The Achievement Gap Flashcards

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1
Q

why should there be no achievement gap?

A
  • education is free
  • every school follows the same curriculum
  • everyone takes the same exams (national testing)
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2
Q

what are external factors?

A

factors within the home/wider society

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3
Q

what are the internal factors?

A

factors within the school

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4
Q

give four trends that show the gap in achievement in boys/girls?

A
  • GCSE (2021) pass rate, girls= 80.6%, boys= 73.6%
  • 57% of higher education students are females
  • girls out perform boys in every SATs exam but perform the same in maths with 80%
  • A-Levels 2021, most common grade, girls=A, boys=B
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5
Q

give some examples of external factors that have lead to the overachievement of girls?

A
  • bedroom culture, girls read, write diaries,improved creativity, stricter curfews, socialisation, sleepovers with friends where they talk and listen.
  • McRobbie’s magazines covers research, shift in what covers showed, from house-wives to careers.
  • girls aspirations have changed, influenced by having their mother as a role model who is now the breadwinner
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6
Q

what external policies have affected the achievement of girls?

A
  • Equal Pay Act
  • Divorce Reform Act
  • Sex Discrimination Act
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7
Q

what are some example of internal factors that affect the overachievement of girls?

A
  • girls have more role models, as there is more female teachers (in 2019 in primary schools, there was 75.8% female)
  • girls receive positive attention and labels due to being perceived as hard-working as they are socialised to be quiet and polite
  • way curriculum is taught favours girls
  • educational policies created helped girls, eg GIST/WISE, introduction of coursework, able to access same subjects as boys
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8
Q

what are the external factors that affect the underachievement of boys?

A
  • encouraged to be disruptive, loud and attention-seeking, which has been normalised, they have less social control, and parents are less strict
  • crisis of masculinity, lack confidence, low self esteem
  • encouraged to be outside and not to read, they are more exposed to adult context from an early age.
  • negative thoughts towards education
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9
Q

what are some example of internal factors that affect the underachievement of boys?

A
  • more negative attention from teachers , gain negative labels, less teacher support
  • boys are more likely to join anti-school subcultures due to hegemonic masculinity
  • decreased expectations from teachers, cooled down from universities/higher education
  • less male teachers so not as many role models
  • self-fulfilling prophecy is internalised from negative labels, more exclusions, reducing opportunities
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10
Q

what are four examples that show that one gender is more common in certain subjects?

A
  • 93% of computing students= male
  • 79% of physics students= male
  • 33% of public service students= female
  • 29% of drama students= male
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11
Q

what are gender routes?

A

the pathway into jobs and careers

  • subject choice
  • our choices at A-levels/apprenteships shape our career opportunities.
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12
Q

children’s care route was dominated by females, by how much?

A

99%

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13
Q

construction route was dominated by males, by how much?

A

98%

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14
Q

what are the four explanations of the gender differences in subject choice?

A
  • early socialisation
  • gendered subject image
  • peer pressure
  • career opportunities
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15
Q

what did ELWOOD say about early socialisation and what does this mean?

A
  • family/media gender domains
  • tasks/activities seen as ‘girls’/’boys’ territory
  • feel more comfortable sticking to this
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16
Q

what did KELLY say about gendered subject images?

A
  • boys pick science because…
  • teacher more likely to be male
  • examples teachers use more likely to engage/interest boys
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17
Q

what did COLLEY say about gendered subject images?

A
  • boys pick ICT because..
  • involves working with machines/more hands on
  • usually completed alone
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18
Q

what does peer pressure in subject choice lead to, what did DEWAR say about this?

A
  • leads to more negativity, harassment and peer pressure (subjects falling out of domain)
  • DEWAR= male students called females lesbians/butch if they do sports
  • boys less likely to do drama/dance, fear of being judged as gay.
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19
Q

explain the idea of career opportunities that are sex-typed to do with career choice?

A
  • girls= hsc, prepare them for feminine jobs

- unlikely boys pick nursing/childcare, due to stigma attached of men working with children/too feminine

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20
Q

what is the impact of single-sex schools?

A
  • no gender differences/scripts
  • girls/boys take any subject regardless of gender script
  • EVIDENCE= girls in single sex schools are 2.5X more likely to take physics than those in mixed schools
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21
Q

what are the problems of gender subjects according to COLLEY?

A

-subjects that girls pick, lead to low status and low-paid jobs, compared to subjects that boys pick

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22
Q

what are 4 social class and achievement patterns?

A
  • college, MC=a-levels, WC=vocational
  • disadvantaged-25% achieve 5/above at GCSE, with free school meal pupils less likely to pass
  • living in deprived areas= more likely to be excluded
  • more MC go to Uni, but has seen a rise in WC (18,900 in 2021 going to Uni)
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23
Q

what does educational achievement rise with?

A

family income

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24
Q

what percentage of children from high professional families achieve 5 or more GCSEs A*-C?

A

77%

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25
Q

what percentage of children from unemployed families achieve 5 or more GCSEs A*-C?

A

33%

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26
Q

what is the percentage gap between family achievement at GCSE?

A

44% in longitudinal UK 2007

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27
Q

what is material deprivation?

A

lack of material necessities/money needed for educational success.
-eg= uniform, books, equipment, food, technology

28
Q

what did DOUGLAS find about housing and educational success?

A
  • a strong link between inadequate housing and success
  • overcrowding- 10x likely to catch meningitis
  • dark, cold,damp= 25% higher risk of ill health
29
Q

what percentage of failing schools are in deprived areas?

A

90%

30
Q

1/4 of students live in temp accomadation, how many days of school do they miss?

A

55days

31
Q

what did HOWARD say about how diet/health can affect schooling?

A
  • lower intake of energy, vitamins/minerals, poor nutrition, weakens the immune systems
  • more likely to become ill and stay off school
32
Q

what did WILKINSON say about health and schooling?

A
  • higher rates of hyperactivity, behavioural problems and mental health issues
  • teachers will - label students, and they may not concentrate on work
33
Q

what id the hidden cost of free schooling?

A

£1614 for basic school expenses

34
Q

what can schools offer to help this hidden cost, and why can’t everyone have it?

A
  • uniform grant, up to £150 off uniform/child, helping overcome the divide
  • not every local council offers it
35
Q

what is one impact of social class and achievement?

A

leads to the snowball effect, underachievement

-introduction of compensatory education/policies tried to reduce these negative effects

36
Q

what are 7 examples of material deprivation?

A
  • lack of school uniform
  • lack of money for school trips
  • housing overcrowded
  • part time job/carer of family member
  • lack of nutrition
  • lack of travel
  • lack of resources
37
Q

what is cultural deprivation?

A

the lack of cultural knowledge, societal values, language development and parental influence, needed for educational success

38
Q

what are the 3 examples of cultural deprivation?

A
  • language codes (bernstein)
  • parental involvement (douglas)
  • attitudes and values (sugarman)
39
Q

explain language codes in terms of WC and MC

A
  • WC= restricted speech code, limited, informal, slang, ungrammatical, affects success
  • MC= elaborated speech code, formal, well-developed,wider vocab, sophisticated, used by teachers, textbooks, exams, so they are more likely to achieve, helps them get higher chances/jobs
40
Q

explain parental involvement?

A
  • WC=less, lack educational toys/books, lack help/time with homework, parents don;t encourage HE, want focus on external goals
  • MC= loads, educational knowledge to help with homework, value HE, more likely to attend meeting, and invest more time
41
Q

explain attitudes and values in terms of deprivation?

A
  • WC= fatalistic, immediate gratification, collectivism, present-time orientation
  • MC= deferred gratification, individualism, future-time orientation, meritocracy
42
Q

what is habitus?

A

the habits shared by one social class

43
Q

what does the habitus of the middle class lead to?

A

leads to cultural capital and success, putting them at an advantage in the UK education system.

44
Q

what did SULIVAN say about MC habitus?

A

the more MC habitus you have = the more cultural capital

45
Q

what are 3 things that the MC do to have a high habitus?

A
  • educational visits to museums for leisure
  • going on holidays abroad, to ‘broaden horizons.’
  • watching documentaries/news rather than reality TV/soaps
46
Q

what is education built on and what does this lead to?

A

built around MC habitus

  • biased towards MC , more superior
  • devalues WC habitus, culture is not valued/enough
  • WC perceived as inferior, negative labels and underachievement.
47
Q

what are the four points brought about by the habitus?

A
  • symbolic capital
  • symbolic violence
  • nike identities
  • higher education/long-term effect
48
Q

describe symbolic capital?

A
  • schools built on MC habitus
  • smooth transition for MC students
  • MC receive positive status/recognition, so are seen as worthy
  • WC experience culture class, where they are deemed as tasteless/worthless, keeps them inferior and in their place.
49
Q

describe symbolic violence?

A
  • creates invisible harm, where they deny positive status and recognition
  • occurs when holder of symbolic capital uses power against those who hold less
  • education triage, setting and streaming, vocational subjects, ‘cooling down’ all have effects from this violence
50
Q

describe nike identities?

A
  • WC look to gain status outside of school
  • judge eachother by branded sports clothing, while MC where gucci
  • clash with teachers, withdraw from trying to achieve status in academic success
  • heavily policed, non-conformity, seen as social suicide
  • those who could not afford nike were mocked
51
Q

describe higher education?

A
  • WC experience barriers to HE success

- less likely to go UNI, as their habitus is seen as less impressive compared to MC

52
Q

what are the 4 barriers that WC experience?

A
  • lack of familarity, enrolled on inappropriate courses
  • lack of funds, limited choice, length of time
  • fear of debt, deterred them
  • fear of cultural isolation, lowers morale/commitment
53
Q

who were the top performing pupils in GCSEs based on ethnicity?

A

chinese pupils

-girls are 20% over national average

54
Q

who were the lowest performing group in GCSEs based on ethnicity?

A

Black Caribbean

-boys are 20% below the national average

55
Q

what are the 3external factors that can affect ethnicty and achievement?

A
  • material deprivation
  • cultural deprivation
  • racism in wider society
56
Q

what are the 3 internal factors that can affect ethnicity and achievement?

A
  • ethnocentric curriculum
  • teacher labelling
  • institutional racism
57
Q

what are the 3 cultural factors that effect achievement based on ethnicity?

A
  • parental involvement
  • language barriers
  • high values
58
Q

explain ethnocentric curriculum?

A
  • curriculum gives priority to white culture, ignores other cultures
  • invisibility of other cultures/focus on issues, like slavery, can affect student’s self-esteem.
  • teach about white men in history, english and science
59
Q

what did BALL say about the ethnocentric curriculum?

A
  • the curriculum in british schools promotes Britishness.

- ‘little Englandism’

60
Q

what are 3 arguments against ethnocentric curriculum?

A
  • may ignore Asian culture, but Indian and Chinese pupils’ achievement is above nat. av
  • school celebrate more cultures, now more religions are taught
  • more ethnicities being taught, positive role models in history (eg- Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King)
61
Q

explain institutional racism?

A
  • discrimination built into processes and procedures in schools
  • 17% of black applicants accepted into HE, this was 30% less than white applicants
  • black students more likely to be in lower sets, black males = 40% below nat. av
  • government not doing anything about it.
62
Q

what did MORZA say about institutional racism?

A

‘coloured blind’, racism goes unchallenged

63
Q

what is the argument against institutional racism?

A

-increased multiculturalism, extra language support, prayer rooms are required

64
Q

explain teacher labelling with ethnicity?

A
  • judgements have become radicalised, with students receiving negative labels
  • black students challenge authority= negative labels
  • asian students= more passive
  • students internalise labels, teacher treat accordingly
65
Q

what is an example of black students and being excluded, and what is the impact of this?

A
  • black pre-schoolers= 3.6x more likely to be excluded

- impact= affects achievement, not in school so would be behind, fatalistic

66
Q

what is the argument against teacher labelling and ethnicity?

A
  • FULLER (1984)
  • self-refuting prophecy
  • black girl students were motivated by the labels.