Gender Differnces In Achivement - Internal And External Factors

Question 1

The gender gap in achievement

Answer 1

• official statistics provide evidence of differences in the achievement of girls and boys at several important stages of their education:
• on starting school - in 2013, teacher assents of pupils at the end of the year showed girls ahead of boys between 7 and 17% points in all seven areas of learning assessed. Girls were also better than boys at concentrating. A DfE study found that in state primary schools, boys were two and a half times more likely than girls to have statements of special educational needs
• at key stage 1 to 3 - girls do consistently better than boys. Especially in English, where the gender gap steadily widens wiry age. In science and maths the gender gap is still much narrower, but girls still do better
• at GCSE - the gender gap stands at around 10%
• at AS and A level - girls are more likely to sit, pass and get higher grades than boys, though the gap is much narrower than at GCSE.
• on vocational courses - a larger proportion of girls achieve distinctions in every subject, including those such as engineering and construction

Question 2

External factors and gender differences in achievement

Answer 2

1. Impact of feminism
2. Changes in the family
3. Changes in women’s employment
4. Girls changing ambitions

Question 3

1. The impact of feminism

Answer 3

• since the 1960s, the feminist movement has challenged the traditional stereotype of a women’s role as solely that of mother and housewife in a patriarchal nuclear family and inferior to men outside the home, in work, education and the law
• although feminists argue that we have not yet achieved full equality between the sexes, the feminist move,met has had considerable success in improving women’s rights and opportunities through changes in the law. More broadly feminism has raised women’s expectations and self esteem
• these changes are partly reflected in media images and messages. Mcrobbies study of girls magazines.
• in the 1970s, being ‘left on the shelf’ whereas now days, they contain images of assertive, independent women
• the changes encouraged by feminism may affect girls self image and ambitions with regard to the family and careers. This may explain improvements in their educational achievement

Question 4

2. Changes in the family

Answer 4

• there have been major changes in the family since 1970s:
• an increase in the divorce rate
• an increase in cohabitation and a decrease in the number of first marriages
• an increase in the number of lone parent families
• smaller families

Question 5

How have these changes affected girls

Answer 5

• changes have affected girls attitudes towards education in a number of ways.
• e.g, increased numbers of female headed lone parent families may mean more women need to take on the breadwinner role. This creates a new adult role model for girls - the financially independent women.
• to achieve this independence, women need well paid jobs and therefore need good qualifications
• the increase in divorce rate may suggest to girls that it is unwise to rely on a husband to be their provider. This may encourage girls to look to themselves and their own qualifications

Question 6

3. Changes in women’s employment

Answer 6

• the 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
• since 1975, the pay gap between men and women has halved from 30% to 15%
• the proportion of women in employment has risen from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013. The growth of the service sector and flexible part time work has offered opportunities for women
• some women are now breaking through the ‘glass ceiling’ - the invincible barrier that keeps them out of high level professional and managerial jobs

Question 7

How have changes in women’s employment affected women

Answer 7

• these changes have encouraged girls to see their future in terms of paid work rather than as housewives. Greater career opportunities and better pay for women, and the role models that successful career women offer,m provide incentive for girls to gain qualifications

Question 8

4. Girls changing ambitions

Answer 8

• the view that changes in the family and employment are producing changes in girls ambitions is supported by evidence research e.g, sue sharpes (1994) interviews with girls in the 1970s and 1990s show a major shift in the ways girls see their future
• in 1974, the girls had low aspirations, they believes educational success was unfeminine and that appearing to be ambitious would be considered unattractive. They gave their priorities as, ‘love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs and careers, more or less in that order’
• by the 1990s, girls ambitions had changes and they had a different order of priorities - careers and being able to support themselves. Sharpe found that girls were now more likely to see a future as an independent women with a career rather than a dependent on their husbands and his income

Question 9

Changes in women’s ambitions - o’connors study

Answer 9

• o’conner (2006) study of 14-17 yr olds found that marriage and children were not a major part of their life plans
• beck and beck gernsheim (2001) link this to the trend towards individualism in modern society, where independence is valued much more strongly than in the past. A career has become part of a women’s life project because it promises recognition and economic self sufficiency
• in order to achieve independence and self sufficiency, many girls now recognise that they need a good education. For some girls in fullers (2011) study, educational success was a central aspect of their identity. They saw themselves as creators of their own future and has an individualised notion of self.
• they believed in meritocracy and aimed for a professional career that would enable them to support themselves. Clearly These aspirations require educational qualifications, where as those of the 1970s girls did not

Question 10

Class, gender and ambition

Answer 10

• there are class differences in how far girls ambitions have changed. Some working class girls continue to have gender stereotyped aspirations for marriage and children and expect to go into traditional low paid women’s work
• reay (1998) argues this reflects the reality of the girls class position. Their limited aspirations reflect the limited job opportunities they perceive as being available to them. In contrast, a traditional gender identity is both attainable and offers them a source of status

Question 11

Class, gender and ambition - biggart (2002)

Answer 11

• biggart found that working class girls are more likely to face a precarious position in the labour market and to see motherhood as the only viable option for their futures. Hence they see less point in achieving in education.
• e.g, most of the low aspiring working class girls In fullers study were not interested in staying on at school and expressed a desire for low level jobs

Question 12

Internal factors and gender differences in achievement

Answer 12

1. Equal opportunites
2. Positive role models in schools
3. GCSE and coursework
4. Teacher racism
5. Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
6. Selection and league tables

Question 13

1. Equal opportunites

Answer 13

• feminists ideas have had a major impact on the education system. Policymakers are now much more aware of gender issues and teachers are more aware of gender issues and teachers are more sensitive to the need to avoid stereotyping. The belief that Boys and girls are entitled to the same,e opportunities is now part of mainstream thinking and it influences educational policies
• e.g, GIST (girls into science and technology) and WISE (women into science and engineering) encourage girls to pursue careers in theses non traditional areas. Female scientists have visited schools, acting as role models; efforts have been made to raise science teachers awareness of gender issues; non sexist career advice has been provided and learning materials in science reflecting girls intrests have been developed

Question 14

Equal opportunities and the national curriculum

Answer 14

• the introduction of the new national curriculum; in 1988 removed on source of gender inequality by making girls and boys mostly the same subjects, which was often not the case previously

Question 15

Equal opportunities - boaler (1998)

Answer 15

• boaler sees the impact of equal opportunites policies as a key reason for the changes in girls achievement. Many of the barriers have been removed and schooling has become more meritocratic (based on equal opportunities) - so that girls, who generally work harder than boys, achieve more

Question 16

2. Positive role models in schools

Answer 16

• there has been an increase in the proportion of female teachers and heads. These women in senior positions may act as a role models for girls, showing them women can achieve positions of importance and giving them non traditional goals to aim for
• women teachers are likely to be particularly important role, models as far as girls educational achievement is concerned since, to become a teacher, the individual must understand a lengthy and successful education herself

Question 17

3. GSCE and coursework

Answer 17

• some sociologists argue that changes in the way pupils are assessed have favoured girls and disadvantaged boys. E.g, Gorard (2005) found that the gender gap in achievement was fairly constant from 1975 until 1989, when it increased sharply. This was the year in which GCSE was introduced, brining with it coursework as a major part of nearly all subjects.
• gorard concludes that rage gender gap in achievement is a ‘product of the changed system of assessment rather than any more general failing of boys ‘
• mitos and Browne (1998) support this view. They conclude that girls are more successful in coursework because they are more conscientious and better organised than boys. Girls;
• spend more time on their work
• take more care with the way it is presented
• are better at meeting deadlines
• bring the right equipment and materials to lessons
• mitos and Browne argue that these factors have helped girls to benefit from introduction of coursework in GCSE, AS and A level

Question 18

GCSE and coursework - characteristic skills

Answer 18

• greater use of oral exams this is also said to benefit girls because of their generally better developed language skills
• sociologists argue that these characteristics and skills are the result of early gender role socialisation in the family. E.g, girls are more likely to be encouraged to be neat, tidy and patient. These qualities become an advantage in todays assessment system, helping girls achieve greater success than boys

Question 19

GCSE and coursework - Elwood (2005)

Answer 19

• Elwood argues that although coursework has some influence, it is unlikely to be the only cause of the gender gap because exams have much more influence than coursework on final grades

Question 20

4. Teacher attention

Answer 20

• the way teachers interact with boys and girls differs.
• when Jane and french (1993) analysed classroom interaction, they found that boys received more attention because they attracted more reprimands.
• francis (2001) also found that while boys got more attention, they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers, who tended to have lower expectations of them

Question 21

Teacher attention - sawnn (1998)

Answer 21

• Swann also found found differences in communication styles. Boys dominate in whole class discussion, whereas girls prefer pair work and group work and are better at listening and cooperating. When working in groups, girls speech involves turn taking, and not the hostile interruptions that often characterise boys speech
• this may explain why teachers respond more positively to girls, whom they see as cooperative, than boys, who they see as potentially disruptive. This may lead to a self fulfilling prophecy in which successful interactions with teachers promote girls self esteem and raise their achievement levels

Question 22

5. Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum

Answer 22

• some sociologists argue that the removal of gender stereotypes from textbooks, reading schemes and other learning materials in recent years has removed a barrier to girls achievement.
• research in the 1970s and 80s found that reading schemes portrayed women mainly as housewives and mothers, that physics book showed them as frightened by science, and that maths books depicted boys as more inventive

Question 23

Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum - wiener (1995)

Answer 23

• Weiner argues that since the 1980s, teachers have challenged such stereotypes. Also, in general, sexist images have been removed from learning materials. This may have helped to raise girls achieve not by presenting them with more positive images of what women can do

Question 24

6. Selection and league tables

Answer 24

• marketisation policies have creates a more competitive climate in which schools see girls as desirable recruits because they achieve better exam results
• Jackson (1998) nites that the introduction of exam league tables has improved opportunites for girls: high achieving girls are attractive to schools, whereas low achieving boys are not. This tends to create a self fulfilling prophecy - because girls are more likely to get recruited by good schools, they are more likely to do well

Question 25

Selection and league tables - slee (1998)

Answer 25

• slee argues that boys are less attractive to schools because they are more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties and are four times more likely to be excluded
• as a result, boys may be seen as ‘liability students’ - obstacles to the school improving its league table scores.
• they give the school a ‘rough, tough’ image that deters high achieving girls from applying

Question 26

The views of girls achievement - liberal feminists

Answer 26

• liberal feminists celebrate the progress made so far in improving achievement. They believe that further progress will be made by the continuing development of equal opportunities policies, encouraging positive role models and overcoming sexist attitudes and stereotypes
• this is similar to the functionalist view that education is a meritocracy where all individuals, regardless of gender, ethnicity or class, are given an equal opportunity to achieve

Question 27

The two views of girls achievement - radical feminists

Answer 27

• radical feminists take a more critical view. While they recognise that girls are achieving more, they emphasis that the system remains patriarchal (male dominated) and conveys clear messages that it is still a mans world. E.g,
• sexual harassment of girls continues at school
• education still limits girls subject choices and career options
• although there are now more female head teachers, male teachers are still more likely to become heads of secondary schools
• women are underrepresented in many areas of the curriculum. E.g, their contribution to history is largely ignored. Weiner (1993) describes the secondary school history curriculum as ‘women free zone’