gender differences in achievement

Question 1

What are the 4 external factors affecting gender differences in achievement?

Answer 1

the impact of feminism
changes in the family structure
changes in women’s employment
girls’ changing ambitions

Question 2

McRobbie

Answer 2

-the impact of feminism
GIRLS’ MAGAZINES
Before emphasised the importance of getting married but now more images on assertive and independent women

Question 3

Sharpe’s interviews with girls

Answer 3

-changing girls’ ambitions
Change in priorities from love and marriage to careers becoming more of a priority
Believe in meritocracy and being creators of their own futures, supporting themselves

Question 4

Reay

Answer 4

a criticism
W/C girls believe you can still be successful in traditional gender identity (being a mother) -> less effort put into educational success

Question 5

Biggart

Answer 5

a criticism
W/C girls more likely to see that motherhood is the only viable option

Question 6

What are the 6 internal factors affecting gender differences in achievement?

Answer 6

equal opportunities policies
positive role models
challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
GCSE and coursework
teacher attention
selection and league tables

Question 7

What are some equal opportunities policies?

Answer 7

Policies such as GIST and WISE encourage girls to pursue careers in these non-traditional areas
National curriculum - girls+boys learn mostly the same subjects

Question 8

Jo Boaler

Answer 8

Sees equal opportunities as increasing girls achievement and school’s meritocracy, and barriers are removed

Question 9

Mitsos and Browne

Answer 9

girls spend more time on work, take care with how things are presented and better at meeting deadlines- better prepared for coursework

Question 10

Elwood

Answer 10

criticises how girls are put at an advantage with coursework
Exams are more weighted than coursework yet gender gap still exists

Question 11

Francis

Answer 11

-teacher attention
Boys receive more attention from teachers because act out more and so disciplined more harshly - teachers have low expectations -> labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 12

Swann

Answer 12

-teacher attention
Boys dominate class discussion while girls prefer pair and group work and better at listening so teachers react to them positively seeing girls as cooperative but boys as disruptive -> labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 13

Jackson

Answer 13

-selection and league tables
- links to self-fulfilling prophecy
Girls recruited to better schools, receive a better education and go on to achieving more highly

Question 14

Slee

Answer 14

-selection and league tables
Boys less attractive to schools because more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties and 4x more likely to be excluded - could damage the school’s reputation
-as a result boys may be seen as ‘liability students’- obstacles to the school improving its league table scores
-They give the score a ‘rough tough’ image that deter high achieving girls from applying

Question 15

changes in the family structure

Answer 15

E.g. increasing divorce rates, lone-parent families, smaller families
Independence and women taking the role as the breadwinner

Question 16

changes in women’s employment

Answer 16

Pay gap reduced from 30% to 15%
1970 Equal Pay Act and 1975 Sex Discrimination Act
Women see their future in terms of paid work > housework
Incentive to gain qualifications

Question 17

positive role models

Answer 17

An increase in the proportion of female teachers and heads - show girls that they can aim for non-traditional roles
An important role because teachers must have had a successful education herself

Question 18

challenging stereotypes in the curriculum

Answer 18

Removal of stereotypes but textbooks, reading schemes and other learning materials -portrayed women as housewives
Physics books: frightened of science and maths books: ‘boys are more inventive’

Question 19

GCSE and coursework

Answer 19

Gender gap increased dramatically when GCSEs and coursework was introduced

Question 20

selection and league tables

Answer 20

marketisation policies cause schools to see girls as more desirable because they achieve better exam results

Question 21

liberal feminists view of girls achievement

Answer 21

-Celebrate the progress made so far and improving achievement and believe that further progress will be made by the continuing development of equal opportunities policies encouraging positive role models and overcoming sexist attitudes and stereotypes
-Similar to the functionalist view meritocracy where all individuals regardless of gender fitness all class are given an equal opportunity to achieve

Question 22

radical feminists view of girls achievement

Answer 22

-take a more critical view and recognise that wild guys are achieving more. They emphasise that the system remains patriarchal and conveys the clear message that it is still a man’s world.
-e.g:
-Sexual harassment of girls continues at school
-Education still limits, subject choices and career options
-Although there are more female teachers male teachers are more likely to become heads of the secondary school
-women are under represented in many areas of the curriculum for example their contribution to history is largely ignored. Weiner describes the secondary school historic curriculum as a ‘woman-free zone. ‘