Gender Differences In Attainment, Ext Pt1: Lesson 25

Question 1

Data of girls outperforming boys

Answer 1

• 2022: 52.5% of girls & 46.8% of boys got 5+ in GCSE maths & English
• 2022: 83.9% of girls & 80% of boys got A*-C at A-levels
• 36.9% of girls & 34.7% of boys got A*-A at A-level
• Girls more likely to go to university: 1994-2022 female applicantions rose by 140%

Question 2

What are the differences between subjects at GCSE?

Answer 2

• Maths has little to no gender gap
• English is 13% in favour to girls
• Science is 3.6 to girls
• Girls outperform boys in history & geography

Question 3

What are the differences between subjects at A-level?

Answer 3

• Further maths, language’s & chemistry mostly taken by girls but boys attain higher
• More boys take music and get higher
• Phycology A-C: 82.2% to girls & 71.3% to boys
• Maths A-C: 79.9% to girls & 77.6% to boys
• Sociology A-C: 83.6% to girls & 77.4% to boys

Question 4

What are the differences between subject choices at BTEC?

Answer 4

• Heavily gendered based on stereotype
• Bussiness, sport & IT mainly taken by boys
• Health & Social care & applied science mainly taken by girls
• Despite similar male & female entrants to BTEC

Question 5

What’s the difference in subjects choice at A-level?

Answer 5

• Heavily gendered & based on stereotypes
• Science, maths,economics mainly taken by boys
• Performing arts, sociology & English mainly taken by girls
• Despite similar entrants to A- levels

Question 6

What are the 4 external factors for differences in attainment by gender?

Answer 6

• Girls changing ambitions
• Changes within family
• Changes in women’s employment
• Impact of femanism

Question 7

What study did Sharpe 1994 conduct?

Answer 7

• Girls changing ambitions
• London early 1970s
• unstructured interviews & questionnaire to survey WC girls and their priorities
• Re conducted study in early 1990s
• Longitudinal

Question 8

What did Sharpe 1994 find from her study in the 1970s?

Answer 8

Main priorities were
1) Love
2) Marriage
3) Husbands
4) Children
5) Careers

Question 9

What did Sharpe 1994 find from her study in the 1990s?

Answer 9

1) Careers
2) Self-supporting
3) Love, Marriage, Children

Question 10

What did Sharpe conclude from her study?

Answer 10

• 1970 had low ambitions & education success was seen as feminine
• 1990 girls had higher ambitions and wanted a successful career & financial stability
• Roles of girls and women is are socially constructed

Question 11

What has lead to change on women’s ambitions?

Answer 11

• 1975 Sex Discrimination act
• 1970 Equal Pay Act
• Changes within the family
• Impact of feminism

Question 12

What other study’s support Sharpes study?

Answer 12

• O’connor (2006)
• Fuller (2011)
• Reay (1998)
• Biggart (2002)

Question 13

What did O’Connor 2006 study?

Answer 13

• Studied 14-17yr old girls
• Marriage & children not major considerations in their life plans

Question 14

What did Fuller 2011 say?

Answer 14

• Girls educational success was a key part of their identity
• Believe in meritocracy and hard work being rewarded

Question 15

What did Reay 1998 say?

Answer 15

• Connection between girls ambition & social class
• WC girls more likely to follow gender stereotyped aspirations for work & pursue family first
• Believe in limited options for their career which limits aspirations

Question 16

What did Biggart 2002 say?

Answer 16

• WC girls more likely to see motherhood as only future due to precarious nature of labour market
• They see less reason to achieve in education