Gender - Boys

Question 1

Socialisation - External

Answer 1

• Mitsos and Browne
• difference in achievement is down to how they spend their free time
• boys tend to be less motivated and organised, result of gender regimes
• boys are encouraged to be active whereas girls are encouraged to be passive

Question 2

Poor literacy Skills - External

Answer 2

• Mitsos and Browne
• common belief that reading is a feminine activity
• boys found reading alien to their way of thinking and working
• subjects with definite answers made boys more comfortable then those with interpretation

Question 3

Crisis of Masculinity - External

Answer 3

• Mac An Ghaill
• decline of traditional male jobs leads boys to be unsure of their future dues to women’s independence and the decline of manual labour jobs
• this insecurity is reflected in schools where boys don’t see the point in working hard and trying to achieve

Question 4

Subcultures - Internal

Answer 4

• laddish subcultures where those who value education are rejected
• Willis - this happens because they don’t see the point in education if they’re going to end up in manual labour
• Mac an Ghaill - class based identitities - WC boys were dismissive of education, MC boys wanted to project effortless achievement

Question 5

Behaviour - Internal

Answer 5

• boys are responsible for a greater number of behavioural problems
• 3x more likely to be suspended then girls ( 3/4 of all suspensions)

Question 6

Low expectations - Internal

Answer 6

• Francis
• staff not as strict with boys, have lower expectations
• more likely to extend deadlines and be tolerant of disruptive behaviour for boys

Question 7

Over Confidence - Internal

Answer 7

• Barber
• boys tend to be very confident in their ability whereas girls are more likely to believe they are below average
• results show that this is actually reversed