Gender Differences in Educational Achievement Flashcards
What is the impact of feminism on gender differences in educational achievement?
Feminism has raised women’s expectations and self-esteem and these changes are partly reflected in media images and message eg: McRobbie’s study of girls magazines found that nowadays they contain images of assertive, independent women.
Mitsos and Browne argue the woman’s movement has provided both incentives and direction for young women which can be seen through the 1970 Equal Pay Act and 1975 Sex Discrimination Act.
Some women are now breaking through the ‘glass ceiling’, the invisible barrier that keeps them out of high level professional jobs.
What is the impact of changes in the family on gender differences in education?
Major changes in the family since the 1970’s which are: an increase in the divorce rate, increased in cohabitation and increase in lone-parent families.
These changes are affecting girls attitudes towards education: increased numbers of female-headed lone parent families may mean more women need to take on a breadwinner role. This creates a new adult role model for girls ‘the financially dependent woman’. To achieve this independence, women need well-paid jobs and therefore good qualifications.
What is the impact of girls changing ambitions on gender differences in education?
Sharpe argues in the 1970s and earlier girls main priorities were marriage and being a good housewife, however a shift occurred in the 1990s onwards where women aspirations changed (due to legislative changes) as their priorities became finding a job, career and financial independence and so education is the route to this and a central aspect of their identity.
Eg: O’Connor’s study of 14-17 year olds found that marriage and children were not major part of their life plans.
Becker links this trend towards individualisation in modern society, independence is valued strongly. A career has become part of a woman’s life project as it promises economic self-sufficiency.
What are some internal factors that explain girls outperforming?
- Equal opportunity policies such as GIST and WISE encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM.
- Positive role models for girls as there has been an increase in female teacher and headteachers, shows girls they can achieve these positions.
- The way pupils are assessed have favoured girls and disadvantaged boys, Mitsos and Browne say girls are more successful in coursework than boys as they are more conscientious and better organised. Mcrobbie and Garber add to this with bedroom culture.
- Removal of stereotypes in textbooks (women as housewives) has removed a barrier to girls achievement.
How do Liberal and Radical Feminists differ in their interpretation of the importance of these changes?
LIBERAL feminists celebrate the progress made and believe further progress will be made by continuing equal opportunity policies, encouraging positive role models and overcoming sexist stereotypes.
RADICAL feminists recognise girls are achieving more but emphasise the system remains patriarchal as it is a ‘mans world’. Sexual harassment of girls continues at school and women are underrepresented in many areas of the curriculum.
What is the relationship between social class and girls achievement?
- In 2013 only 40.6% of girls from poorer background achieved 5A*-C in GCSE’s, whereas over 60% of girl not on FSM did so.
-Archer in her study of w/c girls uses symbolic capital to understand this conflict. By performing their w/c female identities the girls gained symbolic capital from their peers but got into conflict with the school, preventing them from acquiring educational capital.
These identities are:
- Girls developing ‘glamorous’ hyper heterosexual feminine identities, having boyfriends and being loud to gain symbolic capital.
- Thus they fail to conform to the ‘ideal female pupil’ identity that is de-sexualised, passive and submissive to authority.
Example of successful working class girls (eval)
Some working class girls do succeed and go onto higher education but are disadvantaged by gender and class identity.
Evans in his study of working class sixth form girls found they wanted to go to uni and help their families. However they lived at home because of economic necessities meaning they had a limited choice of uni which places a limit on their educational success.
What are the external reasons for boys underachievement in education?
- Boys and Literacy: parents spend less time reading tother sons, boys leisure pursuits like football do little to help develop their language and communication. Girls have a bedroom culture centred on staying in and talking with friends.
-Globalisation and decline of traditional mens jobs: Mac en Ghail argue since the 1980’s there has been a decline in heavy industries, this creates an identity crisis for men as they feel they have little hope of getting a job, so their motivation in education is lessened. They resort to laddish behaviour to restore their sense of masculinity.
What are the internal reasons for boys underachieving in education?
- Sewell- The feminisation of education, such as emphasis on coursework and being attentive rather than nurturing masculine traits like leadership.
- Lack of male primary school teachers, no role model for boys.
- Laddish subcultures, Willis
What was Willis study of the lads?
Learning to Labour Study:
- Observed 12 working class-boys, labelled the ‘lads’ and had their own counter-school culture which opposed school values and conformist students (‘ear’oles’)
- They showed little interest in academic work and displayed a strong hegemonic type masculinity
- The lads behaviour in school mirrored the behaviour they adopted in their work life later, the ‘shop floor’ of local factories.
- The counter school culture helped prepare them for the monotony of the work they would do later, they adopted similar distractions in the workplace.
What is the pattern with gender and subject choice?
Traditional as boys are steered towards physics and maths, whereas girls are more likely to opt for sociology and English.
What is gender role socialisation?
Colley says schools play an important role in gender role socialisation.
Teachers encourage boys to be tough and initiative and girls are expected to be quiet, tidy and helpful.
Boys will read hobby and information books while girls will read stories about people.
Boys encouraged to move furniture, while girls are told to wash up.
What does Kelly say about gendered subject images?
Science is traditionally seen as a masculine subject, textbooks have few women portrayed in them.
In science lessons boys monopolise the apparatus and dominate the classroom.
How are gender identities reinforced in school?
- Verbal abuse: Parker says boys are called ‘gay’ if they are friendly with girls and females teachers.
- Male gaze: Mac en Ghail argues the way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down and see them as sexual objects is a form of surveillance where dominant masculine identities are reinforced.
- Double standards: Lee says boys will boast about their sexual exploits, but if girls do the same they’re labelled ‘slags’
- Teachers and discipline: Mac en Ghail said teachers reinforce gender identities, male teachers have told off boys for acting like girls in the classroom.
Results in segregation in schools where girls opt for ‘feminine’ subjects like English and boys take ‘masculine’ subjects like maths.
