Gender Differences In Education

Question 1

External factors
Impacts of feminism

Answer 1

Feminism argue that we have not achieved full equality between sexist and a raised women’s expectations and self esteem. The changes are reflected immediate images and messages.

Question 2

External factors
Impact of feminism
Angela Robbie, 1994

Answer 2

Studied 70s girls’ magazines which emphasised the importance of getting married, now, they contain images of assertive, independent woman. The changes may affect girls, self-image and ambitions. explain improvements in their educational achievement.

Question 3

External factors
Changes in the family
Lone parent families

Answer 3

Since the 70s, there has been an increase in lone parent families, the changes affect girls attitudes towards education. A lone parent creates a new role model of a financially independent woman, encourages girls to want to get a well paid job.

Question 4

External factors
Changes in the family
Divorce rate

Answer 4

Divorce and may suggest to girls that it is unwise to rely on her husband to be their provider. This may encourage girls to look to themselves and their own qualifications to make a living.

Question 5

External factors
Changes in women’s employment
Equal pay act
Sex discrimination act

Answer 5

In 1970, equal pay act makes it illegal to pay women less than men for work of equal value and the 1975, sex discrimination act outlaws discrimination at work.

Question 6

External factors
Changes in women’s employment
Pay gap and employment rates

Answer 6

Since 1975, the pick up between men and women has half from 30% to 15% the proportion of women in employment has risen from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013.

Question 7

External factors
Changes to women’s employment

Answer 7

The changes have encouraged girls to see their future in terms of paid work, rather than housewives and greater career opportunities and better pay for women have provided an incentive for girls to gain qualifications.

Question 8

External factors
Girls changing ambitions
Sue Sharpe 1994

Answer 8

She conducted interviews, In the 70s, the girls had low aspirations, believed educational successful was unfeminine and unattractive. In the 90s girls ambitions had changed and they had careers and was able to support themselves.

Question 9

External factors
Girls, changing ambitions
Beck and Beck Gernsheim

Answer 9

Link independence to the trend towards individualisation in modern society, where independence is valued, much more strongly than in the past. career has become a woman’s life project, because it promises a recognition economic self-sufficiency.

Question 10

External factors
Gender, class and ambition
Diane Reay 1998

Answer 10

Some working class girls continue to have gender, stereotypes, aspirations for marriage and children. Diane argues this reflects the reality of girls class position. The limited aspirations reflect the limited job opportunities they perceive as available to them.

Question 11

External factors
Class, gender and ambition
biggart 2002

Answer 11

Found that walking cost, girls are more likely to face precarious position in the labour market, and to see motherhood as the only viable option. Hence, they see less point in achieving in education.

Question 12

Internal factors
Equal opportunities policies

Answer 12

Policy makers are more aware of gender issues and teachers are more sensitive to need to avoid stereotyping.

Question 13

Internal factors
Equal opportunities policies
GIST

Answer 13

Girls into science and technology and women into science and engineering. Encourage girls to pursue careers in true nontraditional areas. These materials in science reflecting girls interests and have been developed.

Question 14

Internal factors
Equal opportunities policies
Jo Boaler 1998

Answer 14

See the impact of equal opportunity policies and has recognised that many of the barriers have been removed in schooling has become more meritocratic so girls who work harder than boys achieve more.

Question 15

Internal factors
Positive role models in schools

Answer 15

There has been an increase in the proportion of female teachers and head teachers. These women in senior positions may act as a role model for girls showing them, women can achieve positions of importance.

Question 16

Internal factors
GCSE and coursework
Steven Gorard 2005

Answer 16

Found that the gender gap in achievement was fairly constant until 1989. That was the year when coursework was introduced as a major part of nearly all subjects.

Question 17

Internal factors
GCSE and coursework
EIrene Mitsos and Ken Browne 1998

Answer 17

Conclude that girls are more successful in coursework because they are more conscientious and better organised than boys, they spend more time on their work and are better at meeting deadlines.

Question 18

Internal factors
GCSE and coursework
Socialisation

Answer 18

Sociologist argue that characteristics and skills are the result early gender role socialisation in the family. Girls are more likely to be encouraged to be neat and tidy, and these qualities become an advantage in today’s assessment system.

Question 19

Internal factors
GCSE and coursework
Janette, Elwood, 2005

Answer 19

Janette argues that, although coursework has an influence, it is unlikely to be the only cause of gender gap because exams had much more influenced than coursework on final grades.

Question 20

Internal factors
Teacher attention
Peter, French and Jane French, 1993

Answer 20

Analyse the classroom interaction and found that boys receive more attention because they attracted more reprimands.

Question 21

Internal factors
Teacher attention
Becky, Francis, 2001

Answer 21

Found that boys got more attention and they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked up by the teachers who tended to have low expectations of them.

Question 22

Internal factors
Teacher attention
Swann 1998

Answer 22

Found that boys dominate in whole classroom discussions and girls prefer pair work and a better at listening and cooperating. when working in groups girls speech involves turn talking and not the hostile interruptions that often characterise boys speech.

Question 23

Internal factors
Teacher attention

Answer 23

Teaches respond, more positively to girls who they see as cooperative than boys, they see as destructive. This may lead to self-fulfilling prophecy, successful interaction with teachers promote girls self-esteem, and raise their achievement levels

Question 24

Internal factors
Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum

Answer 24

Some sociologists argue that the removal of gender stereotypes in textbooks and other learning materials in recent years has removed a barrier to girls’ achievement. in the 70s textbooks portrayed women as housewives and mothers.

Question 25

Internal factors
Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
Gabby, Weiner, 1995

Answer 25

Argues that since the 1980s teachers have challenged such stereotypes. sex images have been removed from learning materials and help to raise girls achievement by presenting them with more positive images.

Question 26

Internal factors
Selection and league tables
David Jackson 1998

Answer 26

Note that the introduction of exam league tables has improved in opportunities for girls. High achieving girls are attractive to schools. This tends to create self filling prophecy because girls are more likely to be recruited by good Schools.

Question 27

Internal factors
Selection and league tables
Rogers, Lee, 1998

Answer 27

Argues that boys are less attractive to School because they are more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties. As a result boys may be seen as “liability students” and obstacles to the school Improving its league table scores.

Question 28

Internal factors
To views of girls achievement
Liberal feminists

Answer 28

Liberal feminist celebrates the progress made so far and improving achievement. They believe that further progress will be made by continuing development of equal opportunity policies. This is similar to the functionalists view that education is meritocratic.

Question 29

Internal factors
Two views of girls achievement
Radical feminists

Answer 29

Radical feminist recognise that girls are achieving more and they emphasise that the system remains patriarchal. Women are under representative in many areas of the curriculum and their contribution. History is larger ignored.

Question 30

Identity, class and girls achievement
Symbolic capital
Archer

Answer 30

Archer found that by performing their working class family identities, the girls gain symbolic capital from their peers. However, this brought them into conflict with School, preventing them from acquiring qualifications and middle-class careers.

Question 31

Identity, class and girls achievement
Hyper heterosexual, feminine identities

Answer 31

Goes invest into construction of desirable hyper heterosexual identities to avoid them being ridiculed. However, Teaches all the girls preoccupation with her parents as a distraction that prevented them from engaging with School.

Question 32

Identity, class and girls achievement
Hyper heterosexual, feminine identities
Bourdieu and archer

Answer 32

Bourdieu describes this process as symbolic violence. Archer suggests ideal feminine people identity is a desexualise, middle-class one that excludes many working class girls.

Question 33

Identity, class and girls achievement
Boyfriends

Answer 33

Having a boyfriend brought symbolic capital, but got in the way of schoolwork and lowered girls aspirations, including losing interest in going to university and studying, masculine subjects. Girls instead aspire to settle down and have children instead one go dropped out of school after becoming pregnant.

Question 34

Identity, class and girls achievement
Being loud

Answer 34

Working class, girls adopted loud, feminine identities, that often led to them being outspoken and questioning teachers authority. This brought conflict with teachers who interpreted their behaviour as aggressive rather than assertive.

Question 35

Identity, class and girls achievement
Working class, girls dilemma
Gaining symbolic capital

Answer 35

Those faced a dilemma by either gaining symbolic capital from their peers by conforming to a hyper heterosexual feminine identity.

Question 36

Identity, class, and girls achievement
Working class, girls dilemma
Gaining educational capital

Answer 36

Working class girls, are faced with dilemma by either gaining educational capital by rejecting they’re working class identity and conforming to the school schools middle class notations of a respectful, ideal feminine pupil.

Question 37

Identity, class and girls achievement
Working class, girls dilemma

Answer 37

Some girls tried to cope with this dilemma by defining themselves as “good underneath” which reflects the girl’ struggle to achieve a sense of self-worth within an education system, that values, their working-class feminine identity.

Question 38

Identity, class and girls achievement
Successful working class girls
Sarah Evans study of 21 w/c college

Answer 38

Found that girls wanted to go to university to increase their earning power to help their families. The caring aspect of their identity produces a desire to live at home, but this results in self exclusion from elite universities.

Question 39

Identity, class and girls achievement
Successful working class girls
As Skeggs 1997

Answer 39

The girls motivation reflected their working class, family identities, Skeggs notes ‘caring’ is a crucial part of this identity, and the girls in Evans study, wished to remain at home and contribute their families.

Question 40

Identity, class and girls achievement
Successful working class girls
Economic necessity

Answer 40

Economic necessity was a further reason for living at home, cost and fear of getting into debt and major issues for many working class students. however, while living at home made it more affordable it also limited their choice of university.

Question 41

Identity, class and girls achievement
Successful working class girls
Archer

Answer 41

Archer found how the girls showed a strong preference for the local and familiar over the distant. their identity may play a significant part in their relative lack of success. Their hyper heterosexual feminine identity puts them at odds with the School.

Question 42

Boys and achievement
Boys and literacy
DCSF 2007

Answer 42

According to the DCSF, gender gap is mainly the result of boys, poor literally and language skills. This may be that parents spend less time reading with their sons and reading can be seen as a feminine activity.

Question 43

Boys and achievement
Boys and literacy
Leisure pursuits

Answer 43

Boys leisure pursuits such as football do little to help their language and communication skills. However, girls tend to have a “bedroom culture” centre on staying in and talking to their friends.

Question 44

Boys and achievement
Globalisation and decline of male traditional jobs

Answer 44

Since the 80s, there has been a significant decline in heavy industry such as iron and steel. This is partly the result of globalisation of economy which has led to many manufacturing industries relocating to developing countries such as China.

Question 45

Boys in achievement
Globalisation and the decline of traditional men’s jobs
Mitsos and Browne

Answer 45

Claim that this decline has led to an ‘ identity crisis for men’ and many boys now believed that they have little prospect of getting a proper job, undermining their motivation self-esteem, so they give up trying to get qualifications.

Question 46

Boys in achievement
Feminisation of education
Sewell

Answer 46

that boys fall behind as education has become feminised. schools, don’t nurture masculine traits like competitiveness. he argues that coursework should be replaced a greater emphasis placed on outdoor adventure in the curriculum.

Question 47

Boys and achievement
Shortage of male primary school teachers

Answer 47

42% boys in recent surveys said that male teachers would make them work harder. primary schools have become feminised, and female teachers are unable to control boys behaviour and male teachers are better at imposing, strict discipline that boys need.

Question 48

Boys and achievement
Are more male teachers needed
Becky Francis and Barbara read

Answer 48

Becky found that 2/3 of 7 to 8-year-olds believed the gender of teachers doesn’t matter but Barbara claims that the culture of primary school has become feminised and only male teachers can exert the firm discipline that boys need to achieve.

Question 49

Boys and achievement
Are More male teachers needed
Barbara Reid, a disciplinarian discourse

Answer 49

The teachers authority is made explicit and visible. This can be done through shouting or sarcasm.

Question 50

Boys and achievement
Are more male teachers needed
Barbara Reid, and a liberal discourse

Answer 50

The teachers authority is implicit and invisible. The teacher speaks to the pupil as if they were an adult and expect them to speak, kind, sensible, and respectful of the teacher.

Question 51

Boys in achievement
Are more male teachers needed
Read and The disciplinarian discourse and liberal discourse

Answer 51

The disciplinarian discourse is usually associated with masculinity and the liberal with femininity. Read found that most teachers, female and male used the disciplinarian discourse, showing that female teachers were just likely to use a masculine discourse to control pupil behaviour.

Question 52

Boys and achievement
Are more male teachers needed
Malcolm, Hayes, 2008

Answer 52

He claims that, although women make up the majority of primary school teachers, it is better to think of primary schools as a male dominated educational structure that is numerically dominated by women.

Question 53

Boys under achievement
Laddish subcultures
Debbie, Epstein, 1998

Answer 53

She examined the way masculinity is constructed in School and found that working class boys are likely to be harassed and labelled as sissies and subjected to homophobic verbal abuse.

Question 54

Boys and achievement
Laddish subcultures
Becky, Francis, 2001

Answer 54

Found that boys were more concerned than girls about being labelled by peers of swats, as the label was a threat to their masculinity. Laddish culture becomes increasingly widespread. As girls move into traditional masculine areas, such as careers boys respond by becoming increasingly Laddish.

Question 55

Boys and achievement
Laddish subcultures
Masculinity and manual work

Answer 55

Masculinity is equated with being tough and doing manual work. non-manual work and by extensions, School is seen as inferior. as a result, working class boys tend to reject schoolwork to avoid being called gay.

Question 56

Boys and achievement
The moral panic about boys
Jessica ringrose

Answer 56

She believes that girls have succeeded at the expensive boys. this contributes to a moral panic about failing boys, as it reflects the fear of underachieving working class boys, they will grow up and be dangerous unemployable underclass that threaten social stability.

Question 57

Boys and achievement
The moral panic of boys
Ringrose and educational policies

Answer 57

RingRose argues that moral panic has caused a major shift in educational policies. Equal opportunity policies focussing on failing boys ignores the problem of disadvantaged ethnic minorities and ignores other problems faced by girls at schools, like sexual harassment.

Question 58

Boys achievement
The moral panic about boys
Audrey Osler, 2006

Answer 58

Notes that the focus on undertaking boys has led to neglect of girls. This is partly because girls often disengaged from school quietly. Mentor schemes, introducing School, exclusions among black boys ignores the problem of explosions among girls.

Question 59

Boys and achievement
Gender, class and ethnicity
Tracy mcVeigh

Answer 59

Notes the similarities in girls and boys achievement are far greater than a differences, especially when compared with the class or ethnic differences. For example, the class, gap and achievement at GCSE is three times wider than the gender gap.

Question 60

Gender and subject choice
As and a levels

Answer 60

Gendered subject choices have become more noticeable after 16. boys tend to opt for maths and physics, and girls choose subjects such as sociology and English.

Question 61

Gender and subject choice
Gender roll socialisation
Fiona Norman

Answer 61

Fiona notes from an early age boys and girls dress differently given different toys and encourage to take part in different activities. early socialisation shapes, children’s gender identity.

Question 62

Gender and subject choice
Gender and role socialisation
Eileen Byrne 1979

Answer 62

Shows how teachers encourage boys to be tough and showing initiative, and girls are expected to be quiet and helpful.

Question 63

Gender and subject choice
Gender role socialisation
Patricia Murphy and Janette, Elwood, 1998

Answer 63

differences in socialisation lead to boys and girls different tastes in reading. They show how this leads to different subject choices. boys read information text with girls read stories about people. Help to explain why boys prefer science subjects and girls prefer English subjects.

Question 64

Gender and subject choice
Gender, domains
Naima Brown and Carol Ross 1991

Answer 64

They argue that children’s beliefs about gender, domains, and shaped by their early experiences and the expectations of adults. Children are more confident when engaging in tasks that they see as part of their own gender domain.

Question 65

Gender and subject choice
Gender, domains
Patricia Murphy, 1991

Answer 65

Found that boys and girls pay attention to different details when tackling the same task. Girls focus on how people feel. Where is boys focus on how things are made. this helps explain why girls choose humanities and arts while boys choose science.

Question 66

Gender and subject choice
Gendered subject images
Kelly, why science is a boy subject

Answer 66

Science teachers are more likely to be male and the examples teachers use often draw on boys rather than girls interests. boys dominate the lab and apparatus acting as if it’s “theirs”.

Question 67

Gender and subject choice
Gendered subject images
Anne Colley, why computer studies is a masculine subject

Answer 67

It involves working with this machines, and the way it is taught us offputting for females as it is involves a lot of independence rather than group work, which girls favour.

Question 68

Gender and subject choice
Single sex schooling
Diana Leonard 2006

Answer 68

Diana found that compared to pupils in mix schools, girls in girls schools were more likely to take maths and science and boys were more likely to take English and languages. Girls were also more likely to study male dominated subjects at university.

Question 69

Gender and subject choice
Single sex schooling
The Institute of physics study

Answer 69

Found that girls in single sex state schools were 2.4 times more likely to take a level physics than those in mixed schools.

Question 70

Gender and subject choice
Gender, identity and peer pressure

Answer 70

Subject choice can be influenced by peer pressure, boys tend to opt out of music and dance because such activities fall outside the gender domain, and I likely to attract a negative response from peers.

Question 71

Gender and subject choice
Gender, identity and peer pressure
Carrie paetcher, 1998

Answer 71

Found that because pupils see sport as mainly within a male gender domain, girls who are sporty have to cope with an image that contradicts the conventional female stereotype.

Question 72

Gender and subject choice
Gender, identity and peer pressure
Alison dewar 1990

Answer 72

Did a study of American College students and found that male students would call girls “lesbian”, if they appeared to be interested in sport.

Question 73

Gender and subject choice
Gender, identity and peer pressure
Peer policing

Answer 73

peers police one and another subject choices so that girls and boys adopts an appropriate gender identity. The absence of peer pressure in single sex schools, allow boys and girls to choose non traditional subjects.

Question 74

Gender and subject choice
Gendered career opportunities
Woman and employment

Answer 74

Over half of all women’s employment fools within only four categories, clerical, secretarial, personal services and occupation, such as cleaning.

Question 75

Gender and subject choice
Gendered career opportunities
Sex typing

Answer 75

The sex typing of occupations affect boys and girls ideas about what kind of jobs are acceptable. This explains why vocational courses are much more gender specific as they are by defined more closely linked to student career plans

Question 76

Gender and subject choice
Gender, vocational choice and class
Carol fuller 2011

Answer 76

Studied working class girls and found that they had ambitions to go into job/ such as child care, hair and beauty, reflecting their working class habitus and their sense of what is a realistic expectation for “people like us”.

Question 77

Pupils’ sexual and gender identities
Double standards
Sue lees 1993

Answer 77

Identifies a double standard of sexual morality. Boys boast about their own sexual exploits, but call girls a “slag” if she doesn’t have a steadily boyfriend or dresses a certain way.

Question 78

People, sexual and gent identities
Double standards
Feminists

Answer 78

Feminist double standards, as an example of a patriarchal ideology that justifies, male power and devalues women. Double standards can be seen as social control that reinforces gender inequality.

Question 79

Pupils sexual and gender identities
Verbal abuse
Lees 1986

Answer 79

Found that boys called girls “slags”, if they appeared to be a sexually available, but called them “drags” if they didn’t. The labels have no relation to their sexual behaviour, but to reinforce gender, norms and identities.

Question 80

Pupils sexual and gender identity
Verbal abuse
Paecher

Answer 80

Sees name-calling as helping to shape gender identity and maintain male power. The use of negative labels such as “gay” are ways in which pupils police each other sexual identities.

Question 81

People, sexual and gender identities
Verbal abuse
Andrew Parker 1996

Answer 81

Found that boys were labelled “gay”simply for being friendly with girls or female teachers.

Question 82

People, sexual and gender identities
The male gaze
Mac and Ghaill

Answer 82

They see the male gaze as a form of surveillance through which dominant heterosexual masculinity is reinforced and femininity is devalued. The male gaze is a way of boys proving their masculinity.

Question 83

People sexual and gender identity
The male gaze
Boys heterosexual identity

Answer 83

Boys prove their masculinity to their friends, and is often combined with constant telling of stories about their sexual conquest. Boys who don’t display their heterosexuality in this way, run the risk of being called gay.

Question 84

Pupils sexual and gender identities
Male peer groups
Epstein and willis

Answer 84

Male peer groups often use verbal abuse, Epstein and Willis show how boys in Anti school subcultures often accuse boys who want to do well at school as being gay.

Question 85

Pupils, sexual and gender identities
Male pair groups
Mac and Gail, 1994, the study of the Parnell school

Answer 85

Examines, how peer groups reproduce range of class based masculine gender identities. W/c “macho lads” were dismissive of w/c boys who worked hard referring to them as a dickhead. M/c real Englishmen projected an image of effortless achievement.

Question 86

Pupils sexual and gender identities
Male pair groups
Redman and Mac and Gail

Answer 86

Found that the dominant definition of masculine identity changes from that of macho lads in the lower school to real Englishman in sixth form. This represents a shift away from a working class definition, based on toughness to a middle-class one based on intellectual ability.

Question 87

Pupils sexual and gender identity
Female peer groups
Jessica ringRose 2013 study of 13 year old w/c girl peer groups in wales

Answer 87

Found that being popular was crucial to girls identity. As the girls made a transition from a girls friendship culture into a heterosexual dating culture, they faced tension between an idealised feminine identity and a sexualised identity.

Question 88

Female peer groups
What is an idealised feminine identity?

Answer 88

Showing loyalty to the female peer group being non-competitive and getting along with everybody in a friendship culture.

Question 89

Female peer groups
What is a sexualised identity?

Answer 89

Involves competing for boys in the dating culture

Question 90

Pupils sexual and gender identities
Female peer groups
Currie et al 2007

Answer 90

Relationships with boys can confer a symbolic capital as girls have to perform an act of balancing the sexualised and ideal female identity. Girls who compete for boys are slut shamed, and those who don’t are frigid shamed.

Question 91

Pupils sexual and gender identities
Female peer groups
The boffin identity and As Reay 2001

Answer 91

Girls who wants to be successful educationally feel the need to conform to the “ideal feminine identity”. This involves the girls having to perform an asexual identity and lacking any interest in boyfriends. Leads to the Boffin identity.

Question 92

Pupil, sexual and gender identity
Teachers and discipline
Chris, Hayward and Mac and Gail

Answer 92

Found mail teachers told boys off for behaving like girls and tease them when they gain lower marks in tests then girls teaches. Ignore boys verbal abuse of girls and even blame girls for attracting it.

Question 93

Pupil, sexual gender identities
Teachers and discipline
Sue, Asko and Carol, Ross, 1988

Answer 93

Show how many teachers behave can reinforce messages about gender. male teachers often have a protective attitude towards female colleagues. However, this reinforces the idea that women can’t cope alone.