girls achievement Flashcards
what are 5 external factors that affects girls achievement?
women’s movement/feminism
girls changing ambitions
changes in family
changes in women’s employment
more positive role models
women’s movement/feminism
achieved success in improving rights of women. challenged traditional stereotype of women’s role as housewives and mothers. more people have become aware of the problems of patriarchy, gender role socialisation, sex discrimination etc.
women now look beyond being a housewife/mother
girls changing ambitions
sue sharpe:
in 1970s girls priorities were love marriage husbands children etc.
in 1990s had switched to careers and being able to be independent
changes in family
major changes since 1970:
- increase in divorce rate, cohab, lone parent/smaller families
changes are affecting girls attitudes to education: for ex increased number of female headed lone-parent families may mean more women need to take breadwinner role
changes in women’s employment
- 1970 equal pay act makes it illegal to pay women less than men for work of equal value
proportion of women has rose from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013
changes have encouraged girls to see their future in terms of paid work rather than as housewives
more positive role models
- now more female teachers & head teachers - provide positive, pro-educational role models for girls
- also female politicians/prime ministers - positive representation & something to aspire to
what are 5 internal factors that influence girls achievement?
equal opportunities
positive role models in school
gcse & coursework
teacher attention
challenging stereotypes
equal opportunities
belief boys and girls are entitled to same opportunities influences educational policies
for ex policies such as GIST (Girls into science) and WISE (Women in science and engineering) encourage girls to pursue career in these non traditional areas
intro of NC in 1988 removed one source of gender inequality by making girls and boys study most of the same subjects
positive role models in school
increase in proportion of female teachers and heads - women in senior positions act as role models for girls showing them that women can achieve positions of importance and giving them non traditional goals to aim for.
gcse and coursework
some sociologists argue changes in way pupils are assessed favours girls
- for ex, Gorard (2005) found that gender gap in achievement was constant from 1975 to 1989 when it increased sharply - the year GCSE was introduced bringing with it coursework as a major part of nearly all subjects
- Mitsos and Browne conclude that girls are more successful in coursework because they are more conscientious and better organised (better at meeting deadlines, take more care with presentation etc.)
teacher attention
Jane & Peter French found that boys received more attention as they attracted more reprimands
Swanh - boys dominate in whole class discussion where girls prefer pair/group work & are better at listening and cooperating, teachers therefore respond more positively to girls
challenging stereotypes
removal of gender stereotypes form textbooks , reading schemes etc. has removed a barrier to girls achievement
what does McRobbie propose?
Girls are more likely to be talking and developing linguistic skills
