gender - subject choice Flashcards
what does the national curriculum do for subject choice?
gives pupils little freedom to choose or drop subjects by making most subject compulsory until 16 - however where choice is possible boys and girls tend to follow different gender routes through education system (shown in AS and A levels, and vocational courses)
Boys tend to opt for STEM subjects like maths and science, and girls opt for humanities and languages.
what are the explanations for gender differences in subject choice?
- gender role socialisation
- gendered subject images
- gender identity and peer pressure
- gendered career opportunities
how has gender role socialisation impacted gender differences in subject choice?
early socialisation shapes children’s gender identity - as Fiona Norman notes, girls and boys are dressed differently and encouraged to take part in different activities.
school - Eileen Byrne shows teachers encourage boys to be tough and girls are expected to be quiet, helpful, tidy.
gender domains - children are more confident when engaging in tasks that they see as part of their own gender domain e.g - girls more confident tackling tasks to do with food and nutrition, boys in mathematical tasks.
how has gendered subject images impacted gender differences in subject choice?
the gender image of a subject affects who will want to choose it - e.g science teachers more likely to be men, which is one reason why its seen as a male subject (Kelly argues).
single sex schooling - pupils attending these schools tend to hold less stereotyped subject images and make less traditional subject choices.
Diana Leonard - found that girls in girls’ schools were more likely to take maths and science, and boys likely to take english and languages in boys schools.
how has gender identity and peer pressure impacted gender differences in subject choice?
subject choice can be influenced by peer pressure e.g boys tend to opt out of music/drama as it falls outside the gender domain and is likely to attract negative response from peers.
Paechter found that pupils see sport as mainly with male gender domain - girls who are ‘sporty’ have to cope with image that contradicts conventional female stereotype.
the absence of peer pressure from the opposite sex explains why girls in girls’ schools are more likely to choose traditional boys subjects - less pressure to conform to restrictive stereotypes.
how has gendered career opportunities impacted gender differences in subject choice?
employment is highly gendered - women’s jobs involve work similar to that of housewives, such as nursing, childcare. this sex-typing of occupations affects boys’ and girls’ ideas about what kind of jobs are possible or acceptable.
