Gender differences

Question 1

McRobbie- impact of feminism on achievement.

Answer 1

70’s girls magazines emphasised importance of marriage and not being left on the shelf- now contain images of assertive, independent women.

Question 2

Sharp- girls chain ambitions (interview)

Answer 2

70’s - low aspirations, - wanted love, husband and family over a career. educational success was unfeminine.
90’s- women now wanted careers and success, no longer wanted to be depends on a husband.

Question 3

new laws-

Answer 3

1970- Equal pay act

1975- sex discrimination act.

Question 4

Beck and Beck Gernsheim-

Answer 4

we now have individualisation in modern society, career is now part of a women life, economic stability and recognition.

Question 5

Biggart- the class struggle

Answer 5

W/C girls still see little for them in the job market, so see their only option as to get pregnant.

Question 6

Feminism in Gov-

Answer 6

Gist (girls into science and technology ), female scientists visiting schools and 1988 the national curriculum.

Question 7

Gorard- impact of GCSE’s

Answer 7

gender achievement gap always similar until introduction of GCSE’s which brought coursework.

Question 8

Elwood - evaluation

Answer 8

coursework has some effect but cannot b e the reason for such a big gap, exams have more influence then coursework.

Question 9

Francis- teacher attention

Answer 9

Boys got more attention but are punished more harshly and felt mistreated, teachers have lower expectations of them.

Question 10

research on textbooks-

Answer 10

70’s textbooks showed women as housewives and mothers, and physics showed them to be scared of science.

Question 11

Jackson- league tables

Answer 11

exam league tables have shown girls to be higher achievers so schools want girls more, as they go to better schools they will get better grades.

Question 12

view on girls achievements - Liberal feminists-

Answer 12

believe good changes have been made, equality will grow using the current methods.

Question 13

Views on girls achievement- radical feminists

Answer 13

system is still patriarchal, sexual harassment

continues, gender specific subject choices, .

Question 14

Archer et al- why W/C girls struggle

Answer 14

w/c hyper identies conflict with the schools ethos. Symbolic capital- is the status we get from others, hyper identity gets girls symbolic capital from peers but conflicted with school so they didn’t get educational capital.

Question 15

Archer- The Hyper heterosexual feminine identity.

Answer 15

Girls focus on looks, wanting to be sexy and desirable, gaining status from peers. This conflicted with the school, teachers labelled them as not one of us and incapable of educational success (symbolic violence).

Question 16

Bourdieu- Symbolic violence.

Answer 16

Symbolic violence is the harm don e by denying someone symbolic capital, eg. defining a culture as worthless.

Question 17

W/C reasons for females failing-

Answer 17

Boyfriends- again gained symbolic capital but effected school work, lowered aspirations created a feeling of ‘settling down’
Being Loud- outspoken independent and challenge authority, this made teachers seem them as problem students.
Symbolic capital vs educational capital (the dilemma) is a clear reason W/C girls struggle.

Question 18

Evans- W/C girls in higher education

Answer 18

Did want to go to uni, but this was to earn money to help their families, repay them.

Question 19

Skeggs- staying local

Answer 19

The girls stayed at home and went to local uni’s they feared debt but also wanted to be there for their families.

Question 20

Mitos and Browne - industries going to China

Answer 20

Industries have moved to foreign countries, this has meant a decline in male jobs, creating an identity crisis. Boys have little prospects of getting a job.

Question 21

Sewell - feminisation of education

Answer 21

Education does not support competitiveness and leadership (masculine traits), instead want qualities that link with girls. Coursework has heightened boys failure. School has overthrown the mans world but has completely thrown the boy out.

Question 22

Yougov-

Answer 22

only 14% of primary teachers are male, 39% of pupils aged 8-11 had no male teachers but 42% said male teachers made them work harder.

Question 23

Read- two types of teacher language

Answer 23

Disciplinarian- teachers authority was made explicit and visible, through shouting.
Liberal- teachers authority is implicit and invisible, they teachers speaks to pupils as if they are adults and expects them to be kind and respectful.

Reads conclusions- 1. most teachers used disciplinarian (masculine one) but they were women, shows education is not feminised.
2. shows females can use the strict culture that boys should strive in.

Question 24

Epstein- laddish behaviour

Answer 24

If boys work hard at school they will be labelled as gay and bullied. They care about these labels more than girls do as it is an attack on their masculinity.

Question 25

Ringrose- moral panic of boys

Answer 25

As girls are doing so well people now fear for boys, they worry they will all fail and create an unemployable class. Policies now focus on nits, this has had negative effects:

1. Policy. only focus on failing boys, ignores class and ethnic issues.
2. Only focuses on achievement, ignoring issues of sexual harassment, bullying stereotypes.

Question 26

Connolly- evaluation

Answer 26

certain combinations of gender, class and ethnicity have more effect then others.

Question 27

Norman - gender role socialisation

Answer 27

Gender role socialisation is the process of learning the behaviour expected of males and females in society. Boys and girls are dressed differently, given different toys and get involved in different activities.

Question 28

Browne and Ross- gender domains

Answer 28

gender domains ae the tasks and activities that are gender specific, eg males do DIY.
Children experiences and the way adults act shape what they see as male and female tasks, they will be more likely to join in with the tasks that they see to fit with their gender.

Question 29

Kelly -science

Answer 29

Boys more likely to choose it as it: has manly male teachers, examples drawn and focus on boys, and in lessons boys dominate the laboratory.

Question 30

Leonard- single sex schools

Answer 30

Girls are more likely to take maths and physics, while. boys took english and languages.

Question 31

Dewar- girls in sports

Answer 31

Boys called girls who were good or interested in sports “lesbian”.

Question 32

Lees- double standards

Answer 32

Boys boast about their own sexual encounters but call a girl a slag if she does the same.

Question 33

Mac an Ghaill-

Answer 33

The male gaze- The way male students and teachers look girls up and down, seeing them as sexual objects and making judgments about their appearance.

Question 34

Ringrose-

Answer 34

13-14 year olds, being popular was crucial, they started to date and this caused issues:
1. idealised feminine identity- showing loyalty to friends being non competitive (this can lead to being called a slut).
2. a sexualised identity- competing for boys in the dating culture.
Girls need to learn to balance both of these things.

Question 35

Haywood and Mac an Ghail-

Answer 35

teachers told of boys for acting like girls and mocked them when girls did better then them. They also ignored boys name calling girls and often blamed the girl for attracting it.