Gender differences in achievement sociologists

Question 1

McRobbie (1994)

Answer 1

External
Study of women’s magazines
1970s = importance of girls getting married and not being “left on the shelf “ , whereas nowadays they contain images of assertive , independent women.

Question 2

Sharpe (1994)

Answer 2

External
1974 = girls had low aspirations - belives educational success was unfeminine
1990 = girls had different orders of priorities - careers and being able to support themselves

Question 3

Fuller (2001)

Answer 3

External
- Girls nowadays’ educational success was a central aspect of their identity .
They saw themselves as creators of their own future and had individual notion of self

Question 4

Boaler (1998)

Answer 4

Internal
- Sees the impact of equal opportunity policies as a key reason for the changes in girls’ achievement . Many of the barriers have been removed and schooling had become more meritocratic

Question 5

Francis (2001)

Answer 5

Internal
-While boys got more attention , they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers , who tended to have lower expectations of them

Question 6

Swann (1998)

Answer 6

Internal
Boys dominate in whole - class discussion , whereas girls prefer paired work and are better at listening and cooperating

Question 7

Norman (1988)

Answer 7

Gender role socialisation
from an early age , boys and girls are dressed differently , given different toys and encouraged to take part in different activities

Question 8

Leonard (2006)

Answer 8

Single - sex schooling
- Compared to pupils in mixed schools , girls in girls’ schools were more likely to take maths and science and girls from single - sex schools were also more likely to study male - dominated subjects at university
STAT : institute of physics (2013) girls in single sex state schools were 2.4x more likely to take A level physics than those in mixed schools

Question 9

Jackson (1998)

Answer 9

internal
introduction of exam league tables has improved opportunities for girls .
High achieving girls are attractive to schools , whereas low achieving boys aren’t .

Question 10

Archer et al (2010)

Answer 10

Internal
One reason for these differences is the conflict between Working class girls feminine identities and values of the school
- Gidls are to choose from gaining symbolic capital from their peers or educational success

Question 11

Evans (2009)

Answer 11

Internal
Working class girls wanted to go to university to increase their earning power but can’t because they need to help their families

Question 12

Reay (1998) (evaluation )

Answer 12

External
- Some working class girls continue to carry the gender stereotypes ambitions
- Their limited aspirations reflect the limited job opportunities they perceive as being available to them.

Question 13

Biggart (2002) (evaluation)

Answer 13

External
Working class girls see motherhood or working in labour forces as their only viable option

Question 14

Mitsos and Browne (1998)

Answer 14

Internal
Girls are more successful in coursework because girls
- spend more time on their work
- better at meeting deadlines
- take more care with the way it’s presented

Question 15

Liberal feminists

Answer 15

Internal
- celebrate progress that’s been made so fair in improving achievement .
- believe that further progress will be made

Question 16

Radical feminists

Answer 16

Internal
- Emphasise that the system remains patriarchal
example : girls still get sexually harassed in schools , education still limits girls’ subject choices and careers and options , women are still underrepresented

Question 17

Weiner (1995)

Answer 17

Internal
Since 1980 teachers have challenged stereotypes.
In general sexist images have been removed from learning materials
May help praise a girls achievement with replacing it with positive images of what women can do

Question 18

O’Connor

Answer 18

Study of 16-17 year olds
- marriage and children were not a major part of their life plans

Question 19

Colley

Answer 19

influence of socialisation by family and influential peers who subscribed to gender stereotypes

Question 20

edward’s and david

Answer 20

parents believe certain toys , games and activities are suitable only for particular sexes

Question 21

Byrne

Answer 21

shows teachers encourage boys to be tough and not weak , girls are expected to be quiet clean and tidy

Question 22

murphy and elwood

Answer 22

show how gender socialisation leads to different subject choices

Question 23

kelly

Answer 23

girls were put off doing science because of its masculine characteristics

Question 24

how would you evaluate subject choices and gender socialisation

Answer 24

Jackson => ladette culture
- girls not following gender norms
- nowadays girls more likely to take male subjects - 2019 female students accounted for 50.3% of entries at a level bio physics and chem combined
- internal factors in school provide greater gender differences in education attainment

Question 25

arnot

Answer 25

most girls prefer open ended process based tasks such as coursework

Question 26

elwood (evaluation )

Answer 26

although coursework has some influence it’s unlikely to be the only cause of gender gap because exams have more influence

Question 27

fuller ( internal)

Answer 27

teachers see some girls as ideal students and interact with them in a positive way

Question 28

how can you evaluate internal factors of education

Answer 28

Johnson : women’s history still low profile in many schools Terry : Lack of women’s history skewed students understanding of the subject , marginalised women and ensured they had low status STUDY : 2023 , removal of coursework from most GCSE subjects except for certain practical areas like science OTO : girls less likely to take science

Question 29

edward’s and david ( boys)

Answer 29

mature more slowly than girls because primary socialisation in the family encourages boys to be more attention seeking - lead to a lack of concentration in classrooms

Question 30

Burns and Bracey

Answer 30

Socialisation of boys may lead to over confidence - boys = surprised when they fail exams and put it down to bad luck rather than poor effort

Question 31

Frosh

Answer 31

Boys behaviour is shaped by their peer groups - boys regard school work as unfeminine and engage in hyper masculine behaviour such as bullying

Question 32

Mac an Ghail

Answer 32

Crisis of masculinity - W/C boys feel they are unlikely to occupy traditional male role of breadwinner because globalisation has resulted in the decline of British industry - this and feminisation of workforce mean there are less job opportunities for men so W/C boys view education as irrelevant

Question 33

jackson ( boys)

Answer 33

Labelling of boys leads to a self fulfilling prophecy leading to anti school subcultures

Question 34

what’s an evaluation for boys in education

Answer 34

- Globalisation has mainly affected manual jobs which do not require qualifications - boys still may do better than girls in education - STAT : (2024) 72% of boys meeting expectations in maths , compared to 71% in girls