Gender differences in achievement Flashcards
At Key Stages 1 to 3 what is the gender gap in achievement between boys and girls according to the official statistics?
- Girls do consistently better than boys, this is especially so in English
- In science and maths the gap is much narrower but girls still do better
How has the impact of feminism affected achievement?
- Since the 1960s feminism has challenged traditional stereotypes
- Feminism has raised women’s expectations and self esteem
- McRobbie’s study of girl’s magazines in 1970s showed the importance of getting married whereas nowadays they contain images of assertive, independent women
How has changes in the family impacted achievement?
- There has been an increase in divorce, increase in lone parent families and smaller families
- These affect girls’ attitudes towards education as there are new adult role models for girls - the financially independent women
How has changes in women’s employment impacted achievement?
1970 Equal Pay Act and 1975 Discrimination Act
- Since 1975 the pay gap has halved from 30-15%
- The proportion of women in employment increased from 53-67%
How has girls’ changing ambitions impacted achievement?
- Sharpe’s interviews with girls in the 1970s and 1990s show a major shift in attitudes
- In 1974 girls had low aspirations, education was considered unfeminine
- In Fuller’s study, educational success was a central aspect of their identity
How does Reay argue that there are class differences in how far girls’ ambitions have changed?
- Some WC girls continue continue to have gender-stereotyped aspirations for marriage and children and expect to go into traditional low paid women’s work
How has equal opportunities policies impacted girls’ achievement? (internal factor)
- Policymakers are now much more aware of gender issues
- Policies such as GIST and WISE encourage girls to pursue careers in non-traditional areas
- The National Curriculum in 1988 removed gender inequality
How has positive role models in schools impacted girls’ achievement? (internal factor)
- There has been an increase in the proportion of female teachers and heads
- Women in senior positions may act as a role model for girls
How has GCSE impacted girls’ achievement? (internal factor)
- Gorard found the gender gap was fairly constant until 1989 when it increased sharply, this was the year GCSE was introduced
How has coursework impacted girls’ achievement? (internal factor)
- Mitsos and Browne conclude girls are more successful in coursework because they are more conscientious and organised
- The greater use of oral exams which benefit girls due to their generally better developed language skills
How has teacher attention impacted girls’ achievement? (internal factor)
- Jane and French analysed classroom interaction and found boys receive more attention because they attracted more reprimands
- Also found while boys got more attention they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers
What did Swann find regarding gender differences in communication styles?
- Boys dominate in whole class discussions whereas girls prefer pair-work and group-work
- When working in groups girls’ speech involves turn taking and not hostile interruptions from boys
How has challenging stereotypes in the curriculum impacted girls’ achievement?
- The removal of gender stereotypes from textbooks and other learning materials has removed a barrier to girls’ achievement
How has selection and league tables impacted girls’ achievement?
- Marketisation policies have created a more competitive climate in which schools see girls as desirable recruits
- Jackson notes the introduction of exam league tables has improved their opportunities which leads to a positive self fulfilling prophecy for girls
What are the 2 views of girls’ achievement?
- Liberal feminism - celebrate the progress made, they believe further progress will be made with continuing development of policies, positive role models and overcoming sexist attitudes
- Radical feminism - emphasise the system remains patriarchal, sexual harassment and sexism still exists
How can symbolic capital affect girls’ achievement?
- Archer et al argues there’s a conflict between WC girls’ feminine identities and values and ethos of the school
What strategies does Archer identify that the girls followed for creating a valued sense of self?
- Adopting a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity
- Having a boyfriend
- Being ‘loud’
How has creating hyper-heterosexual identities in school affected girls’ achievement?
- Many of the girls invested considerable time, effort and money in constructing ‘desirable’ and ‘glamarous’ identities
- The girls’ performance brought status from their female peer group but brought them into conflict with school, teachers saw the girls’ preoccupation with appearance as a distraction
- This led to the school to define them as incapable of educational success, Bourdieu describes this process as symbolic violence
How has having boyfriends impacted girls’ achievement?
- While having a boyfriend brought symbolic capital it got in the way of schoolwork and lowered their aspirations
- This included losing interest in going to university and studying ‘masculine’ subjects instead they aspired to ‘settle down’
How has being ‘loud’ impacted girls’ achievement?
- Some WC girls adopted ‘loud’ feminine identities that often lead them to be outspoken, independent and assertive
- Questioned teachers’ authority, this failed to conform to teachers stereotype of the ideal female pupil
What was the WC girls’ dilemma?
- Either gaining symbolic or educational capital
- Some girls tried to cope with this dilemma by defining themselves as ‘good underneath’
What did Evans say on ‘successful’ WC girls?
- A study of 21 WC sixth form girls, she found they wanted to go to university to increase their earning power ‘give back’ to their family
- The ‘caring’ aspect of their WC feminine identities make them more likely to remain home
What did Archer say on ‘successful’ WC girls?
- They have a strong preference for locality
What are internal factors affecting girls achievement?
- Equal opportunities policies
- Positive role models in school
- GCSE and coursework
- Teacher attention
- Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
- Selection and league tables
According to the DCSF what is the main reason for the gender gap?
- Result of boys’ poorer literacy and language skills due to them less likely to read to as its a ‘feminine activity’
- Boys’ leisure pursuits do little to help develop language and communication skills whilst girls have a ‘bedroom culture’
How has globalisation and the decline of traditional men’s jobs impacted boys’ achievement?
- Significant decline in heavy industries, partly due to globalisation of the economy which has led to much manufacturing industry relocating to developing countries
- Mitsos and Browne claim this decline led to an ‘identity crisis’ undermining motivation and self esteem
How does Sewell claim that the feminisation of education has caused underachievement in boys?
- Education has become ‘feminised’
- Schools do not nurture ‘masculine’ traits such as competitiveness and leadership
- He sees coursework as a major cause of underachievement ‘outdoor adventure’ in the curriculum
How has a shortage of male primary teachers impacted boys achievement?
- Lack of male role models both at home and in school
- Only 14% of primary school teachers are male, according to Yougov, 39% of 8-11 year old boys have no lessons with a male teacher
- Some commentators argue male teachers are better able to impose the strict discipline boys need
What 2 types of discourse/language does Read identify that teachers use to express criticism or disapproval of pupils’ work and behaviour?
Disciplinarian discourse - the teachers authority is made explicit and visible
Liberal discourse - the teachers authority is implicit and invisible ‘pseudo-adultification’
What conclusions did Read draw from her findings?
- The disciplinarian discourse is associated with masculinity and liberal with femininity
- In her study of 51 school teachers, she found most teachers used disciplinarian discourse
- This disapproves Sewell claim if the feminisation of education
How does some sociologists argue that the growth of ‘laddish’ subcultures has contributed to boys’ underachievement?
- Epstein examined the way masculinity is constructed within school she found WC boys are more likely to be harassed and subjected to homophobic verbal abuse
What is the moral panic about boys?
- Critics of feminism argue policies to promote girls’ education are no longer needed, they believe girls have succeeded at the expense of boys
How does Ringrose criticise the moral panic about boys?
- Argues the moral panic about boys ignores the problems of disadvantaged WC and minority ethnic pupils
- Ignores problems faced by girls at school including sexual harassment, self esteem and identity issues
Is it wrong to conclude that boys are a ‘lost cause’?
- The performance of both sexes have improved considerably
- The similarities in girls’ and boys’ achievement are far greater than the differences
- The class gap is 3 times wider than the gender gap at GCSE
What are the different explanations of gender differences in subject choice?
- Gender role socialisation and gender domains
- Gendered subject images
- Gender identity and peer pressure
- Gendered career opportunities
How can gender role socialisation explain gender differences in subject choice?
- Norman notes that from an early age boys and girls are dressed differently, given different toys and encouraged to take part in different activities
- Differences in socialisation causes a different taste in reading and therefore different subject choice
What do Browne and Ross argue about ‘gender domains’?
- Children are more confident when engaging in tasks that they see as part of their own gender domain
- Gender domains are shaped by early expectations and experiences of adults
How can gendered subject images explain gender differences in subject choice?
Science is argued as a boy subject because
- Science teachers are more likely to be male
- Examples teachers use and those in a textbook
Computer studies is argued as a boy subject because
- Involves working with machines
- The way its taught is off-putting to females
How can gender identity and peer pressure explain gender differences in subject choice?
- Peer pressure is a powerful influence on gender identity and how pupils see themselves in relation to particular subjects
- In mixed schools peers police one another’s subject choices so that girls and boys adopt an appropriate gender identity
- According to Leonard this may be why single-sex schools experience less gendered subject choice
How can gendered career opportunities explain gender differences in subject choice?
- Employment is highly gendered and often sex typed as mens’ or womens’
- Sex typing of occupations affects boys’ and girls’ ideas about what kind of jobs are possible or acceptable
- Women’s jobs often involve work similar to that performed by housewives
What does Connell mean by ‘hegemonic masculinity’?
The dominance of heterosexual masculine identity and the subordination of female and gay identities
How may double standards reinforce pupils’ gender and sexual identities?
- Lees identifies a double standard of sexual morality in which boys boast about their sexual exploits but calls a girl a ‘slag’ if she doesn’t have a steady boyfriend
- The double standards is an example of patriarchal ideology that justifies male power and devalues women
How may verbal abuse reinforce pupils’ gender and sexual identities?
- What Connell calls “a rich vocabulary of abuse” is one which dominant gender and sexual identities are reinforced
- Lees found that boys called girls ‘slags’ if they appeared to be sexually available
How may the male gaze reinforce pupils’ gender and sexual identities?
- A visual aspect to the way pupils control each other’s identities
- Mac an Ghaill sees the male gaze as a form of surveillance through which dominant heterosexual masculinity is reinforced and femininity is devalued
How may female peer groups reinforce pupils’ gender and sexual identities?
- As Archer has said, WC girls gain symbolic capital from their female peers by performing a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity
- Shaming is a social control device by which schoolgirls police they are forced to perform a balancing act between being too competitive and being ‘slut shamed’ or not competitive enough and being ‘frigid shamed’
