Gender - Boys - Factors

Question 1

What are the 3 external factors which affect boys’ education?

Answer 1

Boys’ poorer literacy skills
Decline in traditional male jobs
Unrealistic expectations

Question 2

What are the 3 internal factors which affect boys’ education?

Answer 2

Feminisation of education
Teacher interactions
Laddish subcultures

Question 3

How has boys’ poorer literacy skills affected boys’ education?

Answer 3

Boys leisure time isn’t spent doing things which help their education (whereas girls read). Mothers also read to their kids, so boys assume it is a woman’s activity

Question 4

How has a decline in traditional male jobs affected boys’ education?

Answer 4

Decline in male employment opportunities like mines and factories leads boys to believe they don’t have a chance of getting a job, removing motivation for school

Question 5

How have unrealistic expectations affected boys’ education?

Answer 5

Boys are more likely to have career aspirations which are unrealistic and don’t require formal qualifications, e.g. professional footballer, so they don’t try as hard at school

Question 6

How has the feminisation of education affected boys’ education?

Answer 6

School, and the increase in coursework, has benefitted girls’ work ethic more than boys’

Question 7

How have teacher interactions affected boys’ education?

Answer 7

Negative labelling towards boys, and lower expectations of them, can lower their confidence and motivation to do well

Question 8

How have laddish subcultures affected boys’ education?

Answer 8

‘Macho lads’ subcultures reject authority figures and gain status from friends from misbehaving in lessons, distracting from education