Identity, Class and Girls' Achievement

Question 1

Give statistics showing class differences in girls’ achievement

Answer 1

In 2013, 40% of girls eligible for free school meals achieved five A*-C GCSEs while 67% of those not on FSM did so

Question 2

How does symbolic capital affect girls’ achievement?

Answer 2

• Archer et al found conflict between WC girls’ feminine identities and the school’s MC habitus
• Through their WC feminine identity they gained symbolic capital from peers. But this brought conflict with school, preventing them from gaining educational and economic capital.

Question 3

What happens after the schools rejects girls’ WC feminine identity?

Answer 3

Archer identified strategies that girls adopted to create a valued sense of self (hyper-heterosexual feminine identity, boyfriends and being ‘loud’)

Question 4

What is a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity?

Answer 4

Girls invest time, effort and money to their appearance to make their ‘desirable’ identity which brings them status from female peer groups and prevents them being ridiculed

Question 5

How does hyper-heterosexual feminine identities affect achievement?

Answer 5

• It brings conflict with schools e.g. punished for wrong clothing and teachers seeing them as preoccupied with appearance and not engaging in education
• Leads to schools labelling them as incapable of educational success and less worthy of respect, creating symbolic violence (denying someone’s symbolic capital)
• Archer argues the school’s ideal female pupil is de-sexualised and middle class

Question 6

How do boyfriends affect achievement?

Answer 6

• Though they bring symbolic capital from peers, they get in the way of schoolwork and lowered girls’ aspirations. Included losing interest in university, studying ‘masculine subject’ or gaining a professional career.
• Instead they wanted children, to work locally and ‘settle down’

Question 7

How does being ‘loud’ affect achievement?

Answer 7

• This leads them to being outspoken and assertive which challenges teacher authority.
• Failure to conform to the ideal passive and submissive female pupil creates conflict with teachers, who see their behaviour as aggressive.

Question 8

What is the working class girls’ dilemma?

Answer 8

They either gain symbolic capital from peers or gain educational capital by conforming to the middle-class habitus

Question 9

How may girls cope with the working class dilemma and what does this reflect?

Answer 9

• Some cope by defining themselves as ‘good underneath’ despite teachers’ views on them. Reflecting girls’ struggle to achieve self-worth within the education system that devalues their WC identities
• Archer argues this conflict leads to girls’ investment in their identity which causes underachievement

Question 10

Give evidence for ‘successful’ working class girls

Answer 10

• Evans found girls wanted to go to university but only to help their family. Girls’ motivations reflected their WC identities (collectivism)
• Costs and fear of debt was a reason for living at home as they’re issues when deciding universities, but this also limited choices and market value of degree. However this was a positive choice for their WC habitus.