Girls educational achievement-internal and external factors Flashcards
what are the trends for girls educational achievement
- girls are doing better than boys in school in all key stages
- theres more female uni students than males and they’re getting higher degrees
- boys achievement is raising, just not as quick as girls
external factors of girls educational achievement
- impact of feminism
- changes in family
- girls changing ambitions
- Increase in women’s employment opportunities
internal factors of girls educational achievement
- equal opportunities policies
- positive role models at school
- Introduction of compulsory subjects at GCSE
- teacher attention and classroom interaction
- challenging stereotypes in curriculum
- selection and league tables
impact of feminism- external
-feminist movement improved women’s position in society through changes in law which have established legal equality between men and women–> this encourages girls to get qualifications as they see their futures in terms of work and careers
-MCROBBIE-studied girls magazines from 1970s-90s,
in 70s magazines emphasised importance of marriage
in 90s magazined had images of strong independent women
changes in family- external
- increase of divorce and lone parents created a new positive role model for girls: a financially independent woman
- -> this encourages girls,s to remain in school and get high qualifications as that’s needed for well paid jobs
girls changing ambitions- external
-their ambition changed from wife and motherhood to careers due to the feminist movement, changes in family and employment market
-SHARPE- interviews school girls in 70s and 90s
1970- girls prioritised marriage, love, kids and saw educational success as unfeminine
1990s- girls prioritised careers and education
-BECK AND BECK-HERSHEIM–> change in girls ambitions brought about by an increasing individualisation where independence’s more valued than in the past
and that careers have become part of a woman’s life project as it provides them with economic self-sufficiency
increase in women’s employment opportunities- external
- new employment laws for equality between genders at work- equal pay act, sex discrimination act
- Increase in the number of working women due to the growth of the service sector which tends to employ more women- this is an incentive for girls to get qualifications as their job opportunities have increased.
equal opportunities policies- internal
-initiative likes GIST and WISE encourage girls to do STEM subjects which then motivates girls to do well at school as STEM careers require qualifications
- National Curriculum made English, maths and science core subjects, this:
- -> made boys and girls do same subjects- established gender equality
- -> made girls have wider career options
- –> BOALER- the equal opportunity policies are the main reason for girls achievement in education as it removes the barriers girls would face in school
before the national curriculum was introduced, girls would choose arts and English and boys would choose stem subjects
GIST
Girls in science and technology
WISE
women in science and engineering
positive role models at school- internal
- recently there’s been an increase in female teachers and head teachers.
- These women in positions of authority act as positive female role models to girls.
- Girls can see that women can succeed, but that success requires lengthy and successful education which motivates them to gain qualifications.
GCSE and coursework - internal
GCSEs introduced in 1988 and coursework became a major part of testing in all subjects.
Since then, girls’ outperformance over boys has sharply risen.
Mitsos and Browne- argue this is because girls are better organised and tend to spend more time and greater care over their work.
–>This is because of gender socialisation which encourages girls to be neat, tidy and patient.
teacher attention and classroom interaction -internal
- French -in class boys receive more reprimands than girls.
- -> Francis agrees and says boys are disciplined more harshly and feel picked on by teachers, who have lower expectations of boys.
-Swann- there’s a difference in communication styles, girls take turns and listen, while boys interrupt and dominate class interactions.
These factors explain why teachers respond positively to girls than to boys giving them more praise.
This may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy thus increasing the girls’ self-esteem.
challenging stereotypes in the curriculum -internal
Research in the 1970s and 1980s found that textbooks portrayed men and women in traditional, stereotypical roles.
Since then these sexist images have been removed from textbooks
–>Weiner argues teachers now challenge prejudice.
———>This presents girls with positive images of women.
selection and league tables -internal
- Marketisation of education increased competition between schools for league table positions.
- JACKSON- argues girls are seen as more desirable candidates as their exams results are better so they tend to be offered places at high performing schools.
- ->leads to self-fulfilling prophecy of success.
-ROGER SLEE- boys are seen as disruptive, and a liability for the school’s league table position, so are rejected by school at the top of the league table.
As a result, they go to schools at the bottom of the league table which receive lower funding, have poor resources and so their students underachieve.
