Gender Differnces In Educational Achievment Flashcards
What are the external factors affecting gender differences in achievement
1- impact of feminsim
2-changes in family
3- changes in women employment
4-girls changing ambitions
1- impact of feminism
-the push for equal rights and challenging traditional stereotypes of mothers and housewives has improved women rights and opportunities through changes in the law.
- feminism has raised womens expectations and self- esteem pushing them to make something of themselves.
-McRobbie - encourages women through the media that show images of assertive independent women whilst they use to emphasis getting married and not being ‘left on the shelf’
2- changes in the family
Changes in divorce rates, lone-parent families, ^ cohabitation
The normalisation of divorces has meant women can no longer rely on men for financial stability and has to work hard herself toprovide for herself.
-women now are more likely to take on breadwinner role
- new role models of financially independent women with we’ll paid jobs and high qualifications
3- changes in womrns employment
- equal pay act (1970) and sex discrimination act and pay gap decreasing
- more women working in high respectable jobs and doing traditionally male occupations.
- encourages girls to see their futures as paid work and not house wives.
-greater career opportunities, better pay and better role models so girls try harder in school to achieve this lifestyle
4- changes in girls’ ambition
Sharpe -Girls use to see educational success as feminine and unattractive so they prioritised marriage and kids
-now girls aim for professional careers to support themselves and be independent.
Beck- independence is values more today. As a career promises recognition and economic self-sufficiency, which girls recognise has to be done through good education.
Evaluation of external factors
What are the Internal factors affecting educational achievement of genders
1-equal opportunity policies
2- positive role models in school
3-coursework
4- teacher attention
5-challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
6-selection and league tables
1-equal opportunity policies
What are the policies that have affected gender achievement in school
Policies like WISE and GIST (girls in science and technology) encourage girls to pursue careers in these non-traditional areas
- more girls in textbooks, girls and boys made to study same subjects
-school has become more meritocratic (based on equal opportunity) so girls who work hard will achieve well
2- positive role models
More female teachers and heads- act as role models for girls that can achieve positions of high importance
And more girls in school textbooks
3-GCSEs and Coursework
How has the introduction of coursework affected gender achievement
And criticism of it
The introduction of coursework has given girls an advantage as they’re better organised than boys and they’re better at presentation, spend more time on work and meet deadlines. So this change in the education system has led to girls achieving more
❌- not the only factor affecting girls’ higher achievement as exams have much more influence on final grades than coursework and girls still do better in it.
4- teacher attention
How does differences in teacher attention and opinion affect achievement
Boys get more attention as they attract more trouble so we’re disciplined more harshly. They felt picked on and that teachers had lower expectations of them.
whilst girls prefer paired and group work as they’re better at listening and cooperating.
-This could be why teachers are more positive towards girls who are cooperative compared to boys who are ‘disruptive’.
This could lead to self-fulfilling prophecy that promotes girls self-esteem = raise their achievement levels.
5- challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
The removal of stereotypes in textbooks and other materials has removed a barrier to girls’ achievement.
Sexists images have been removed from learning materials and have been replaced with more positive images of women. This may have raised girls achievement.
6- selection and league tables
marketisationpolicies have led to the ed system being more competitive. So schools select girls more as they achieve better so they can he higher on the league table.
- league tables have improved opportunities for girls cause they’re more desirable so more likely to get chosen by better schools that will help them achieve high.
What are the two views of girls achievement
Liberal feminists- celebrate the progress made so far, and see improvements as making positive steps and breaking down gender inequality. They believe in encouraging positive role models and overcoming stereotypes.
Radical feminists- the system remains patriarchal as there’s sexual harassment in school and women are still underrepresented.
What comes under Identity, class and girls achievement
1- symbolic capital
2- hyper-heterosexual feminine identities
3- boyfriends
4- being loud
5- working class dilemma
6- successful working class girls
1- symbolic capital and heterosexual feminine identities
Archer- girls gain symbolic capital (status) from their peers through their hyper-feminine identities.
However this identity causes conflict with the school causing symbolic violence, which prevents them getting qualifications and educational success.
2- hyper-heterosexual feminine identities
Girls focus on makeup, sexy clothes, hair which causes symbolic violence as they’re punished by the school for wearing the wrong clothes and their appearance is seen as a distraction from education.
2- boyfriends
Boyfriend give girls symbolic capital from peers but gets in the way of school work and lowers girls’ aspirations. Makes girls aspire to settle down and have kids instead of focusing on their careers or could get pregnant and drop out.
3- being loud
Some W/c are loud and they see it as being outspoken and assertive by questioning teachers authority. This fails to conform to the schools stereotype of the ideal pupil as passive and submissive to teacher authority. This causes conflict with teachers who interpret this behaviour as disruptive and aggressive rather than assertive.
4- working class girls dilemma
They either get symbolic capital from their peers by conforming to hyper-heterosexual feminine identity or gain educational capital by rejecting working class identity and conform to the m/c idea of the ideal pupil.
Working class girls investment to feminine identities are a major cause of under achievement.
5- Successful working class girls
-Some working-class girls want to do well in school because they have the motivation to make money not for themselves but for their families. This reflects their w/c feminine identity ‘caring is a crucial part of this identity’
-however they still had the fear of debt for uni, so many chose to stay at home whilst at uni but this limits their options and opportunity.
What comes under Boys’ achievement
- boys illiteracy
- globalisation and the decline of traditional men’s jobs
-feminisation of education
-shortage of male primary school teachers - laddish subculture
- moral panic about boys
1- boys illiteracy
Poorer illiteracy and language skills
Parents spend less time reading to boys, boys spend more time outside playing football whilst girls more likely to read as they have a bedroom culture
This causes underachievement
2- globalization and the decline of traditional mens jobs
The decline in heavy industries eg mining, iron
-this has led to decline of men’s employment. So they believe they have little prospect of getting a proper job, this undermines their motivation and self-esteem so they give up trying to get qualificationsn
3-feminisation of education
Swell- boys are falling behind cause education has been feminised. The system favours girls by focusing on attentiveness on class and ignores male traits like competitiveness.
Eg coursework favours girls and some should be replaced with exams
4- shortage of male primary school teachers
Lack of male role models at home and school = underachievement
-this is because lots of boys grow up in female-headed families and only 14% of primary teachers are male
-most boys said the presence of a male teacher makes them behave better and work harder.
-men impose strict discipline boys need in order to concentrate.
5- laddish subculture
Boys are likely to be bullied, labelled as sissy and subject to homophobic abuse if the appear to be ‘swots.’
-they are more afraid of being labelled by peers as swots as it threatens their masculinity.
-w/c boys avoid schoolwork to avoid being called gay, they should appear to be tough, rough and dangerous
6- the moral panic about boys
And critic
Believe men are at the disadvantage now compared to girls
- Ringrose- there’s a moral panic about failing boys. This is that w/c boys will underachieve and become dangerous, unemployed and threaten social stability.
-this has led to an over-focus on boys and policies to help improve their achievment
❌- this had led to a neglect of ethnic minorities and working-class underachievement.
It has also led to ignorance of other problems faced by girls in school such as sexual harassment and stereotypes.
Evaluation of boys’ achievement
What comes under gender and subject choice
1- gender role specialization
2-gender domains
3-gendered subject images
4-single sex schooling
5- gender identity and peer pressure
6- gendered career opportunities
1- gender role socialisation
What does this mean and how does it affect subject choice
-this is the process of learning the behaviour expected of males and females
-For eg from an early age girls and boys are dressed differently, given diff toys and encourages to take part in diff activities.
-boys encourages to read information books whilst girls read stories encouraging boys to take science and maths and girls to go into English.
2- gender domains
Gender domains are the activities that girls and boys see as more male or female territory and therefore do them.
-kids more confident doing tasks in their own gender domain
3- gendered subject images
This affect who will want to choose it
Eg science is seen as a boy subject because: teachers more likely to be men, more boys in textbooks and boys dominate the laboratory
4- Single sex schooling
People in same sex schools tend to choose less traditional subject choices
-girls in these schools more likely to take maths and English and A level girls more likely to study male dominated subjects
-and boys in all boys school more likely to take English
5- gender identity and peer pressure
Subject choice is influenced by peer pressure
Eg boys avoid dance and music as it falls outside their gender domain and doesn’t want to risk being labelled sissy or gay. Similar to girls who do sports labelled as lesbian or butch
- this pushed girls and boys to adopt their appropriate gender identity,
6- gendered career opportunities
-jobs are stereotyped as either men’s or women’s.
- Women likely to be similar work to a housewife eg cleaner, nanny, nurse or go into hair and beauty reflecting the w/c habitus
-this narrows their career options
7- gender, vocational choice and class
Most w/c girls go into childcare or hair and beauty as it reflects their habits( ‘What are realistic expectations for people like us)
What comes under pupils sexual and gender identity
1- double standards
2-verbal abuse
3- the male gaze
4-male peer groups
5- female peer groups
6-teachers and discipline
1- double standards
Males’ sexual promiscuity is praised and given status by male peers but for girls, it is given negative labels.
This reinforces gender inequality by keeping females subordinate to men.
2-verbal abuse
Boys used verbal abuse to put girls down if they behave or dress in certain ways. Eg slags if they are dressed ‘inappropriately’
-this shales gender identity and maintains male power
-boys also shape each other sexual identities by labelling others as gay or queer for being friends with girls or not doing sport etc
3- the male gaze
Mac and ghaill
- the way male pupils and teachers look at girls as sexual objects and comment on their appearance.
This devalues femininity and boys who do not show their heterosexuality in this way risk being labelled gay.
4- male peer groups
Boys use verbal abuse to reinforce their own masculinity
-boys are keen to not be seen as gay this leads boys in an anti-school subculture to accuse w/c who work hard in school of being gay.
-shows macho-lads being dismissive of other working class boys
-
5- female peer groups
-w/c girls gain symbolic capital (status) through hyper-feminine identities.
If they don’t conform they risk being labelled unpopular
- they also get status from being with boys and becoming more sexual but must balance this with being loyal to other females ‘girl code’
-compete for boys without being labelled a slut but also not being labelled frigid.
6- teacher discipline
Teacher discipline also plays a part in reinforcing gender identity.
- teachers tell boys off for behaving like girls
-and ignored boys’ verbal abuse towards girls and even blamed girls for attracting it.
Example questions for gender and sexual identity
Q. Outline and explain two ways in which education reinforces gender identity or sexual identity (10 marks)
Example Q. How does wider society influence gender differences in subject choice and education achievement (30 marks)
External factors affecting achievement-
-Impact of feminism
-changes in girls’ ambition
-changes in the family
-changes in women’s employment
External factors that affect subject choice
-gender role socialisation
-gender domains
-gendered career opportunities
-gender vocational choices and class
