girls

Question 7

What is the outcome of girls and boys doing different subjects?

Answer 7

Influences future career choices

Question 8

Why are girls less likely to end up in careers involved in science, engineering and technology?

Answer 8

Because art subjects are more likely to be chosen by girls and science subjects more likely to be chosen by boys

Question 9

Are women less likely than men with similar qualifications to achieve similar levels of success in paid employment?

Answer 9

Yes

Question 10

Why do women do better than men?

Answer 10

The women movement and feminism have had considerable success in improving the rights and raising the expectations and self esteem for women. They have challenged the traditional stereotype for women roles as housewives and mother and been able to challenge the patriarchy

Question 11

How have equal opportunities risen?

Answer 11

Through the work of sociologists in highlight the education underperformance of girls in the past led to a greater emphasis in schools on equal opportunities, in order to enable girls to fulfill their potential more easily.
This can be seen through monitoring teaching and teaching materials for gender bias to help schools to meet the needs of girls bette, encouraging ‘girl friendliness’ not only in male dominated subjects but across the whole range of the experience of girls in school.
Teachers are now more sensitive about avoiding gender stereotyping in the classroom

Question 12

How girls ambitions changed?

Answer 12

More women are entering male dominated roles such as in STEM or more labour intense careers, this can be due to growing ambitions, more positive role models and more employment opportunities. Many women today have mothers working in paid employment, who provide positive role models for them . Many girls now recognise that the future involves paid employment, often combined with family responsibilities.

Question 13

Why do boys underachieve?

Answer 13

Girls are more motivated and work harder
Peer group pressure and anti-learning subculture
Equal opportunitys have benefitted girls more than boys
Lower teacher expectations
Poorer classroom behaviour
Poorer language skills

Question 14

How has sue sharp found how girls priorities have changed over the years?

Answer 14

In (1976) Sue Sharp found that girls prioritise were ‘love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs and careers’ when she repeated this research in (1994) she found that these prioritise had changed to ‘jobs, career and being able to support themselves’

Question 15

What did Francis find out in (2000)?

Answer 15

She carried out research which found out that in twelve classes of 14-16 year olds and interviewed students in three London secondary schools in 1998-9 that many girls were ambitious, aiming for higher professional occupations like doctors or solicitors rather than traditional female occupations.

Question 16

What did McRobbie argue in (2008)?

Answer 16

That changes in the jobs market have meant more young women now except to gain a degree qualification as a requirement for an interesting and rewarding career-an aspiration that has replaced marriage and motherhood.

Question 17

How to girls get better exam results?

Answer 17

There is evidence to prove that girls work harder, are more conscientious and are better motivated than boys. Girls put more effort into their work and spend more time doing homework properly. They take more care of their work and how it is presented, care more about how their teacher views them, concentrate more in class and have better concentration over a long period. Girls are more likely to get their work done on time. Some suggests these factors help girls preform better than boys in coursework which requires good organisation and sustained application.

Question 18

What did Francis suggest about the development of feminism identity led to for
girls attitudes to teachers other pupils and authority in general?

Answer 18

Francis said that girls have to have cooperative and conciliatory attitudes to teachers other pupils and authority in general. This femininity is linked to supportive attitude towards schoolwork which is reinforced by a pro-school peer group. This contrast with boys anti-school stance which is characterised by active resistance to authority and disengagement from school .

Question 19

Why do boys underachieve?

Answer 19

Lower expectations- evidence that teachers are not as strict with boys than girls. They are more likely to extend deadlines and be more tolerative behaviour from boys. This could create a self fulfilling prophecy contributing to boys underachievement.
Boys are disruptive- The male peer group often devalues schoolwork (anti school subculture) and boys may lose classroom learning time because they are sent out. Boys are over three times more likely to be excluded from school.
Masculinity and anti school subculture- Forde et al (2006) suggest peer group pressure to maintain a dominate masculine identity, partly developed by resistance to school, leds largely to be incompatible with academic success. This can often involve rejected academic work at ‘feminine’ and adopting disruptive classroom behaviour. Epstein et al (1998) found working class boys risked harassment and bullying if they appeared to be hardworking at school. Francis (2000) research confirmed this view of boys achieving more peer group macho status by resisting teachers and school through laddish behaviour like messing around in class. Paul Willis research on laddish behaviour. Lack of male teachers and also have an impact as boys have less role models to influence them to do well in school.
Declining traditional male employment opportunities and the male identity crisis- Mac an Ghail (1994) say that the declining traditional male working class jobs is a factor in explaining why many, especially working class boys, are underperforming in education. They lack motivation and ambition because of limited career prospects.
This can lead to a crisis with the male identity and cause men to have low self esteem and these insecurity’s are reflected in schools.
Feeling and behaving differently- boys overestimate their ability whereas girls underestimate their ability. Stanworth (1983) and Licht and dweck (1987) found girls lacked confidence and therefore underestimated their ability and felt undervalued in the classroom. Renold and Allan (2006) research states this still remains true til today. Research by Barber (1996) showed that boys more than girls think that they are able to very able and fewer boys than girls think they are ‘below average’, yet GCSE results show these perceptions to be the reverse of the truth. Boys tend to coast along rather then be challenged by their work and don’t work hard enough to get the results they are capable of. Confirmed by Francis (1998-9) which found that in three London secondary schools some boys thought it would be easy to do well in exams without having to put in much effort, when they fail they tend to blame the teachers or lack of effort, rather than ability.
Different leisure- while boys run around kicking footballs, playing sports or computer games and engaging in other laddish behaviour, girls are more likely to read or to be standing around talking. The value of talking, no matter what it’s about develops linguistic and reasoning skills needed for school and non manual jobs.
Boys don’t like reading- boys see reading as a predominantly feminine activity. Girls are more likely to read, talk about and spread the word about books and are more likely to read to their children. Research shows boys tend to stop reading at 8 years old. Schools tend to reproduce the gender divide, Oakhill and Petrides (2007) found boys interest in the content of what they read influence to understand a text and therefore their grasp of motivation and development in that subject, whereas girls understanding and performance are far less influenced by the content of what they read. This means girls are better at understanding reading subjects.

Question 20

Why do men and women still study different subjects?

Answer 20

Traditionally science subjects have been seen as masculine and arts and humanities subjects like English literature, foreign languages and sociology are seen as feminine. Skelton et al (2007) points that young males still typically purse technical and science oriented subjects, while young women typically pursue arts, humanities or social science subjects. He says science subjects, often seen as being more difficult, are often taken up by men and are thought to be of a higher status and that ‘softer’ subjects that are seen as being easier are taken by girls.

Question 21

What does the impact of gender socialisation affect women and men choosing different subjects?

Answer 21

Subject choices have their roots in the primary and secondary socialisation processes whereby the social and cultural norms linked to gender roles.
Research by Lobban (1974) found evidence of gender stereotyping in children’s books, with women more linked to traditional domestic roles.
Research by Best (1993) found that little had changed since Lobbans research.
This socialisation may encourage boys to develop more technical and scientific subjects and discourage girls from taking them. These may be reinforced by peer pressure to opt for particular subjects.

Question 22

How does subject counselling affect the gender divide in choosing subjects?

Answer 22

Whilst giving subject and career advice, teachers and counsellors may unconsciously advise their own socialisation and exceptions onto students. They may counsel students, in accordance to their own gender stereotypes such gendered subject choices will have clear consequences for what happens after school, in higher education course options and future career opportunities.

Question 23

How would peer pressure, gender identity and subject images influence the divide in gender relating subject options?

Answer 23

• (subject images) Research by Colley (1989) suggested that the gender perceptions of different subjects are important influences on subject choice. With arts and humanities seen as more feminine and science and technology seen as more masculine.
  -(gender identity) Skelton et al (2007) suggests that males and females may tend to be drawn to different subject areas due to their own ideas of what’s appropriate for their gender identity. For example, they suggest literacy and English are seen as more feminine, therefore girls find this subject confirms their conception of femininity, while boys find the opposite and that it challenges their view of masculinity.
  -(gender identity) Mitosis (1995-6) In her interview research with year 11 boys and girls at a convents inner city comprehensive school, found boys unfavourable responses to English were often voiced in the context of stereotypical male and female behaviour and boys difference from girls.