Gender differences in achievement

Question 1

McRobbie

Answer 1

Magazines used to emphasise the importance of marriage

- now show assertive, independent women

Question 2

Changes in the family

Answer 2

• increase in divorce
• increase in cohabitation
• smaller families
  families headed by independent women giving girls role models

Question 3

Changes in women’s employment

Answer 3

1970 equal pay act - illegal to pay women less than men

- some women now breaking through the ‘glass ceiling’ = getting high paid jobs

Question 4

Sharpe - shift from 1970-1990

Answer 4

In 1970’s -
low aspirations, educational success = unfeminine, getting married
In 1990’s -
supporting themselves, independent women, not dependant on husbands income

Question 5

GIST

Answer 5

Girls into science and technology

Question 6

WISE

Answer 6

Women into science and engineering

Question 7

Positive role models in schools - Female

Answer 7

Increase of female teachers and head teachers

Question 8

GCSE + Coursework

Answer 8

The way pupils have been assessed have favoured girls and disadvantaged boys

Question 9

Mitsos + Browne

Answer 9

girls are more successful in course work because they are more:

• organised than boys
• spend more time on work
• care about presentation
• bring correct equipment

Question 10

Francis

Answer 10

while boys get more attention, they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers

Question 11

Number of female head teachers

Answer 11

1992 = 22
2012 = 37

Question 12

Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum

Answer 12

removing gender stereotypes from school resources removed a barrier in girls achievement

Question 13

Slee - school acceptance (boys)

Answer 13

boys are less likely to be chosen as they are more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties (4x likely to be excluded)

Question 14

Symbolic capital

Answer 14

refers to the status, recognition and sense of worth that we obtain from others

Question 15

Archer

Answer 15

w/c girls performing their feminine identities gained symbolic capital from peers but came in conflict with school

Question 16

Symbolic violence

Answer 16

is the harm done by denying someone symbolic capital e.g. defining their culture as worthless

Question 17

Boyfriends

Answer 17

having a boyfriend brought symbolic capital, it got in the way of school work and lowered girls’ aspirations

Question 18

Being loud

Answer 18

conflicted with the idea of the ‘ideal pupil’ being passive and submissive to authority

Question 19

‘good underneath’

Answer 19

w/c girls who struggle to achieve a sense of self worth within the education system that devalues their w/c feminine identities

Question 20

Boys + Literacy

Answer 20

reason for poorer literacy and language skills is because parents spend less time reading to their sons

Question 21

Mitsos + Browne - decline of traditional men’s jobs

Answer 21

the decline in male opportunities and employment has led to an identity crisis

Question 22

Sewell - feminisation of education

Answer 22

boys fall behind because education has become more feminised

- coursework as major cause of gender differences in achievement

Question 23

Disciplinarian discourse - Read (2008)

Answer 23

teachers authority is explicit and visible

- associated with masculinity

Question 24

Liberal discourse - Read (2008)

Answer 24

teacher authority is implicit and not visible

- associated with femininity

Question 25

Epstein - Laddish subcultures

Answer 25

has contributed to male underachievement

- w/c boys more likely to be harassed, labelled as sissies and subject to homophobic verbal abuse

Question 26

Moral panic of boys - Ringrose

Answer 26

fear of underachieving w/c boys will become a dangerous, unemployed underclass that threatens social stability