Gender Differences-internal Factors

Question 1

Policies that encourage feminism in schools

Answer 1

Policies such as GIST(girls into science and technology) and WISE(women into science and engineering) encourage girls to pursue careers in these non-traditional areas

Question 2

Changes to the national curriculum in regards to feminism

Answer 2

Removed one source of gender inequality by making girls and boys study mostly the same subjects , which was often not the case previously

Question 3

Boaler(1998)

Answer 3

Sees the impact of equal opportunities policies as a key reason for the changes in girls’ achievement
Many of the barriers have been removed and schooling has become more meritocratic

Question 4

Positive role models in schools for women

Answer 4

These women in senior positions may act as role models for girls , showing them women can achieve positions of importance and giving them non-traditional goals to aim for

Question 5

Gorard(2005)🙄

Answer 5

Gorard found that the gender gap in achievement was fairly constant from 1975- 1989, when it increased sharply
- this was the year in which GCSE was introduced, bringing it coursework as a major part of nearly all subjects

Gorard concludes that the gender gap in achievement is a ‘product of the changes system of assessment rather than any more general failing of boys’

Question 6

Eirene mitsos and Ken Browne (1998) support Godard’s view

Answer 6

They conclude that girls are more successful in coursework because they are more conscientious and better organised than boys
Girl:
- spend more time on their work
- take more care with the way it is presented
- are better at meeting deadlines
- bring the right equipment and materials to lessons

Question 7

Janette Elwood (2005)

Answer 7

Argues that although coursework has some influence, it is unlikely to be the only cause of the gender gap because exams have much more influence than coursework on final grades

Question 8

Jane and French (1993) the way teachers interact with boys and girls

Answer 8

• they analysed classroom interaction, they found that boys received more attention because they attracted more reprimands

Question 9

Francis (2001)

Answer 9

Found that whilst boys got more attention, they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers, who tended to have lower expectations of them

Question 10

Swann(1998)

Answer 10

• Found gender differences in communication styles
• Boys dominate whole- class discussions, whereas girls prefer pair - work and group-work and are better at listening and cooperating
• when working in groups, girls’ speech involves turn taking, and not the hostile interruptions that often characterise boys’ speech
  This may explain why teachers respond more positively to girls, whom they see as cooperative
  May lead to a self fulfilling prophecy

Question 11

Gaby Weiner(1995)

Answer 11

Argues that since the 1980s, teachers have challenged such stereotypes
Sexist images have been removed from learning materials
This may have helped to raise girls’ achievement by presenting them with more positive images of what women can do

Question 12

Marketisation policies

Answer 12

They’ve created a more competitive climate in which schools see girls as desirable recruits because they achieve better exam results

Question 13

David Jackson(1998)

Answer 13

Notes that the introduction of exam league tables has improved opportunities for girls: high- achieving girls are more attractive to school whereas low achieving boys are not

This creates a self fulfilling prophecy because girls are more likely to be recruited by good schools, they are then more likely to do well

Question 14

Roger slee (1998)

Answer 14

Boys are less attractive to schools because they are more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties and are 4 more times likely to excluded

As a result boys may be seen as ‘liability students’ - obstacles to the school improving its league tables

Question 15

Two views of girls’ achievement

Answer 15

Liberal feminists
Radical feminists

Question 16

Liberal feminists

Answer 16

• Celebrate the progress made so far in improving achievement
• Similar to the functionalist view that education is a meritocracy where all individuals are given equal opportunity
• believe further progress will be made

Question 17

Radical feminists

Answer 17

• take a more critical view
• they acknowledge girls are acheiveing more, but they emphasise that the system remains patriarchal
• conveys the message that it’s still a man’s world
• Weiner(1993) describes the secondary school history curriculum as a ‘woman free zone’

Question 18

Symbolic capital- Louise archer

Answer 18

• Feminist archer, differences in the social classes achievement is the conflict between working- class girls’ feminine identities and values and ethos of the school
• symbolic capital refers to status, recognition and sense of worth we are able to obtain from others
• working class feminine identities gained the symbolic capital but brought them into conflict with school( preventing them from acquiring educational capital)

Question 19

What several strategies do working class girls adopt(Archer)

Answer 19

• adopting a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity
• having a boyfriend
• being ‘loud’

Question 20

What are hyper heterosexual feminine identities

Answer 20

• working class girls constructed identities that combined black urban American styles with unisex sportswear and ‘sexy’ clothes, make up and hairstyles

Question 21

Bourdieu and hyper heterosexual feminine identities

Answer 21

• working class girls’ hyper heterosexual feminine identities brought them symbolic capital whilst bringing them conflict with school
• this led to schools defining them as ‘not one of us’ and thus less worthy of respect
• bourdieu describes this as symbolic violence

Question 22

Archer and the ideal female pupil

Answer 22

From the schools point of view, the ideal female pupil is a desexualised, middle class one that excludes many working class girls

Question 23

Boyfriends and symbolic capital

Answer 23

• having a boyfriend brought girls symbolic capital
• these girls lost interest in going to university and studying ‘masculine’ subjects such as science or in gaining a professional career
• these girls aspired to ‘settle down’ instead

Question 24

Working class girls ‘ being loud’

Answer 24

• some working class girls adopted ‘loud’ feminine identities
• led them to be assertive, outspoken and independent
• this was far from the stereotype teachers had of girls and brought conflict with them
• teachers interpreted their behaviour as aggressive rather than assertive

Question 25

The 2 dilemmas of the working class girls

Answer 25

• either gaining symbolic capital
• or gaining education capital

Question 26

What does archer conclude about working class feminine identities

Answer 26

• Concludes that working class feminine identities and educational success conflict with one another
• working class girls investments in their feminine identities are a major cause of their underachievement

Question 27

Sarah evans ( 2009) study on disadvantages gender and class identities

Answer 27

• 21 working class sixth forms girls in a south London comprehensive school
• found that the girls wanted to go to university to increase their earning power
• however, it wasn’t for their sake but to help their family

Question 28

Skeggs(1997)

Answer 28

‘Caring’ is a crucial part of working class feminine identity

Question 29

Archer(2010) and working class girls aspiring to go to university

Answer 29

A preference for the local university is a key feature of working class habitus
The girls showed a strong preference for the local and familiar over the distant
Even for more successful working class girls, the ‘caring’ aspect of working class girls’ identities produces a desire to live at home and limits them from going to elite university and limits their success

Question 30

DCSF(2007) and the gender gap

Answer 30

The gender gap is mainly the result of boys’ poorer literacy and language skills

Question 31

Reason for boys’ poor literacy skills

Answer 31

• May be that parents spend less time reading to their sons
• Regard reading as a ‘feminine’ activity as it’s normally their mothers that read to them
• boys’ leisure pursuits, such as football, do little to help develop their language and communication skills
• girls tend to have a ‘bedroom culture’

Question 32

Governments range of policies they E introduced to improve boys achievement

Answer 32

• the raising boys achievement project involves a range of teaching strategies, including single- sex teaching
• the national literacy strategy includes a focus on improving boys’ reading
• the reading champions scheme uses male role models celebrating their own reading interests
• playing for success uses football and other sports to boost learning skills and motivation amongst boys
• the dads and sons camping encourages fathers to be more involved with their sons’ education

Question 33

Mitos and Browne

Answer 33

• claim the decline in male employment opportunities has led to an ‘identity crisis for men’
• many boys now believe that they have little prospect of getting a proper job

Question 34

Critics of mitos and Browne

Answer 34

• while there may be some truth in their claim, the decline has largely been in manual working- class jobs the require few if any qualifications
• thus, it seems unlikely that the disappearance of such jobs would have much impact on boys’ motivation to obtain qualifications

Question 35

Tony Sewell and the ‘feminisation of education’

Answer 35

• claims that boys fall behind because education has become feminised
• schools do not nurture ‘masculine’ traits such as competitiveness and leadership
• instead they celebrate feminine qualities such as methodological working and attentiveness
• argues that some course work should be replaced with final exams and a greater emphasis on outdoor adventure curriculum

Question 36

Yougov(2007)

Answer 36

• only 14% of primary school teachers are male
• 39% of 8-11 year old boys have no lessons whatsoever with a male teacher
• most boys surveyed said the presence of a male teacher made them behave better and 42% said it made them work harder
  ‘Male teachers are better able to impose the strict discipline boys need in order to concentrate’

Question 37

Barbara read criticising Sewell and the ‘feminisation of society’

Answer 37

• Critical of the claims that the culture of primary schools is becoming feminised and that only male teachers can exert the firm discipline that boys need to achieve
• she identifies two types of language or ‘discourse’
• a disciplinarian discourse
• a liberal discourse

Question 38

Barbara read study (2008)

Answer 38

• disciplinarian discourse is associated with masculinity and liberal discourse with femininity
• study of 51 primary school teachers found most teachers, female as well as male, used a supposedly ‘masculine’ disciplinarian discourse to control pupils’ behaviour

Question 39

The two conclusions from Read’s findings

Answer 39

1) most teachers favoured a ‘masculine’. Disciplinarian discourse of control disproves the claim that the culture of the primary school has become feminised, as Sewell and others argue
2) disproves the claim that only male teachers can provide the stricter classroom culture

Question 40

Malcolm Haase(2008)

Answer 40

• although women make up the majority of primary school teachers, it’s better to think of primary schools as a male dominated or masculinised educational structure that is numerically dominated by women

Question 41

Jones(2006)

Answer 41

Male teachers in the UK have a one in 4 chance of getting a headship whereas women have 1 in 13

Question 42

Paechter(1998)

Answer 42

• found that because pupils see sport as mainly within the male gender domain, girls who are ‘sporty’ have to cope with an image that contradicts the conventional female stereotype
• may explain why girls are more likely than boys to opt out of sport

Question 43

Dewar (1990)

Answer 43

• found that male students would call girls lesbian or butch if they appeared to be interested in sport