Topic 4- Gender differences ineducation

Question 1

Gender pattern in achievement- in the past boys out performed girls, since the 1980s, girls have improved rapidly

Answer 1

At GCSE, irls are ahead 10 points

Question 2

reason for improvements in girls achievement

external factors

Answer 2

Influence of feminism
girls changing perceptions and ambitions
changes in the family
changes in women’s employment

Question 3

reasons for changes In girls achievement
( influence of feminism)
Angela McRobbie - study of GIRLS’ MAGAZINE

magazines in the 1970’s emphasised the importance of getting married and not being left on the shelf , whereas, nowadays, they contain independent women

Answer 3

Feminists have changed patriarchy in all areas of social life and rejected the traditional roles of women in the home, work, education and law
- feminists have had an impact on women’s rights through campaigns to win the changes in the law
FEMINISTS HAVE AFFECTED GIRLS SELF IMAGE AND ASPIRATIONS, THEY ARE MORE MOTIVATED TO DO WELL IN EDUCATION

Question 4

reasons for the changes in girls achievement

External factor, changes in the family

Answer 4

since the 1970s , the changes in the family are :

• an increase in divorce rate
• an increase in cohabitation and a decrease in the number of first marriages
• an increase in the number of lone parent families

THIS ALLOWS WOMEN TO ACHIEVE FINANCIAL INDEPENDANCE AND MORE MOTIVATION TO DO WELL

Question 5

reasons for the changes in girls achievement

external factor, changes in women’s employment

Answer 5

women now have more employment opportunities
The 1970 equal pay act - makes it illegal to pay women less than men
since 1975, the pay gap between men and women have halved from 30% to 15%
as a result , girls have more incentive to see their future in terms of paid work , this also allows them to gain qualifications rather than being housewives

Question 6

reason for improvements in girls achievement

internal factors

Answer 6

equal opportunity policies
positive role models in school
GCSE and coursework
Teacher attention
Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
selection league tables
and the radical and feminist view on education

Question 7

reasons for the changes in girls achievement
(internal factor, equal opportunity policies)

national curriculum - 1988- removed one source of gender inequality by making girls and boys study the same subjects

Answer 7

feminists believe that girls and boys are equally capable and should have the same amount of opportunities is accustomed to mainstream thinking.

This can be shown through : GIST ( Girls Into Science and Technology)and Wise ( Women Into Science and Engineering)

Question 8

reasons for the changes in girls achievement

Internal factor, Positive role models in School

Answer 8

there are now more female teachers in schools , they provide a pro educational role model for girls
The prescience of female teachers @ feminises learning’, as a result, girls perceive educational success as a desirable female characteristic

Question 9

reasons for the changes in girls achievement
(Internal factor, GCSE and Coursework)
Mitsios and Browne- Girls are more successful in their coursework because they are more organised than boys
This is shown through:

Answer 9

Girls :
spend more time on their work, take time with presentation
Meet deadlines
Bring equipment and material into lessons

Sociologists argue that these are a result of gender socialisation in the family, girls are taught to be tidy and independent
AO2: Elwood states that exams have more of an influence on final grades , the introduction to coursework has limited effect to gender differences

Question 10

reasons for the changes in girls achievement
(Internal factor, Teacher attention)
The way that teachers interact with boys differ- boys receive more attention than girls F

Francis- boys received more attention but were disciplined more harshly , teachers picked on them and had lower expectations of them

Answer 10

Swann- Boys dominate in whole class discussions, girls prefer paired work and group work
Girls take turns when speaking, which contrasts to boys. This explains why teachers respond positively to girls and negatively to boys,
which may lead to the self fulfilling prophecy

Question 11

reasons for the changes in girls achievement

Internal factor, challenging stereotypes in the curriculum

Answer 11

there has been removal of stereotypes in textbooks , removing the barrier to girls’ achievement
research shows that in the 1970s- 80s, women were shown as housewives and mothers

Question 12

reasons for the changes in girls achievement
(Internal factor, selection and league tables )

Liberal feminists welcome the progress made by equal opportunities

Answer 12

marketization has lead schools boosting their results in the exam league table position lead to schools recruiting more able students
Girls are more attractive to schools as they are more successful
Boys are low achieving and badly behaved
AO3:Radical feminists argue that the system remains patriarchal , education limits subject choices

Question 13

reasons for the changes in girls achievement 
(Internal factor, successful working class girls )

Answer 13

Evans felt that wc girls may still be disadvantaged. Girls wanted to go to uni and increase their earning power

Question 14

Identity, Class and Girls’ achievement
- hyper sexualised feminine identities
-boyfriends
being loud

Answer 14

Hyper sexualised feminine identities- girls earn symbolic capital from their female peers but cause conflict with the schools ( in their appearance)
For example , girls spent £40 a week on appearance , this brought status into their peer group
teachers saw their appearance as a distraction

Question 15

Identity, Class and Girls’ achievement

- Boyfriends

Answer 15

gave girls symbolic capital but got in the way of schoolwork and lowered girls aspirations , these girls settled down and worked locally in working class feminine jobs such as childcare

Question 16

Identity, Class and Girls’ achievement

-Being loud

Answer 16

wc girls achieved ‘ loud’ feminine identities that lead to them being outspoken , independent and assertive.
this lead to them questioning teachers authority
Teachers saw this as aggressive

Question 17

successful working class girls

Answer 17

• some achieve and go on to higher education
  evans found that girls wanted to go to university to increase their earning power , their motivation reflected their gendered identities

Question 18

boys’ underachievement

Answer 18

-boys and literacy
- globalisation and the decline of traditional men’s jobs
feminisation of education
shortage of male primary school teachers
;lack of male role models in the home
-laddish subcultures
Policies to raise boys’ achievement

Question 19

boys’ underachievement
literacy
The national literacy strategy focuses on improving boys’ literacy

Answer 19

boys are usually seen as unsuccessful because of their lack of literacy skill
According to the DCF, the gender gap is the result of boys poorer literacy and language skills
parents spend less time reading to their sons , reading is seen as a feminine activity
Boys’ leisure activities don’t encourage language skills, whereas, girls bedroom culture does.

Question 20

Boys underachievement

Globalisation and the decline of traditional mens roles

Answer 20

globalisation has lead to the industry relocating ato developing countries
Mitsos and Browne - argue that the decline in male employment has lead to an identity crisis for men
this decline is mainly in wc

Question 21

Boys underachievement

Feminisation education

Answer 21

Sewell- boys fall behind because education has become feminised
schools show this through celebrating feminine qualities such as methodical working and attentiveness instead of competitiveness and leadership
there is a lack of male primary school teachers , 1 in 6 primary school teachers are men

Question 22

boys underachievement
shortage of male primary school teachers
there are large numbers of boys being brought up in 1.5 million female-headed lone parent families in the uk

Answer 22

this is because education has become more feminised, female teachers are unable to control the boys’ behaviour
in this view, male teachers are able to impose the strict discipline that boys need

Question 23

boys underachievement
laddish subcultures

epstien

Answer 23

there is peer pressure on boys to show themselves as anti school 
Epstien-pro school working  class boys are more likely to be harassed , labelled as gay and subjected to verbal abuse 
AO2  - laddish subcultures are largely working class

as girls move into paid work, boys become more ‘laddish’ by trying to show themselves as non feminine , this leads to underachievement

Question 24

Gender and subject choice
in the national curriculum, subjects are compulsory, but where choice is possible, boys choose differently to girls, with them picking design and technology in comparison to girls who may pick English literature and art

Answer 24

gender subject choices are more noticeable in a level,with boys picking maths and physics and girls picking subjects such as sociology
this allows us to question the usefulness of wise and gist

Question 25

what factors explain the reason for gender differences in subject choice

Answer 25

• early socialisation
• gendered subject images
• gender identity
• gendered career opportunities

Question 26

gender differences in subject choice
( early socialisation)

Bryne- teachers encourage boys to be tough and show initiative.Girls are taught to be clean and tidy

Answer 26

this relates to the behaviour expected in males and females
in the family, boys and girls are dressed differently, parents choose different toys for them

boys read hobby books and and information texts while girls read stories about people

Question 27

gender differences in subject choice

gender domains

Answer 27

are tasks that are marked as male or female territory , these aree shaped by childrens experiences and the expectations of adults
Murphy - boys and girls pay attention to different things.Boys pay attention to how things are made and work while girls pay attention to how people feel

Question 28

gender differences in subject choice

gendered subject images

Answer 28

eg : science is mainly taught by men and textbooks traditionally use boys’ interests, as a resuly, science is seen as a more masculine subject
- in science lessons, boys use the equipment as ‘theirs’

Question 29

gender differences in subject choice
( gender identity and peer pressure)

Study of an American college found that boys would call girls as lesbian or butch if they appeared to be interested in a sport

Answer 29

boys tend to turn away from music and dance because such activities fall out of the gender domain , and so they are likely to get a negative response from their peers.

Question 30

gender differences In subject choice

Gendered Careers

Answer 30

many jobs aere seen a ‘ men or womans’eg nursing and plumbing
vocational courced may also be ‘gender heavy’
Fuller shows us that working class girled wanted to go into hair and beauty . this reflected their working class habitus , their expectation for people like us.

Question 31

what are the main aspects of Gender identity and schooling

Answer 31

double standards 
verbal abuse 
the male gaze 
male peer groups 
female peer groups : policing in  identity

Question 32

gender identity
(double standards)

Answer 32

when you apply one set of standards eto a group but not the other
for example, boys call girls slags if she has had multiple boyfriends whilst boys are allowed to boast about their sexual exploits
Feminists see double standards as a patriarchal ideology that justifies the male power and devalues women

Question 33

gender identity

verbal abuse

Answer 33

boys use name calling to put girls down if they act or dress in a certain way , this reinforces gender inequality by females subordinate to males

Question 34

gender identities

the male gaze

Answer 34

a form of social control where male students and teachers look girls up and down as sexual objects , boys who don’t participate are labelled as gay

Question 35

gendered identities

male peer groups

Answer 35

they use verbal abuse to show what they thin k is masculinity , boys in anti school subcultures often curse boys who want to do well in school as gay

Question 36

gendered identities

female peer groups :policing identity

Answer 36

archers identity shows that working class females gain symbolic capital by performing a hyper sexual

Ringrose found that working class girls risked being called a tramp if they failed to conform

Question 37

boys and underachievement

globalisation and the decline in traditional mens jobs

Answer 37

the reduction of jobs that include iron, steel, mining and engineering have lead to companies relocating

Question 38

mitsos and Browne

Globalisation and the decline in traditional mens jobs

Answer 38

the decline in jobs has lead to an identity crisis for men.
boys believe that they have little chances of getting a proper job.this undermines their motivation and self esteem to get a proper job

Question 39

explanations of gender differences in subject choice gender identity and peer pressure

Answer 39

boys and girls may pressure a peer if they disagree with their choice
Paechter - girls that do sports contradict the female stereotype , this explains why girls are likely to not part take in sports