Education (Female Achievement and Education)

Question 1

Until what year did boys outperform girls in all education?

Answer 1

1990s

Question 2

Who dominated the classroom and expected to do better than girls?

Answer 2

Boys

Question 3

Today, what are girls most likely to do in terms of education?

Answer 3

Today, the situation has completely
reversed, girls are more likely to
progress onto further and higher
education.

Question 4

What was the female A* to C rate in 2014 compared to males?

Answer 4

73 % compared to 64% for
males (a gap of 9%) APPROX

Question 5

What has happened to the Gender Gap since GCSEs were introduced?

Answer 5

Since GCSE’s were introduced a
‘gap’ in performance has
remained the same.

Question 6

What are the home (external) factors explaining why girls outperform against boys?

Answer 6

FILA
Family changes
Impact of feminism
Labour market
Ambition

Question 7

The family structure has
changed rapidly since the
1960’s, what was the structure then?

Answer 7

Nuclear Family

Question 8

What law claimed that divorce was irretrievable brake down” -
no need to prove “fault”?

Answer 8

The Divorce Law Reform
Act 1969

Question 9

The no fault what was also introduced in 2022?

Answer 9

No Fault Divorce Clause

Question 10

What were some of the family changes?

Answer 10

Long term increase in divorce (33%)
Increased age at first marriage (31)
Increased age at birth of first child (29)
More single person households (28 mil)

Question 11

Between 1971-2013 how much did women employment increase?

Answer 11

By 53%

Question 12

What is an evaluation of family changes by Duncombe & Marsden 1995?

Answer 12

Triple shift – Women have a
burden of both Work, household and emotion
work

Question 13

What was Angela McRobbie’s (1994) research and finds?

Answer 13

Compared women’s mag’s 1970’s &1990’s
She found there had been a “progressive cultural shift” by the 1990’s

Question 14

What do feminists – Wilkinson and Sharpe argue?

Answer 14

the media has became an echo
chamber for feminist thinking.
leading to: the promotion of equal rights, changes in legislation (Equality
Act 2010) and raising female aspiration.

Question 15

EVAL : What do feminists still acknowledge girls are disadvantaged by?

Answer 15

Feminists still acknowledge that girls are disadvantaged in the education
system by peer pressure in subject options.

Question 16

Labour Market? : What has happened to women’s opportunities in recent years?

Answer 16

Women’s opportunities in the labour market have
greatly improved in recent years

Question 17

What is Equal Pay Act (1970)?

Answer 17

same pay for same job
description

Question 18

What is Sex Discrimination Act (1975)?

Answer 18

–promoted
equality of opportunity/ equal treatment

Question 19

What is Employment Protection Act (1975)?

Answer 19

illegal
to sack a women due to pregnancy and
statutory maternity provision

Question 20

What did the Equality Act (2010) do?

Answer 20

created protected
characteristics

Question 21

What has changed about the pay gap between 1975 and 2018?

Answer 21

1975 : 30%
2018: 15%

Question 22

What employment has increased and is more suitable to women?

Answer 22

Service Sector

Question 23

How do Francis & Skelton (2005) challenge the Glass Ceiling?

Answer 23

Found that
jobs with a predominantly female
workforce increasingly require degree
level qualifications – helping to
challenge the Glass Ceiling.

Question 24

What did the feminisation of skills increase?

Answer 24

demands of teamwork and
communication.

Question 25

Ambition Changes : What did Sue Sharpe do?

Answer 25

interviewed a sample of London school girls in the 1970’s and a similar sample in 1994. She asked them what were their "main priorities".

Question 26

What changes did Sharpe see from her research?

Answer 26

70’s – ‘love, marriage, husbands, and children’ but in the 90’s – ‘job, career, and being able to support themselves’.

Question 27

What is Bedroom Culture McRobbie (1991)?

Answer 27

girls are encouraged to create a subculture via interacting indoors – this is seen to have contributed to them developing communication and literary skills. (many office-based jobs place value on interpersonal skills).

Question 28

What are the factors for girls achievement in school?

Answer 28

CLEARS Coursework League Tables Equal Policies Attention (teachers) Role models Stereotypes in the curriculum

Question 29

What is an evaluation of female achievement? Louise Archer (2010)

Answer 29

Symbolic capital – Status, recognition and worth established in someone's identity and culture

Question 30

How to WC girls achieve a symbolic capital by their friends?

Answer 30

Creating a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity Having a boyfriend Being loud Put in time and effort in constructing ‘desirable’ and ‘glamorous’ identity to avoid being labelled a ‘tramp’

Question 31

Trying to gain symbolic capital created conflict from the school so what happened?

Answer 31

they received symbolic violence (Bourdieu) e.g. defining their culture as worthless.

Question 32

What does Archer claim you either gain which capital?

Answer 32

Symbolic capital from friends Educational Capital from schools

Question 33

What did Sarah Evans (2009) say about WC girls?

Answer 33

WC girls that succeed often stay close to home when choosing a university for fear of expensive accommodation and the need to care for family members.

Question 34

EVAL of Female Achievement : What does Carol Fuller do?

Answer 34

Conducted an in-depth study of a single-sex school in the South-East of England Students were divided into five sets

Question 35

What did Fuller find?

Answer 35

Working class girls largely occupied the bottom two sets – named by Fuller as the ‘low-aspirers’. Features of their subculture included – -Feeling school was not directly relevant to them. -Most expected to work in a shop, nursery or nursing assistant. -Relationships were more important to them than their careers. -Boyfriends and future motherhood gave them a sense of future direction.

Question 36

What are liberal feminists views of achievement?

Answer 36

Celebrate the progress made so far in female achievement. They believe further progress will be made by the continuing development of equal opportunities policies. Positive role models are directly challenging sexist attitudes and stereotypes.

Question 37

What are radical feminists views of achievement?

Answer 37

The education system remains patriarchal because: Sexual harassment of girls continues at school Education still limits girls’ subjects and career options Male teachers are still more likely to become head teachers Women are still under-represented in the curriculum