Gender and Subject choice

Question 1

overview

Answer 1

Although the National Curriculum reduced the choice of subjects for pupils, there continues to be a traditional pattern in what is seen as girls’ subjects and what is seen as boys’ subjects. At post 16 education students tend to follow gender routes and subjects and in their gender domain

Question 2

what is gender domain

Answer 2

Tasks and activities that we see as a specifically male or female territory

Question 3

factors influencing gender differences in subject choice

Answer 3

Early Socialisation
Gendered Subject Images
Peer Pressure
Gendered career opportunities

Question 4

sociologists behind early socialisation

Answer 4

Oakley
Norman
Bryne

Question 5

early socialisation

Answer 5

Gender role socialisation is the process of learning the behaviour expected of males and females in society and Oakley argues that gender is learned through your culture. Norman notes that boys and girls are given different toys to play with and encouraged to play in different activities. Bryne argues that teachers at school continue this by encouraging boys to be tough and not behave like sisses and girls to be quiet, clean and tidy. As a result of this early socialisation, boys and girls develop very different tastes in subjects and it strongly shapes a child’s perception of a gender domain and children are more confident when engaging in their gender domain.

Question 6

sociologist behind gendered subject images

Answer 6

Colley

Question 7

gendered subject images

Answer 7

The image that a subject gives off affects how boys and girls see them. Subjects seen as boys subjects put girls off and vice versa. Colley found that computer science is seen as a boy’s subject because it involves working with machines which is part of the male domain and the way it is taught puts girls off, work is largely independent and girls prefer group work

Question 8

sociologists behind peer pressure

Answer 8

Dewar

Question 9

peer pressure

Answer 9

Subject choice can be influenced by pressure from friends and classmates if they disapprove of their choices. For example, boys tend to opt out of music or dance because these fall outside their gender domain and they are likely to attract a negative response from peers, likewise, girls fear choosing subjects such as sports for similar reasons. Dewar studied American college students and found that male students would call girls butch or lesbian if they appeared interested in sports. Peers police one another subject choices so that girls and boys adopt an appropriate gender identity. By contrast, the absence of peer pressure from the opposite sex explains why there is little differences in subject choice in single-sex schools

Question 10

gendered career opportunities

Answer 10

A large influence on subject choice is that of sex-typed work. Jobs are often seen as typically male work or female work. These jobs tend to fit in with the traditional stereotypes of men and women. Most female sex-typed work falls into the category of caring or dealing with people. 82% of workers in the care profession are female. Most male sex-typed work falls into the category of skilled manual work - 90% of workers in skilled trade are male. If students have the same ideas about sex type work it has a knock-on effect on the type of subjects they would choose to pursue