Literacy Skills

Question 1

Differences in Literacy Skills

Answer 1

• Girls have better literacy skills than boys throughout education
• Moss and Wash brook found boys more likely to below standard required than girls at 5, 7, 11
• Connolly found literacy differences were consistent between social classes, highlighting gender as a key factor

Question 2

Why do boys and girls have differences literacy skills?

Answer 2

• Gender Socialisation - parents are more likely to read to girls than boys, When boys are read to it is usually by their mother, reading seen as feminised
• Girls leisure activities encourage use of language - talking to friends, reading, writing - bedroom culture

Question 3

How do differences in literacy skills impact on educational achievement

Answer 3

• girls perform better on standardised as they understand language
• Mitsos and Browne suggests this is partially because girls are more organised are more mature
• Gorard improvements in girls achievements since introduction of coursework linked to better literacy skills

Question 4

Application of policy to tackle boys literacy

Answer 4

• Reading champions scheme
• Playing for success
• national literacy strategy
• raising boys achievement project

Question 5

Evaluations

Answer 5

• subject choices - girls more likely to choose subjects such as English, MFL and sociology with higher literacy levels
• Gender socialisation changing over recent years - boys focus on subjects that are focused less on literacy
• Boys still achieve at a lower rate than their female counterparts, regardless of class and ethnicity