Why do Females do Better Than Males?

Question 1

The Women’s Movement and Feminism

Answer 1

Success in improving rights + raising expectations + self-esteem of women
Challenged traditional stereotype of women’s role as housewives and mothers- more aware of patriarchy + stereotyping + discrimination
More women aspire beyond housewife/mother

Question 2

Equal Opportunities

Answer 2

Sociologists highlighting under performance of girls- emphasis on equal opportunities.
Includes monitoring teaching + teacher materials for bias, encouraging ‘girl-friendliness’ in male-dominated subjects + across schooling
Teachers sensitive about gender stereotyping

Question 3

Equal Opportunities- Policies

Answer 3

Policies such as WISE and GIST (Girls Into Science and Technology) aimed to inspire girls + attract them to study + follow careers in STEM

Question 4

Growing Ambition, Role Models, and Employment

Answer 4

Decline in number of ‘men’s jobs’, especially in semi- and unskilled manual work, growing employment opportunities for women in service sector

Question 5

Growing Ambition, Role Models, and Employment- Sharpe

Answer 5

Sharpe- 1976, girls’ priorities were ‘love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs, and careers, more or less in that order’ 1994, priorities changed to ‘job, career, being able to support themselves’

Question 6

Growing Ambition, Role Models, and Employment- Francis

Answer 6

Research inc. observation of 12 classes of 14-16 year olds + interviews with students in 3 London secondary schools
Confirmed Sharpe’s findings- many aspired to be doctors and solicitors, not hairdressers or clerical workers

Question 7

Growing Ambition, Role Models, and Employment- McRobbie

Answer 7

Changes in job market, increased service sector, more women aspire to a degree for an interesting career

Question 8

Girls Work Harder and Have More Peer Group Support

Answer 8

Girls work harder + are more conscientious and better motivated than boys
Put more effort into work, spend more time on homework, care more about presentation + teachers’ opinions
Concentrate more in class over long period
Better organised- better in coursework

Question 9

Girls Work Harder and Have More Peer Group Support- Francis

Answer 9

Development of feminine identity involves cooperative, conciliatory attitudes to teachers, other pupils, authority
Femininity linked to supportive attitudes to schoolwork, reinforced by more pro-school peer group
Reinforces girls’ working habits, contrasts anti-school stance of boys

Question 10

Girls Mature Earlier

Answer 10

By 16, girls estimated to be more mature than boys by up to 2 years
View exams more responsibly + recognise their seriousness and the importance of academic + career choices