GENDER & EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT:INTERNAL FACTORS Flashcards
Internal factors
1) EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICIES
2) POSITIVE ROLE MODELS IN SCHOOLS
3) GCSE AND COURSEWORK
4) TEACHER ATTENTION/ CLASSROOM INTERACTION
5) STEREOTYPES IN THE CURRICULUM
6) SELECTION AND LEAGUE TABLES
Equal opportunities policy
The belief that boys and girls are equally capable and entitled is now commonplace.
Policies such as ‘GIST’ (Girls into science and technology) and ‘WISE’ (women into science and engineering) encourage girls to pursue careers in these areas.
Couple this with more female scientists going into schools as role models, better careers advice and learning materials in science to reflect girls’ interests… we can see that things have changed for the better!
National curriculum 1988
Removed 1 source of gender inequality by making girls and boys study mostly the same subjects.
Kelly (1987) said making science part of the core curriculum helped to equalise opportunities!
GCSE and coursework
The changes to the way pupils are assessed has often favoured girls and disadvantaged boys.
Gorard (2005) found that when the GCSE was introduced in 1988-1989, the gender gap increased sharply.
This was due to the introduction of coursework!
MITSOS & BROWNE (1998)
They support this view, stating:
Girls spend more time on their work
Take more care with presentation
Better at meeting deadlines
Bring the right equipment
EVALUATE!
Janette Elwood (2005): Although coursework has some influence, it is unlikely to be the only cause of the gender gap.
Teachers attention
Dale Spender (1983): Teachers spend more time interacting with boys than girls.
HOWEVER:
Francis (2001): Whilst boys get more attention, they are disciplined more harshly & felt picked on.
Swann (1998): Differences in communication between girls and boys. Boys are more loud and interruptive!
Stereotypes in curriculum
WEINER (1995)
Teachers are challenging gender stereotypes more than ever: EG sexist images have been removed from textbooks & there is more female imagery in resources.
Selection & league tables
Marketisation has meant that schools target high achieving girls.
Roger Slee (1988) argues that boys are less attractive to schools because they misbehave and are ‘liabilities’.
Liberal feminists
see these ‘improvements’ as a positive step in breaking down gender inequality within the education system arguing that it shows that Meritocracy is a reality. HOWEVER…..
Radical feminists
are more critical. They still see the education system as Patriarchal & suggest the following: Sexual harassment of girls still continues and Male teachers are still more likely to be heads of secondary schools.
