Gender Differnces In Educational Achievment

Question 1

What are the external factors affecting gender differences in achievement

Answer 1

1- impact of feminsim
2-changes in family
3- changes in women employment
4-girls changing ambitions

Question 2

1- impact of feminism

Answer 2

-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’

Question 3

2- changes in the family

Answer 3

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

Question 4

3- changes in womrns employment

Answer 4

• 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

Question 5

4- changes in girls’ ambition

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

Evaluation of external factors

Question 7

What are the Internal factors affecting educational achievement of genders

Answer 7

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

Question 8

1-equal opportunity policies
What are the policies that have affected gender achievement in school

Answer 8

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

Question 9

2- positive role models

Answer 9

More female teachers and heads- act as role models for girls that can achieve positions of high importance
And more girls in school textbooks

Question 10

3-GCSEs and Coursework
How has the introduction of coursework affected gender achievement
And criticism of it

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

4- teacher attention
How does differences in teacher attention and opinion affect achievement

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

5- challenging stereotypes in the curriculum

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

6- selection and league tables

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

What are the two views of girls achievement

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

What comes under Identity, class and girls achievement

Answer 15

1- symbolic capital
2- hyper-heterosexual feminine identities
3- boyfriends
4- being loud
5- working class dilemma
6- successful working class girls

Question 16

1- symbolic capital and heterosexual feminine identities

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

2- hyper-heterosexual feminine identities

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

2- boyfriends

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

3- being loud

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

4- working class girls dilemma

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

5- Successful working class girls

Answer 21

-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.

Question 22

What comes under Boys’ achievement

Answer 22

• 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

Question 23

1- boys illiteracy

Answer 23

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

Question 24

2- globalization and the decline of traditional mens jobs

Answer 24

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

Question 25

3-feminisation of education

Answer 25

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

Question 26

4- shortage of male primary school teachers

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

5- laddish subculture

Answer 27

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

Question 28

6- the moral panic about boys
And critic

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

Evaluation of boys’ achievement

Question 30

What comes under gender and subject choice

Answer 30

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

Question 31

1- gender role socialisation
What does this mean and how does it affect subject choice

Answer 31

-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.

Question 32

2- gender domains

Answer 32

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

Question 33

3- gendered subject images

Answer 33

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

Question 34

4- Single sex schooling

Answer 34

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

Question 35

5- gender identity and peer pressure

Answer 35

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,

Question 36

6- gendered career opportunities

Answer 36

-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

Question 37

7- gender, vocational choice and class

Answer 37

Most w/c girls go into childcare or hair and beauty as it reflects their habits( ‘What are realistic expectations for people like us)

Question 38

What comes under pupils sexual and gender identity

Answer 38

1- double standards
2-verbal abuse
3- the male gaze
4-male peer groups
5- female peer groups
6-teachers and discipline

Question 39

1- double standards

Answer 39

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.

Question 40

2-verbal abuse

Answer 40

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

Question 41

3- the male gaze

Answer 41

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.

Question 42

4- male peer groups

Answer 42

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

-

Question 43

5- female peer groups

Answer 43

-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.

Question 44

6- teacher discipline

Answer 44

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.

Question 45

Example questions for gender and sexual identity

Q. Outline and explain two ways in which education reinforces gender identity or sexual identity (10 marks)

Question 46

Example Q. How does wider society influence gender differences in subject choice and education achievement (30 marks)

Answer 46

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