Gender Differences in Education - Identity, Class and Girls' Achievement

Question 1

Link to being on FSM and educational achievement (girls and boys)

Answer 1

Government statistics show that in 2022, 47% of pupils eligible for FSM achieved a standard pass in both English and Maths GCSE compared to 75% of pupils not eligible

Question 2

What is one reason for class differences in girls’ achievement according to Archer?

Answer 2

The conflict between w/c girls’ feminine identities and the values of the schools

Question 3

What does w/c girls’ feminine identities bringing them into conflict with school prevent?

Answer 3

Prevents them from acquiring educational capital

Question 4

Educational capital

Answer 4

Qualifications

Question 5

Economic capital

Answer 5

M/C careers

Question 6

How did girls achieve status from their female peer group?

Answer 6

By spending a considerable amount of money and time on their appearance

Question 7

What did girls combine to achieve hyper-heterosexual identities?

Answer 7

Black urban American styles with unisex sportswear and ‘sexy’ clothes, make-up and hairstyles

Question 8

How did hyper-heterosexual feminine identities bring girls into conflict with their schools?

Answer 8

Through receiving daily punishments for wearing wrong uniform

Question 9

What do teachers see the hyper-heterosexual feminine identity as?

Answer 9

A distraction from education

Question 10

What do girls having hyper-heterosexual feminine identities lead to schools doing?

Answer 10

‘Othering’ those girls, meaning they define them as incapable of educational success and less worthy of respect

Question 11

Symbolic violence

Answer 11

The hard done by denying someone of symbolic capital (E.g. by defining their culture as worthless)

Question 12

How does having boyfriends negatively effect girls’ achievement?

Answer 12

Having a boyfriend brought symbolic capital but it also got in the way of school work and lowered girls’ aspirations

Question 13

How do boyfriends lower girls’ aspirations?

Answer 13

They could lead to girls losing interest in going to university or studying ‘masculine’ subjects (E.g. science)

Question 14

What identity did some girls adopt that often led to them being outspoken, assertive jd independent?

Answer 14

A ‘loud’ feminine identity

Question 15

How did girls adopting a ‘loud’ feminine identity lead to conflict with teachers?

Answer 15

It brought them into conflict with teachers as they interpreted their behaviour as aggressive instead of assertive

Question 16

How are W/C girls pit in a dilemma in school?

Answer 16

They have to choose either gaining symbolic capital from peers by conforming to a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity, or gaining educational capital by rejecting their w/c identity and conforming to the school’s notions

Question 17

How did some girls try to cope with the W/C dilemma?

Answer 17

By defining themselves as ‘good underneath’

Question 18

What does Archer say about w/c feminine identities and educational success?

Answer 18

They conflict with one anothen

Question 19

What was the driving force for going to university for w/c sixth form girls according to a study carried out by Evans?

Answer 19

Increasing their earning power to help their families