Boys and achievement

Question 1

why might boys have poorer literacy and language skills?

Answer 1

parents spend less time reading to their sons and mothers may do most of the reading, meaning it comes to be seen as a feminine activity.

Question 2

Why do MITSOS and BROWNE believe boys are experiencing an ‘‘identity crisis’ and how does this affect achievement?

Answer 2

globalisation has led to relocation of manufacturing industry to developing countries.
decline of traditional male employment opportunities which undermines the motivation/self-esteem of boys - they give up trying to get qualifications

Question 3

why is it unlikely that the decline in traditional male jobs has impacted boys’ motivation?

Answer 3

they were manual W/C jobs and require few qualifications

Question 4

what has education become according to SEWELL?

Answer 4

feminised

Question 5

how has education become feminised?

Answer 5

doesn’t nurture ‘masculine’ traits such as competitiveness and leadership
coursework favours girls

Question 6

what % of primary teachers are male?

Answer 6

14%

Question 7

who found that 42% of boys said the presence of a male teacher makes them work harder?

Answer 7

Yougov

Question 8

what does the National Literacy Strategy include a focus on?

Answer 8

improving boys’ reading

Question 9

what does the Dads and Sons campaign encourage?

Answer 9

fathers to be more involved in son’s education

Question 10

why might the absence of male teachers not be a major factor in boys’ underachievement?

Answer 10

FRANCIS found that 2/3 of 7-8 year old believed the gender of teachers doesn’t matter.

Question 11

what is READ critical of?

Answer 11

claims that primary school is becoming feminised and that only male teachers exert the discipline boys need to achieve.

Question 12

what two types of discourse did READ identify?

Answer 12

disciplinarian discourse - teacher’s authority is explicit e.g. shouting/sarcasm
liberal discourse - teacher’s authority is implicit. child-centred discourse involves ‘pseudo-adultification’

Question 13

how many teachers did READ study?

Answer 13

51

Question 14

what discourse did the teachers in READ’s study favour?

Answer 14

the ‘masculine’ disciplinarian discourse.

Question 15

what two conclusions did READ draw from her findings?

Answer 15

1. most teachers favoured the masculine disciplinarian discourse showing primary school hasn’t become feminised as is argued by SEWELL
2. female teachers as likely to use ‘masculine’ discourse to control behaviour - disproves claim that only male teachers provide strict classroom culture in which boys thrive.

Question 16

who claims that the socialisation of boys leads them to be over-confident. When they fail exams, they are surprised and put it down to bad luck>lack of effort.

Answer 16

BURNS and BRACEY

Question 17

how does W/C culture affect the achievement of boys according to FRANCIS and EPSTEIN?

Answer 17

masculinity is equated with being tough/manual work

W/C boys avoid schoolwork to avoid being called ‘gay’

Question 18

why is the laddish subculture becoming widespread according to FRANCIS?

Answer 18

as girls move into traditionally masculine areas, boys become ‘increasingly laddish in their effort to construct themselves as non-feminine’

Question 19

why has a moral panic about ‘failing boys’ emerged?

Answer 19

critics of feminism arguing policies to help girls have disadvantaged boys and women are now taking mens jobs

Question 20

why has the shift in policy, in reaction to the moral panic about failing boys, been negative?

Answer 20

1. narrowing equal opportunities policy down to ‘failing boys’ it ignores problem of disadvantaged W/C and EM pupils.
2. narrowing gender policy down to the issue of achievement gaps. it ignores other problems faced by girls in school e.g. sexual harassment, stereotyped subject choices.

Question 21

why has the focus on underachieving boys led to neglect of girls according to OSLER?

Answer 21

girls often disengage from school quietly, while boys’ disengagement takes the form of public displays of ‘laddish’ activity which attracts attention of policymakers.

Question 22

what example does OSLER give to support the idea that girls are being neglected?

Answer 22

mentoring schemes aimed at reducing school exclusions of black boys ignores increasing exclusion of girls.

Question 23

why is it wrong to describe boys as a ‘lost cause’?

Answer 23

their perfomance has improved in recent years, despite remaining behind girls.

Question 24

how much wider is the class gap in achievement at GCSE than the gender gap?

Answer 24

3 times

Question 25

girls from the highest social class are …points ahead of girls from the lowest class.

Answer 25

44 points

Question 26

what does CONNOLLY suggest?

Answer 26

certain combinations of gender, class, ethnicity have more effect than others. being female raises performance when ‘added’ to being black more than when ‘added’ to being white.