gender differences in educational achievement (external factors)

Question 1

what year did the feminists improve the position of women in society?

Answer 1

1970s

Question 2

what did feminists do to improve the position of women in society?

Answer 2

feminists communicated with the government for a change in laws; to bring more equality to women.

Question 3

what was the impact of feminism?

Answer 3

It raised women’s self-esteem.

Question 4

what did Mcrobbie say about the impact of media representation due to feminism?

Answer 4

Magazines in the 1970s focused on romance and relationships and also focused on women finding a husband and becoming housewives. Now women are promoted as independent, career-focused and self-confident individuals.

Question 5

how did changes in the family change girls attitudes towards education?

Answer 5

Now in contemporary society, there has been an increase in single parent families led by women, requiring them to be the breadwinners of the family. This encourages girls to do well in school so that they can get a well-paid job

Question 6

what 2 laws improved and changed women’s employment?

Answer 6

1) equal pay act
2) sex discrimination act

Question 7

what is the name of the invisible barrier preventing women from achieving top positions?

Answer 7

glass ceiling

Question 8

what is the glass ceiling?

Answer 8

the glass ceiling is an invisible barrier preventing women from achieving top positions.

Question 9

how does the glass ceiling motivate girls to do well in school?

Answer 9

The glass ceiling is a barrier that stops women from doing well, females are aware of this barrier. This awareness motivates them to perform better academically to overcome these barriers.

Question 10

what gender did the department of education say performs well in their language and literacy skills?

Answer 10

girls

Question 11

What are the 3 reasons that girls do better than boys in language and literacy?

Answer 11

1) early socialisation:
boys spend more time playing, whereas girls are more likely to read and be read to by their parents. Girls are also socialised to be more passive (accepting what others do), organized and diligent. This goes with the requirements of the school system. However, boys might be encourage to be more assertive or disruptive which does not align with the school system.

2) leisure interests:
boys are more likely to be more focused on video games and sports activities, whereas girls focus on reading and writing.

3) parental expectations:
parents may have higher expectations of girl’s performance in school, which encourages them to academically succeed.

Question 12

what caused the decline in manual labour?

Answer 12

globalisation led to the decline in manual work.

Question 13

what did mitsos and brown say about the decline in manual labour?

Answer 13

the decline in manual labour led to a masculinity crisis since they are experiencing high levels of unemployment when their role is actually being breadwinners. This causes low self-esteem and motivation.

Question 14

what did sewell say? (feminisation in education)

Answer 14

boys are falling behind in education because schools have become more feminised.

Question 15

what evidence is there that schools are becoming more feminised?

Answer 15

there are more female teacher, shortage of male teachers

Question 16

how do working class boys form a laddish subculture?

Answer 16

by demonstrating their masculinity by being ‘anti-school’

Question 17

what did Sharpe say about girl’s change in ambitions?

Answer 17

sharpe said in 1974 that girls had low aspirations. Education was viewed as unfeminine, females valued love, marriage and husbands more. (love and marriage were the top 2 aspirations for girls) Since 1994 for females have a career and job were the top aspirations for many women.

Question 18

what was O’connor’s study?

Answer 18

he found out that 14-17 year old girls did not see marriage and children as a major part of life plans

Question 19

why has there been a change in ambitions for females?

Answer 19

these change ambitions have had a huge impact on girl’s attitudes towards education as they recognise that if they want a successful career, education must be taken seriously

Question 20

who are the five scholars in this topic?

Answer 20

sewell, o’connor, sharpe, mitsos & browne, mcrobbie