4. Gender And Educational Avhievement

Question 1

External factors and gender differences in achievement

Answer 1

Factors outside the education system, such as home and family background and wider society

Question 2

1. The impact of feminism

Answer 2

• Feminists argue that we have not yet achieved equality between sexes however the feminist movement has led to it becoming more equal. Therefore, feminism has raised women’s expectations and self esteem
• These changes are reflected in media images and messages. In Angela McRobbies study of girls’ magazines. In 1970’s they emphasised the importance of getting married however now they encourage and contain images of independent women
• The changes encouraged by feminism may affect girls self image and ambitions making them more dedicated at school which improves their educational achievement

Question 3

2. Changes in the family

Answer 3

• There have been major changes in the family since the 1970’s: increase in divorce rate, increase in cohabitation and a decrease in the number of first marriages, smaller families
• An increase in lone parent families increases the amount of women taking the leading breadwinner role, this acts as a role model for girls. To achieve a high paying role in the future they need qualifications which encourages girls to do well at school.
• Increase in divorce also shows girls it is unwise to rely on a husband

Question 4

3. Changes in women’s employment

Answer 4

There have been important changes in women’s employment in recent times:

• Equal pay act
• Since 1975, the pay gap between men and women halved from 30% to 15%
• The proportion of women in employment has risen from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013
• Women now break through the glass ceiling barrier that keeps women away from managerial jobs

Shows girls greater career opportunities and also shows they do not have to be a housewife.

Question 5

4. Girls changing ambitions

Answer 5

• The view that changes in family and employment are changing girls ambitions.
• Sue Sharpes (1994) interviews with girls in the 1970s and 90s show a major shift in the way girls see their future
• 1970’s girls had low aspirations, they believed educational success was unfeminine and unattractive. They prioritised family
• By the 1990’s their ambitions had changed, their priorities changed from families to careers and being able to have and independent life.

Question 6

Class, gender and ambition

Answer 6

• There are class differences in how far girls’ ambitions have changed
• Some working class girls continue to have gender stereotyped aspirations for marriage and children and expect to go into traditional low paid ‘womens’ work
• Biggart (2002) found that working class girls are more likely to face precarious position in the labour market and see motherhood as the only viable option for their futures. This leads to them having low aspirations and not achieving in education as they don’t have motivation

Question 7

Internal factors and gender differences in education

Answer 7

These are factors within the school

Question 8

1. Equal opportunities policy

Answer 8

• Policy members are now much more aware of gender issues and teachers are more sensitive to the need to avoid stereotyping.
• The belief that boys and girls are now equal and this effects the opportunities girls now get in education
• GIST (girls into science and technology) and WISE (women in science and engineering). These encourage girls to pursue careers in these non-traditional areas.
• Female scientists are invited into schools to act as role models for students
• Introduction of National curriculum 1988 removed one source of gender inequality by making girls and boys study mostly the same subjects
• Educational achievement is now based on hard work and effort rather than unequal opportunities

Question 9

2. Positive role models in schools

Answer 9

• There has been an increase in the proportion of female teachers and heads
• These women senior positions may act as role models for girls, showing them women can achieve positions of importance
• They are a role model for educational achievement as the process to become a teacher requires high educational success

Question 10

3. GCSE and Coursework

Answer 10

• Some sociologists argue that the way pupils are assessed have favoured girls and disadvantaged boys
• Introduction of coursework and GCSE’S has favoured girls, this have been proven through girls succeeding more in education since 1989 when these were introduced
• Mitosis and Browne support this view, argue girls are more successful in coursework because they are better organised than boys: they spend more time on their work, take more care with the way it is presented, better at meeting deadlines, bring right equipment and material to lesson.
• Sociologists argue that girls are better at this through socialisation, encouraged to be neat, tidy and patient.

Question 11

Identity class and girls’ achievement

Answer 11

Whilst girls nowadays on average now achieve more highly than in the past, this is not reflective of all girls. This could be down to social class differences for example, in 2013, only 40.6% of girls from poorer families achieved 5 A*-C GCSEs, whereas 67.5% of those not on free school meals did this.

Question 12

Symbolic capital

Answer 12

• Archer (2010) saw one reason for the difference in achievement is due to the conflict between working class girls’ feminine identities and ethos of the school
• In her study she used the concept of ‘symbolic capital’. This refers to the status, recognition and sense of worth that we are able to obtain from others
• Archer found that by performing their working class feminine identities, the girls gained symbolic capital for their peers. However, this brought them into conflict with school as it prevented them from acquiring qualifications and careers.
• Identified strategies girls used to create a valued sense of self: hyper-heterosexual feminine identity, having a boyfriend and being loud

Question 13

Hyper heterosexual feminine identities

Answer 13

• Many girls invested considerable time, effort and money into constructing a ‘desirable’ and ‘glamorous’ hyper-heterosexual, feminine identities. For example, one girl spent 40£ a week she earns on her appearance
• This brought girls status from their peer group which avoided them being ridiculed
• However, this brought them into conflict with school. For example, they were often punished for having wrong appearance and teachers also saw it as a distraction from school work.
• This led schools to ‘disown’ the girls and label them as not one of us- leads girls to reject school

Question 14

Boyfriends

Answer 14

• Whilst having a boyfriend brought symbolic capital, it got in the way of school work as it was a distraction and lowered girls’ aspirations
• For example, girls aspired to ‘settle down’ and have children. One girl in Archers study had to drop out after falling pregnant

Question 15

Being ‘loud’

Answer 15

• Some working class girls adopted loud feminine identities that often led them to be outspoken, assertive and independent. For example, they questioned teachers’ authority
• They failed to conform to the schools stereotype of the ideal female pupil which led to punishment and exclusion leading them to miss out on education

Question 16

Working class girls’ dilemma

Answer 16

Working class girls are therefore faced with a dilemma:

• either gain symbolic capital from peers through hyper heterosexual female identities
• or gaining educational capital by rejecting working class identity and conforming to the schools middle class expectations

Question 17

Boys and achievement

Answer 17

The gender gap is widening in girls’s favour, however this is bad for boys

Question 18

Boys and literacy

Answer 18

• According to the DCF the gender gap is mainly a result of boys’ poor literacy skills. One reason for this may be that parents spend less time reading to their sons.
• Another may be that it is mother’s who do most of the reading which makes it look like a feminine activity, boys reject this
• Boys leisure is football is physical activity such as football which does not improve their language and communication skills, girls tend to stay inside and talk with friends
• Poor literacy skills is likely to affect a range of subjects

Question 19

Shortage of male primary school teachers

Answer 19

• A lack of male role models at home and in education is said to be a major reason in boys underachievement
• 1.5 million boys are being brought up in lone female headed families
• Only 14% of primary school teachers are male and 39% of boys aged 8-11 have no lessons with male teachers. Most boys even said a male teacher made them behave better and harder
• Sociologists argue that the culture of primary school has become dominated by females who are unable to control boys’ behaviour. This suggests primary schools need more male teachers.

Question 20

Reasons for Gender differences in subject choice

Answer 20

Two main reasons: gender subject images and gender identity and peer pressure

Question 21

Gender subject images

Answer 21

• The gender image of a subject affects who would he likely to choose it. Sociologists researchers why some subjects are seen as girls and boy subjects.
• Kelly argues science is seen as a boys subject because: science teachers are mostly men, examples teachers use often drawn on boys and in lessons boys dominate the laboratory’s
• Anne Colley sees computer science as a masculine subject because: it involves working with machines (part of male gender domain) and the way it is taught is off putting for females.
• This could put off girls taking science and computer science further limiting their aspirations

Question 22

Gender identity and peer pressure

Answer 22

• Subject choice can be influenced by peer pressure. Other students may apply pressure if they disapprove of their choice. Boys tend to opt out of dance and music because it falls out their gender domain.
• Females who are interested in sport could be ridiculed because it goes against their gender domain whereas this is the opposite for males
• Study in American college saw boys calling girls ‘lesbian or butch’ of they took part in sport which would put them off.
• Less peer pressure from opposite sex in single sex schools could explain the increase in girls taking ‘male’ subjects in these schools.