IDENTITY, CLASS AND GIRL'S ACHIEVEMENT

Question 1

1. Symbolic Capital

Answer 1

a. Archer et al (2010) stated that one reason for underachievement in girls is the conflict between working girls’ feminine identities and the ethos of the school

Question 2

2. Hyper-heterosexual feminine identities

Answer 2

a. These identities brought status from their female peers and avoided being ridiculed
b. Girls often punished for wearing the wrong uniform, jewellery and makeup. This led to symbolic violence as the school labels them as worthless

Question 3

3. Having a boyfriend

Answer 3

a. Having a boyfriend gave girls a significant amount of symbolic capital, however they got in the way of school work and lowered girls’ expectations

Question 4

4. Working class girls dilemma

Answer 4

a. Conflict between either gaining symbolic capital or educational capital
b. Decided to be ‘good underneath’

Question 5

5. Being loud

Answer 5

a. Being loud failed to conform to the school’s ideal stereotype of the ideal female as being passive and submissive
b. Often led to them being outspoken, independent and assertive
c. Teachers interpreted this behaviour as aggressive, not assertive

Question 6

6. Successful Working-class Girls

Answer 6

a. Evans (2009); study of 21 sixth form female students found that girls wanted to go to university, but only to help aid their families in the future financially
b. However, the girls live at home during university due to fear of costs and debt, which narrows the market value of their degree and their choice of university
c. However, this preference for staying local is a key feature of the working class habitus
d. Skeggs (1997); caring is a crucial part in their feminine working-class identities