gender DEA Flashcards
external factors increasing girls achievements
-impact of feminism
-changes in women’s employment
-changes in the family
-girls changing ambitions
impact of feminism
-since 1960s, feminist movement has challenged the traditional stereotype
-feminism has raised womens expectations and self esteem
evidence: McRobbies study into girls magazine. in 1970s, they emphasised the importance of getting married and not being ‘left on the shelf’. nowadays they contain images of assertive, independent women
changes in the family
major changes in the family since the 1970s:
increase in divorce rate
increase in cohabitation, decrease in number of fams
increase in number of lpf + smaller families
these changes affects girls attitudes:
e. g increased numbers of female-headed lpfs may mean more women take on a breadwinner role which creates a new adult role model for girls. to achieve independence, women need well-paid jobs and therefore good qualification
- increase in divorce rates may suggest thats its unwise to rely on a husband to be their provider - encourages girls to look after themselves and their own qualifications
changes in womens employment
- 1970 equal pay act makes it illegal to pay women less than men for work of equal value. 1975 sex discrimination act outlaws discrimintaion at work
- since 1975, pay gap between men and women has halved from 30% to 15%
women are breaking the glass ceiling
these changes have encouraged girls to see their future in terms of paid work rather than as housewives. greater career opportunities and better pay are incentives
girls changing ambitions
sharpe : 70s - girls had low aspirations, believed educational success was unfeminine. gave priorities as ‘love, marriage,husbands,children, jobs and career’
90s - ambitions had changed, different order of priorities. sharpe found that girls more likely to see their future as independent woman with a career
internal factors increasing girls achievements
-equal opportunity policies
-positive role models in schools (more female teachers and heads)
-GCSE + coursework
-challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
-teacher attention
-selection and league tables
equal opportunities policies
- policies such as GIST and WISE encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM and non-trad areas
- introduction of national curriculum, 1988 removed one source of gender inequality by making girls and boys study mostly same subjects
boaler
many barriers have been removed and schooling become more meritocratic, so that girls who generally work harder than boys, achieve more
positive role models in school
- increase in the proportion of female teachers and heads. women in senior positions may act as role models, showing that women can achieve positions of power, giving girls more to aim for
gcse and coursework
gorard, mitsos and browne
gcse and coursework
gorard, mitsos and browne
gorard
gender dea was fairly constant from 1975-89, when it increased sharply when coursework was introduced
mitsos and browne
conclude girls are more successful in coursework because they’re more conscientious and better organised than boys - these characteristics are the result of early gender role socialisation
evaluation of gsce and coursework - elwood
although coursework has some influence, it’s unlikely to be the only cause of DEA because exams have much more influence on final grade
teacher attention (labelling)
french, francis, swann
french
analysed classroom interaction and found that boys received more attention because they attracted more reprimands
francis
while boys got more attention, they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers who has lower expectations of them
swann
gender diff in communication styles
- teachers respond more positively to girls who they see as cooperative - SFP, girls self esteem raised as well as achievement levels
challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
- removal of gender stereotypes in school resources has removed a barrier in girls achievement
- research in 70s-80s found reading schemes portrayed women as mostly housewives, frightened by science and boys as more inventive
weiner
since 1980s, teachers have challenged such stereotypes - may have helped to raise girls achievements by presenting them with more positive images of what women can do
selection and league tables
jackson, slee
jackson
high-achieving girls are more attractive to schools, whereas low-achieving boys aren’t
- tends to create SFP because girls more likely to be recruited by good school = more likely to do well
slee
boys = less attractive to schools because they’re more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties and are more likely to be excluded
- boys may be seen as a ‘liability students’ - give schools a rough look
WC girls hyper heterosexual feminine identities
Boyfriends, being loud, putting effort into their appearance
Evans in her study- successful wc girls
Of 21 WC girls in sixth form
Found that they wanted to go to HE to increase earning not for themselves but for their families- reflecting their WC feminine identities
Archer (wc girls )
that the conflict between WC girls feminine identities and school values conflict, preventing them from gaining educational capital
this conflict is symbolic violence
Skeggs (1997)
“Caring” is a crucial part of the WC female identity and this contributed to the choices of the girls in Evans’ study
WC girls self exclusion from elite unis due to
them wanting to stay home to care for their families which is part of their feminine identity
liberal feminist view of girls achievement
-Celebrate progress and believe in March of progress and equality being gradually achieved
radical feminist view of girls achievement
emphasises that the system remains patriarchal due to
-sexual harassment in schools
-education still limiting girls subject choices and career options
-male teachers still more likely to be heads
-women underrepresented in many areas of the curriculum eg their contribution to history
boys and DEA
- literacy
- globalisation and the decline of traditional mens jobs
- shortage of male primary school teachers
- laddish subcultures
DCSF (2007) - literaccy
parents spend less time reading to their sons
-its mothers that do most of the reading so its seen as a feminine activity
evaluation of literacy
govt has introduced a range of policies to improve boys achievement - so this ought to lead to progress e.g reading champions
globalisation and the decline of traditional mens jobs
led to much manufacturing companies relocating to developing countries to take advantage of cheap labour
mitsos and browne - boys DEA
decline in male employment opps has led to ‘identity crisis for men’.
many boys now believe they have little prospects of getting a proper job - undermines their motivation and self esteem so they give up
mitsos and browne, boys DEA - evaluation
the decline has largely been in manual WC jobs that require few if an qualifications
feminisation of education - sewell
- boys fall behind because schools don’t nurture ‘masculine’ traits e.g leadership
- also sees coursework as major cause of gender DEA
shortage of male primary school teachers
lack of male role models cause for underachievement
yougov
only 14% of primary school teachers are male, 39% of 8-11 year oldboys have no lessons whatsoever with a male teacher. most boys said presence of male teachers make them behave better and 42% said it made them work better
evaluation of feminisation of education + shortage of male primary school teachers
— read
- teachers favour a ‘masculine’ approach/disciplinary course of control which disproves sewell’s claim
- female teachers just as likely to use a ‘masculine’ discourse to control pupils behaviour
laddish subcultures - epstein
WC boys likely to be harassed, labelled as ‘sissies’ and subjected to homophobic verbal abuse if they appear to be ‘swots’
- supports francis’ findings that boys more concerned than girls about being labelled by peers, laddish culture is becoming increasingly widespread
ringrose
moral panic reflects a fear that WC boys will grow up to become a dangerous, unemployable underclass that threatens society/social stability - led to policy shift which led to:
1. equal opps policies now ignore the problems of disadvantaged WC and EMs
2. ignores other problems faced by girls in school e.g sexual harrassment,bullying etc
mc veigh
similarities in girls and boys achievement are far greater than the differences, especially when compared with class or ethnic differences
connoly
certain combinations of gender, class, ethnicity have more effect than others
osler
focus on underachievement of boys has led to a neglect of girls
- boys disengagement often takes form of public displays of ‘laddish’ masculinity that attract attention from teachers and policymakers
