gender differences in acheievement Flashcards
What is the radical feminist view on education?
Radical feminists argue that while the girls are achieving more, they emphasize the system remains patriarchal for example, sexual harassment of girls continue in school, education still limits girl’s subject choices, women are underrepresented in many areas
What are Internal factors affecting gender differences in achievement
Equal opportunity policies
Positive role models in schools
GCSE and coursework
Teacher attention
Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
Selection and league tables
What are external factors affecting gender differences in achievement
- impact of feminism
- changes in the family since the 2970s
- changes in women’s employment
- changing girls ambitions
- WC girls low ambitions
what did gorard find?
the gender gap in achievement was consistent until GCSE was introduced, it increased sharply.
Describe 3 sociologists that outline the affect of teacher attention on education
french and french= analysed classroom interaction and found boys recieaved more attention because they attracted more reprimands
francis= found that while boys got more attention they were disciplined more harshly and felt they were picked on, teachers had low expectations of them
swann= found gender differences in communication styles . Boys dominate in whole class discussions whereas girls prefer group work. Girls take turns speaking whereas boys often have hostile interuptions. which is why teachers may respond more positively to girls than boys who are potentially disruptive.
Describe what angela mcrobbie found as evidence of the impact of feminism
conducted a study of girls magasinzes. in the 1970s, they emphasised the importance of getting married and having children. whereas, nowadays they contain independent assertive women. These changes affect girls ambitions which can explain girls improvements in educational acheievemnt.
give some examples of changes in the family since the 1970s
increase in divorce rate, increase in cohabitation, smaller families, increase in number of lone parents.
what did biggart find?
working class girls are more likely to see motherhood as the only option for their futures.
Diana Reay= argues this reflects working class girls limited opportunities
Describe symbolic capital
According to feminists like archer et al, one reason for the differences in achievement is the conflict between working class girls’ feminine identities and the values of the school.
Symbolic capital= refers to the status, recognition and sense of worth we can obtain from others
Archer found that by performing their working class feminine identities, the girls gained symbolic capital from their peers, but prevented eductaional capital due to conflict wth the school
what are the 3 ways girls gained symbolic capital?
- hyper-heterosexual feminine identities
- boyfriends
- being loud
how did hyper-heterosexual feminine identities lead to symbolic violence.
Symbolic violence= the harm done by someone denying symbolic capital, for example defining their culture as worthless
Boys and literacy:
DCFS= the gender gap is mainly the result of poor literacy and language skills. One reason for this is parents may do less reading with their sons; another reason is mothers do most of the reading so it may be seen as a feminine activity.
Boys’ leisure pursuits, e.g. football, do little to help their language and communication skills, which affect boys’ performance across a range of subjects.
Girls tend to have a “bedroom culture” where they stay at home and centered on talking to friends.
Globalization and the decline of traditional men’s jobs:
Since the 1980s- significant decline in heavy industries such as iron and steel, due to globalization of the economy, which has led to the manufacturing industry to move to China (cheap labour).
Mitsos and Browne= claim that the decline in male employment opportunities has led to an “identity crisis” for men, many believe they have little prospect of getting a proper job, lowering their self-esteem and motivation to pursue qualifications
Shortage of male primary school teachers:
The lack of male role models is a cause of boys’ underachievement (only 14% of primary school teachers are male).
Yougov= argues 39% of 8–11-year-old boys had no teachers with any males, yet most said the presence of a male teacher made them behave better and work harder
Some sociologists= argue that culture of primary school has become feminized, as a result of female teachers being staffed, who are unable to control boys’ behaviour, male teachers needed to impose discipline
The lack of male role models is a cause of boys’ underachievement (only 14% of primary school teachers are male).
Yougov= argues 39% of 8–11-year-old boys had no teachers with any males, yet most said the presence of a male teacher made them behave better and work harder
Some sociologists= argue that culture of primary school has become feminized, as a result of female teachers being staffed, who are unable to control boys’ behaviour, male teachers needed to impose discipline
laddish subcultures
Many sociologists argue that the growth of “laddish subcultures” have contributed to boys under achievement
Epstein= found that working class boys are likely to be harassed and labelled as gay if interested in schools. Boys were more concerned with being labelled as it is a threat to their masculinity
So, working class boys tend to reject schoolwork to avoid being called gay
Francis= laddish culture is becoming more widespread. This is because more girls move into traditional mail jobs and boys respond by being non-feminine and laddish
Explanations of gender differences in subject choice:
Gender role socialization
The process of learning the behaviour expected of males and females in society.
Norman= from a young age, boys and girls are encouraged/socialized to dress differently and given different toys, shaping their gender identity.
Murphy and Elwood= as a result of differences in socialization, boys and girls have different tastes in reading. Boys read information texts, while girls like to read stories, which is why boys prefer science subjects and girls prefer English.
Brown and Ross= argue that children’s beliefs about the tasks/ activities relevant to their gender (gender domain) are shaped by adult expectations. E.g. mending a car is seen as a male job
Murphy= boys and girl pay attention to different details when doing the same task. Girls focus more on how people feel, boys focus on how they work. This helps explain why girls choose humanities, while boys choose science
Gendered subject images
Kelly argues science is seen as a boy’s subject because: most science teachers are men, examples in textbooks are often men.
Pupils who attend an all-girl/boys school tend to make less traditional subject choices.
Leonard= girls from all girl schools are more likely to study male dominated subjects at university. Findings supported by the institute of physics study.
Gendered identity and peer pressure
Other boys/girls may pressure people to pick certain subjects, if they pick a subject that is not in their gender domain, they may get bullied/ridiculed by peers.
Dewar= found that male students would call girls lesbians if they participated in sports
Insitute of physics= doing physics in a mixed settings are off putting to some girls, due to peer pressure as it influences gender identity.
In mixed schools, peers’ police each other’s subject choices however, in all girl schools the absence of boys mean there is less pressure on girls to do a particular subject
Gendered career opportunities
Employment is highly gendered- e.g. Labelled as men or women’s. Women have a narrower range of occupations e.g. cleaning
This affects what girls and boys think is possible/acceptable for their gender.
Working class pupils in particular make decisions on their vocational courses (training programme which focuses more on practical work), based off traditional gender stereotypes.
Fuller= most working class girls in her study wanted to do jobs such as childcare, based on a realistic expectation of what they believe they can achieve. These ambitions may arise from work experience placements which are usually gendered, e.g. retail
Pupils sexual and gender identities:
Hegemonic masculinity= the dominance of heterosexual masculine identity and the subordination of female and gay identities.
Double standards
Sue lees= identifies a double standard of sexual morality in which boys’ boast about their sexual acts but calls a girl a “slag” if she doesn’t have a steady boyfriend or dresses a certain way.
Sexual harassment gives status among male peers and ignored by male teachers
Feminists= see these double standards as due to the patriarchal ideology that justifies male power and devalues women. Double standards can be seen as a form of social control that reinforces gender inequality.
Verbal abuse
Connell= “a rich vocabulary of abuse” is one of the ways in which sexual identities are reinforced. E.g. boys use name calling to put down girls if they behave in a certain way
Lees= found that boys called girls slags if they were sexually avilable
Paechter= sees name calling as maintaining male power. E.g. the label “queer” is a way in which pupils’ police each other’s sexual identities
Parker= found that boys were being labelled as gay for being friends with girls or female teachers. This reinforces gender norms and identities.
The male gaze
Male gaze= the way male pupils and teachers objectify girls and make judgements about their appearance.
Mac an Ghaill= see the male gaze as a way of reinforcing dominant heterosexual masculinity and devaluing femininity. This is a way boys prove their masculinity to their friends. Boys who do not do this, run the risk of being labelled gay.
Male peer groups
Use verbal abuse to reinforce their definitions of masculinity.
Epstein and Willis= boys in anti- school subcultures often accuse boys who want to do well at school as gay
Mairtin Mac an Ghaill= in their study found that working class “macho lads” were dismissive of other working-class boys who worked hard. By contrast middle class “real Englishmen” projected an image of succeeding without trying (“effortless achievement”).
Female peer groups: policing identify
Jessica Ringrose= study of working-class peer groups in a Wales school found that being popular was crucial to the girl’s identity. As girls made the transition from a girls’ friendship culture into a heterosexual dating culture, they faced tension between:
an idealized feminine identity= showing loyalty to the female peer group and getting along with everyone
A sexualized identity= involved competing for boys in the dating culture.
Currie et al= girls who are too competitive risk “slut” shaming but those who don’t compete for boyfriends may face “frigid” shaming by other girls.
Boffin identity= girls who want to be successful educationally may feel the need to conform to the school’s notion of the ideal feminine pupil identity.
Teachers and discipline
Haywood + Mac an Ghaill= found that male teachers told off boys for behaving like girls and teased them for getting lower marks than girls. teachers ignored boys verbal abuse of girls and even blamed girls for attracting it
Askew and Ross= show how male teachers’ behaviour can subtly reinforce messages about gender. For example, towards female colleagues coming into their classes to remove disruptive pupils. Reinforcing the idea that women cannot cope alone.
