Topic 4 - Gender Differences in Achievement Flashcards
External factors - Impact of feminism
Girls changing priorities from the 70s-90s, more career dominated & independent now.
External factors - Changes in Law
Changes in the law have improved the position of working women e.g. Equal Pay Act (1970)
External factors - Changing girls ambitions
Sharpe interviewed girls:
in 1970s: wanted marry and have children, and saw their future in terms of a domestic role.
in 1990s: girls priorities had changed to careers and wanting to be independent.
Internal Factors - Coursework
Mitos and Brown - girls do better than boys in coursework because they are more conscientious and better organised.
Internal factors - Equal opportunities policy
GIST and WISE programmes to encourage girls into science and technology.
National curriculum allows choice, & girls and boys study same subjects
Internal factors - Role models
More female teachers (only 1/6 primary school = male)
Feminization of education.
School part of the ‘female gender domain’
Internal factors - Teacher attention
Swann - teachers respond more positively to girls & give more encouragement
Internal factors - Selection & league tables
Girls are generally more successful than boys, so are more attractive to schools.
External factors - Boy’s achievement [2]
- Boys leisure interests do not encourage language and communication skills, whereas girls ‘bedroom culture’ does.
- A decline in manual labour, less motivation to get qualifications - has led to a ‘male identity crisis’
‘Bedroom culture’
Girls bedroom culture encourages language and communication skills + homework.
Internal factors - Feminisation of education
- Boys fall behind because education has been ‘feminised’, meaning schools no longer nurture masculine traits.
- The introduction of coursework has disadvantages boys.
Internal factors - Laddish subcultures
- There is peer-pressure on boys to demonstrate their masculinity by being ‘anti-school’.
Evaluation of gender differences [4]
- Ward: Boy’s can reject ‘macho’ culture and adopt ‘geek’ identities
- Identity formation changes over time - e.g. gender identity is not fixed and completely shaped by school
- Individuals also shaped by ethnicity, class, age
- Other agents e.g. family, media, religion may also shape gender identity.