Gender And Subject Choice

Question 1

What are the four gender differences in subject choice

Answer 1

Gender role socialisation and gender domains

Gendered subject images

Peer pressure

Gendered career opportunities

Question 2

Ao1 and Ao3 gender role socialisation and gender domains

Answer 2

Murphy and Elwood argue that differences in gender socialisation leads to different tastes in reading and this affects subject choice

Gender domains is seen as the territory for each gender for example mending a car is seen as a male task which caring for sick and cooking is seen as female domain
Boys tend to read hobby books this leads to an interest in sciences whilst girls read stories about people this leads to an interest in English

Ao3
Postmodernists state this is outdated and lacks contemporary relevance and positions of women are changing this means gender socialisation is also changing

Question 3

Ao1 and Ao3 gendered subject images

Answer 3

Some subjects seem to be boys or girls subjects
Kelly looked at why science is often seen as a boys subject. She found that science teachers often are males and boys dominant science labs as if it was theirs.
Furthermore, people who attend single sex schools tend to hold less stereotyped subject images and make less traditional subject choices

Ao3
Wise and Gist now encourage girls to study subjects that are not gender based for example, science and engineering

Question 4

Ao1 and Ao3 peer pressure

Answer 4

Often influence subject choice, in terms of gender domains
For example, boys tend to opt out of dance and music because others are perceive these subjects to be outside the male gender domain and apply negative pressure

Ao3
this is too deterministic and there has been a shift in students picking subjects that are not part of there gender domain for examples. Girls choosing PE and boys choosing health and social care.

Question 5

Ao1 and Ao3 gendered career opportunities

Answer 5

employment is still highly gendered as jobs tend to be sex typed as men’s or women’s
Sex typing occupations affect boys and girls ideas of what jobs are acceptable
Vocational courses are much more gender specific as they are closely linked to students career plans

Ao3
It is the only gender that affect create opportunities class plays a greater role
Where can class peoples may make decisions about vocational courses based on their working-class habitus
For example, the girls in fullers study, had ambitions to go into jobs like childcare or hair and beauty which reflects the sense of realistic expectations for people like us are