Internal factors and gender differences in achievement Flashcards
What trend is observed in A-level results between girls and boys?
At AS and A-level, girls are more likely to sit, pass, and achieve higher grades than boys, though the gap is narrower than at GCSE.
What percentage of girls gained A or B grades at A-level in 2013?
In 2013, 46.8% of girls gained A or B grades at A-level, compared to 42.2% of boys.
How do girls perform in vocational courses compared to boys?
A larger proportion of girls achieve distinctions in every subject, including those like engineering and construction.
What did Stephen Gorard find regarding the gender gap in achievement?
Gorard found that the gender gap in achievement increased sharply after the introduction of GCSEs and coursework.
GCSE coursework
What factors contribute to girls’ success in coursework according to Mitsos and Ken Browne?
Girls are more conscientious, spend more time on work, take care in presentation, meet deadlines, and bring the right materials.
GSCE and coursework
How does the introduction of oral exams affect girls’ performance?
Oral exams benefit girls due to their generally better developed language skills.
For example, girsl tend to have a bedroom culture so they are more likely to spend their leisure time reading magazines with friends, browsing the internet etc whereas most of the activities carried out by boys such as football lack skills that benefit language skills
What does Jannette Elwood argue about coursework’s influence on the gender gap?
Elwood argues that while coursework influences the gap, exams have a much greater impact on final grades.
Teacher attention
How do teachers’ interactions with boys and girls differ?
French and French analysed classroom interaction, they found that boys received more attention because they attracted more reprimands. Becky Francis also found that while boys got more attention, they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers, who tended to have lower expectations of them.
Teacher attention
What communication style differences exist between boys and girls?
Boys dominate whole-class discussions, while girls prefer pair-work, group-work, and are better at listening. When working in groups, girls’ speech involves turn taking, and not the hostile interruptions that often characteristics boys’ speech.
This may explain why teachers respond more positively to girls, whom they see as cooperative, than to boys, whom they see as potentially disruptive. This may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy in which successful interactions with teachers promote girls’ self-esteem and raise their achievement levels.
Selection and league tables
What impact do marketisation policies have on girls’ education?
Marketisation policies create a competitive climate where girls are seen as desirable recruits due to better exam results.
David Jackson notes that the introduction of exam league tables has improved opportunities for girls : high-achieving girls are attractive to schools, whereas low-achieving boys are not.
What is the self-fulfilling prophecy related to girls’ recruitment by schools?
High-achieving girls are more likely to be recruited by good schools, leading to better performance.
What do liberal feminists believe about girls’ achievement?
Liberal feminists celebrate progress and believe further improvement will come from equal opportunities policies.
What is the radical feminist perspective on girls’ achievement?
Radical feminists acknowledge girls’ achievements but emphasize that the educational system remains patriarchal.
What issues do girls face regarding sexual harassment in schools?
Sexual harassment of girls continues at school, limiting their subject choices and career options.
Girls idenities and dilemma
What is the concept of hyper-heterosexual feminine identities?
Girls invest time and money in constructing glamorous identities, which can conflict with school expectations.
How do working-class girls navigate their identities in school?
They face a dilemma between gaining symbolic capital from peers and educational capital by conforming to middle-class ideals.
Girls identities and dilemma
What does Bourdieu describe as symbolic violence?
Symbolic violence is the harm done by denying someone symbolic capital, such as defining their culture as worthless.
W/C girls identity and dilemma
What is the ‘good underneath’ self-image among working-class girls?
This self-image reflects their struggle for self-worth within an education system that devalues their identities.
