P1 Education - Male and Female Flashcards
What does Mac and Ghaill argue?
They agree with Peter Wood:
- They state that there is a complexity of subcultural responses
- These are found by looking at the relationship between school, work, masculinity and femininity
From this, he identified a range of school subcultures.
What are macho lads?
This group was hostile to school authority and learning, not unlike the lads in Willis study.
Willis had argued that work - especially physical work - was essentially to the development of a sense of identity.
By the mid 1980s, much of this kind of work was gone and instead a spell in youth training, followed very often by unemployment, became the norm for many working class boys.
What are academic achievers?
The group, who were from mostly skilled manual working backgrounds, adopted a more traditional upwardly mobile route via academic success.
However, they had to develop ways of coping with the stereotyping and accusations from the “macho lads”. They would do this either by confusing those who bullied them or having the confidence to cope with them.
What are the new enterprisers?
This group identified a new successful pro school subcultures, who embraces the new vocationalism of the 1980s and 1990s.
They rejected the traditional academic curriculum, which they saw as a waste of time, but accepted the new vocational ethos, with the help and support of the new breed of teachers and their industrial contracts.
What are real Englishmen?
These were a small group of middle class pupils, usually from a liberal profressional background
They rejected that teachers had to offer, seeing their own culture and knowledge as superior.
While their own values did not fit with doing well at school, they did, however aspire to university and a professional career and they resolved this dilemma by achieving academic success.
What are gay students?
Mac and Ghaill looked at the experience of group of neglected students - gay students
These students commented on the homophobic nature of schools, which took for granted the naturalness of heterosexual relationships and the two parent nuclear family. These students shared different values to the perceived homophobic schools and created a new subculture.
What does Paul Willis argue about male subcultures?
Paul Willis –> learning to labour:
- Working class lads who coped by “having a laff”
- These students went on to achieve employment but their coping strategies (messing about) helped them deal with the monotony of the work they were destined for but economy has changed and nature of working class jobs remaining is limited
Working Class Boys:
Some sociologists believe working class boys haven’t realised the change in the job market and they struggle to get jobs:
- They are forced to join training schemes
This means male anti school subcultures are actually detrimental to their future.
What does Mac and Ghaill argue about female subcultures?
They refer to the “remasculinization of the vocational curriculum”:
- Higher status subjects such as BS, ICT and technology are being dominated by males
- Girls are enrolled on more stereotypical lower level sources and complete WE in retail or community placements
What does Sue Lees argue?
She agrees with Hargreaves that both pro school and anti school subcultures exist but further subdivisions exist:
- Some pro school females find a natural value and employment in academic study
- On the other hand, they might ignore the attainment aspects of education and instead focus upon it as a positive place to socialise
Views of work by females:
Working class - work as potential marriage market
Upper class - career important for independence and achievement
What does Griffin argue>
White working class women in first 2 years of unemployment
- Rather than forming “anti authority” subcultures, they formed friendship groups and deviance defined by sexual behaviour
- There is inconsistency between school subcultures and workplace (unlike with boys)
What are Griffins conclusions?
There are 3 possible routes for females which can all be pursued at the same time:
- Labour market (securing a job)
- Marriage market (permanent partner)
- Sexual market (having sexual relationships whilst at the same time not damaging their reputation or marriage prospects)
What are ethnic subcultures?
Created for number of reasons:
- Language barrier
- Labelling
- Setting
- Parental influence
What are Asian Subcultures?
- Supportive families for teacher judgement and behaviour policies
- Ruth Lupton says that adult authority at home similar to schools (male headship)
- Respectful behaviour towards adult
