Gender Differences In Educational Achievement

Question 1

What are the 2 main points for the differences of achievement in gender

Answer 1

Internal and external

Question 2

Name the few external titles

Answer 2

Impact of feminism

Changes in family

Changing girls ambitions

Question 3

Impact of feminism

Answer 3

• has challenged the traditional stereotype of a woman’s role in society
• feminism has raised woman’s expectations and self esteem

+ EVIDENCE
- McRobbie - Magazines

Before - important of being married

New - contain images of assertive independent women

Question 4

Changes in family elaborate

Answer 4

Higher divorce rates

Higher lone parent families

Number of lone parents families means that women will have to take on the role as the breadwinner of the family. Inspired by children

Creates a new model for then called the ‘financially independent women’ which has a good job, in order to have a good job they must need good qualifications

Question 5

Changing Girls ambitions elaborate

Answer 5

1974 girls had low aspirations, believed that educational success was in feminine and that appearing to be ambitious would be considered unattractive

By 1990s girls has changed and they has a different order of priorities

SHARPE found that girls were now more likely to see their future as an independent women with a career rather than as dependent on their husband on income

A career has become part of a woman’s life project because it promises recognition and economic self sufficiency

In order to achieve that many girls now recognise that they need a good education

Question 6

Name the internal factors of education achievement of gender titles

Answer 6

Equal opportunities policies

Positive role models in schools

GCSE and coursework

Teacher attention

Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum

Selection and league tables

Question 7

Equal opportunities policies

Answer 7

Policy makers are now much more aware of gender issues and teachers are more sensitive to the need to avoid stereotyping

Policies such as GIST and WISE encourage girls to pursue careers in these non traditional areas

Introduction of the national curriculum- causes boys and girls to study mostly the same subject

Jo Boaler - sees the 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 8

Positive role models in schools

Answer 8

Shows an increase of female teachers and heads

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 9

GCSE and coursework

Answer 9

GCSE introduction during the years 1975-1989

EIRENE MITSOS - conclude that girls are more successful in coursework because they are more conscientious and better organised than boys. Girls:

Spend more time on their work
Take more care in the way it’s presented
Are better at meeting deadlines
Bringing the right equipments to lessons

Oral exams - this is also said to benefit girls because of their generally better developed language skills

Question 10

Teacher attention

Answer 10

JANE AND PETER FRENCH - they found that boys receive more attention because they attracted more reprimands.

Also found out that while boys for more attention they were discipline more harsh leg and felt picked on by teachers, who tended to have lower expectations of them

Boys dominate whole class discussion
Girls prefer pair work and group work

When speaking girls take turn speaking whereas boys interrupt each other

Boys can lead to self fulfilling prophecy because of this

Question 11

Selection and league tables

Answer 11

Marketisation crated a more competitive climate in which schools see girls as desirable recruits because they achieve better exam results

Introduction of league tables had improved opportunities for girls - high achievement girls whereas low achieving boys aren’t

This tends to create the self fulfilling prophecy because files are more likely to be recruited by good schools, they are more likely to do well

ROGER - argues that boys are less attractive to schools because they are more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties

Question 12

What is the symbolic capital

Answer 12

Symbolic capital refers to status, recognition and self worth we are able to obtain from others

Preforming their working class feminine identities, girls gained symbolic capital from peers

• brought them conflict with school as it prevents them from acquiring educational capital and economic capital

Question 13

Hetrosexual feminine identities

Answer 13

They construct identities that conjoined black urban American styles with unisex sportswear and sexy clothes, make up and hairstyles

The girls performance of this feminine identity brought statues from their female peer group and avoided them being ridiculed or called a ‘tramp’

Conflicted the school as having too much jewellery and wrong clothing

This causes them to be having symbolic violence

Calling their culture worthless

Question 14

Boyfriends

Answer 14

Brought symbolic capital

Got in the way of school work

Lose interest in going uni in studying masculine subjects and such

Instead these girls are inspired to settle down and have children and work locally in working class feminine jobs

Question 15

Working class dilemma

Answer 15

Either from:
Gaining symbolic capital
Or
Gaining educational capital

Question 16

Boys and literacy

Answer 16

Parents spend time less reading to their sons

Boys do football which don’t contribute to developing their communication and language skills

Question 17

Globalisation and the decline of traditional mens jobs

Answer 17

Decline in heavy industries because of the globalisation of economic (relocating to developing counties such as china to take advantage of cheap labour)

Many boys now believe that they have a little chance of getting a proper job. This undermines their motivation and self esteem and so they give up trying to get qualifications

Should notes that the decline had largely been in manual working class jobs that require few if any qualifications

Question 18

Feminisation of education

Answer 18

Tony Sewell - argues how education has become feminised

That schools do not nurture masculine traits such as competitiveness and leadership

He also sees coursework as a major cause of gender difference in Achievement

Argues that coursework should be replaced with final exams .

Question 19

Shortage of male primary school teachers

Answer 19

Most boys surveyed said the presence of a male teacher made them behaviour better and 42% said it made them work harder

Female teachers are unable to control boys behaviours

Male teachers are strict on boys in order to concentrate

Question 20

Are male teachers needed

Answer 20

BARBARA - claims that the culture of primary schools is becoming feminised and that the only male teachers can extent the firm discipline that boys need to achieve

Question 21

Laddish subcultures

Answer 21

Found that working class boys are likely to be harassed, lab,led as sissies and subjected to homophonic (anti gay) verbal abuse if they appear to be swots

Working class subculture - seen masculinity as being tough an doing manual work

Doing manual work and extension school work seen as inferior

As a result, working class boys tend to reject schoolwork to avoid being called ‘gay’

Question 22

explanations of gender differences in subject choice (titles)

Answer 22

Gender role socialisation

Gendered subject images

Gender identity and peer pressure

Gendered career opportunities

Question 23

Gender role socialisation

Answer 23

Boys and girls are dressed differently, given different toys and encouraged to take part in different activities

Teachers encourage boys to be tough and show initiative not to be weak or behave like sissies

Boys read hobby books and info texts
Girls read stories about people

That’s why girls are more likely to choose English and boys pick science

GENDER DOMAINS
- mean the tasks and activities that boys and girls see as a male of female territory

Question 24

Gendered subject images

Answer 24

KELLY argues that science is seen as a boys subjects because:

• science teachers are more likely to be men
• draws boys attention in textbooks
• boys monopolise the apparatus and dominate the lab

Question 25

Gendered subject images - single sex schooling

Answer 25

DIANA LEONARD - girls in girls schools were more likely to take maths and science a levels

While boys in boys schools were more likely to take English and languages

Girls from single sex schools were more likely to study male dominated subjects at uni

This is because people who attend single sex schools tend to hold less stereotypes subject images and make less traditional subject choices

Question 26

Gender identity and peer pressure

Answer 26

Subject choice can be influenced by peer pressure

ALISON DEWAR - found that male students would call girls ‘lesbians’ or ‘butch’ if they appeared to be interested in sport

Peer pressure is a powerful influence in gender identity and how pupils see themselves in relation to particular subjects

In contract an absence of pressure from the opposite sex may explain why girls in single sex schools are more likely to schools traditional boys subjects

Question 27

Gendered career opportunities

Answer 27

Sex typing of occupation affects boys and girls ideas

If boys get the message that nursery nurses are female, they will be less likely to opt for a course in childcare

Question 28

Pupils sexual and gender identities (titles)

Answer 28

Double standards
Verbal abuse
Male gaze
Male peer groups
Female peer groups : policing identity
Teachers and discipline

Question 29

Double standards

Answer 29

Double standard exists when we apply one set of moral standards to one group but a different set to another group

Boys is called a player or can boast about their own sexual exploits. But if a girls does have a steady boyfriend she will be called a ‘slag”

Feminists see this double standards as n example of a patriarchal ideology that justifies the male power and devalues women

Question 30

Verbal abuse

Answer 30

Dominant gender and sexual identities are reinforced because of this

For example, boys use name calling to put girls gown if they behave or dress in certain ways

LEES - found that boys called girls ‘slags’ if they appeared to be sexually available

PAECHTER sees name calling as helping to shape gender identity and maintain male power

ANDREW PARKER - found that boys were labelled gay from simply being friendly with girls or around female teachers

Question 31

The male gaze

Answer 31

MAC AND GHAILL refers to this as the ‘male gaze’: the way male pupils look girls up and down, seeing them as sexual objects and making judgements about their appearance

Dominant heterosexual masculinity is reinforced and feminity devalued

Question 32

Male peer groups

Answer 32

Boys in anti school subcultures often accuse boys who want to do well iPad school of being gay or effeminate

Working class ‘macho lads’ were dismissive towards working class boys who worked hard and aspired to middle class careers - they refer to them as ‘dickhead achievers’

Question 33

Female peer groups: policing identity

Answer 33

JESSICA RINGROSE small scale study of 13-14 year old working class girls peer groups in South Wales school found that being popular was crucial to girls identity

girls transitioned from girls friendships culture into a hetrosexual dating culture and faced a tension between:

Idealised feminine identity : showing loyalty to the female pee group, being non competitive and getting along with everybody

Or

Sexualised identity : I forked competing for boys in the dating culture

Question 34

Teachers and discipline

Answer 34

Male teacher told off boys for ‘behaving like girls’ and teased them when they gained lower marks than the girls

Teachers tended to ignore boys verbal abuse of girls and blamed girls for attracting it

SUE ASKEW and CAROL ROSS show how male teachers often have a protective attitude towards female colleagues, coming into their classes to rescue them by threatening the pupils who are being disruptive

This shows how women cannot cope alone