gender and subject choice

Question 1

childhood socialisation

Answer 1

primary socialisation and secondary
girls latch onto subjects like arts that have been feminised

francis - gendered toys eg caring skills, lego - practical skills - colours and images - hairdressing and studies for girls

PM - too deterministic

Question 2

gender domains

Answer 2

Browne and Ross - socialisation leads to children seeing certain tasks as a particular gender’s territory

more confident with tasks in own domain - subjects

feminists - women’s gender domains falling within 5Cs of low paid work - cashiering, cleaning, catering, clerical and caring

Question 3

gendered career opportunities

Answer 3

certain jobs linked to more men eg mechanics and electricians while nursery workers - female

Fuller - caring courses reflected working class girls habitus
- school work experience programmes also pushed girls into gendered and class occupations

Question 4

evaluations of external factors - limitations

Answer 4

feminism has changed the way girls perceive themselves - now more likely to see themselves in a variety of roles, including skilled workers

girls not passive - interactionism - can reject hegemonic femininity and boys can reject hegemonic masculinity

no uniform socialisation into gender code - m/c mothers supportive of academics

postmodernists - individuals no longer restricted by structural forces such as gender domains

Question 5

gendered subject images

Answer 5

Kelly - science is a male subject - most teachers are male
undermines girls’ confidence
- science and maths textbooks

Colley - gender perception crucial to subject choice

single-sex schools hold less stereotyped subject images - Leonard - boys in boys’ schools more likely to take english and languages - less peer pressure?

Question 6

peer pressure

Answer 6

Skelton et al - gender stereotyping among students and teachers significant

Dewar - male students called sporty girls lesbian - less likely to do sport

bullying

Institute of Physics - mixed-setting put girls off - mixed schools

Question 7

limitation of internal factors

Answer 7

differences in subject choices are much larger in vocational courses

postmodernists - subject choice is individual choice - not restrained by identities or peers