Gender Differences in Subject Choice Flashcards
Summarise gender role socialisation.
Early Socialisation - Norman notes that from an early age boys and girls are dressed differently, given different toys and encouraged to take part in different activities.
Schools - Byrne shows that teachers encourage boys to be tough and show initiative. Whereas girls are expected to be clean, quiet and tidy.
Why this leads to differences in subject choice - Boys are more likely to read hobby books while girls are more likely to read books about people. This helps to explain with boys prefer scientific subjects and girls prefer English.
Summarise gendered subject images.
The gender image of a subject affects who will want to choose it.
Colley found that computer studies is seen as a masculine subject because it involves working with machines - part of the male gender domain. Also, the way it is taught is off-putting to females. Tasks tend to be abstract and teaching styles are formal, with few opportunities for group work, which girls prefer.
However, in same sex schools, girls were more likely to take maths and science A Levels and boys were more likely to take English and languages. This is because there is no pressure to take a particular subject.
Summarise gender identity and peer pressure.
Dewar found that male students would call girls ‘lesbian’ or ‘butch’ if they appeared interested in sport. However, an absence of peer pressure in same sex schools may explain why girls are more likely to choose traditional boys’ subjects.
Summarise gendered career opportunities.
An important reason for differences in subject choice is the fact that employment is highly gendered. Jobs tend to be sex-typed as men’s or women’s.
Suggest two reasons why working class girls may choose vocational courses in subjects such as hair and beauty.
Fuller found that working class girls were more likely to go into jobs such as childcare or hair and beauty because they felt that this was their realistic expectation for ‘people like us’.
