Education - Gender Difference Flashcards
(28 cards)
What is McRobbie’s argument on the impact of feminism (External Factors)?
Feminism is a social movement that thrives for equal rights for women in all areas of life. Since the 1960s, the feminist movement has challenged the traditional stereotype of a women’s role as solely that of mother and housewife in a patriarchal nuclear family and inferior to men outside the home, in work, education and the law.
These changes are partly reflected in media images and messages. A good illustration of this comes from McRobbies study of girls magazines. In the 1970s they emphasised the importance of getting married and not being ‘left on the shelf’, whereas nowadays, they contain images of assertive, independent women.
The changes encouraged by feminism may affect girls self-image and ambitions with regard to the family and careers. In turn, this may explain improvements in their educational achievements.
What is a criticism of McRobbie’s argument?
In some magazines women are still viewed as less than like when women are illustrated as nurses and not as doctors shows that there we are a long way from making improvements.
What are the main cause to the changes in the family (External Factor)?
- an increase in the divorce rate
- an increase in cohabitation and a decrease in the number of first marriages
- an increase in the number of lone-parent families
- smaller families
These changes are affecting girls attitudes towards education in a number of ways. For example, increased numbers of female-headed lone-parents families may mean more women need to talk to take on a breadwinner role. This in turn creates a new adult role model for girls - the financially independent women. To achieve this independence, women need well-paid jobs and therefore good qualifications. Likewise, increases in the divorce rate may suggest to girls that it is unwise to rely on a husband to be their provider. Again, this may encourage girls to look to themselves and their own qualifications to make a living.
What is a criticism of the changes in family?
STEM subjects are still stereotyped as not many girls will do maths, physics, chemistry or biology. More boys will be involved in those subjects.
What is Sue Sharps argument on girls changing ambition (External Factors)?
The view that changes in the family and employment are producing changes in girls ambitions is supported by evidence from research. For example Sue Sharpes interviews with girls in the 1970s and 1990s show a major shift in the way girls see their future.
In 1974, the girls had low aspirations; they believed educational success was unfeminine and that appearing to be ambitious would be considered unattractive. They gave their priorities as ‘love, marriage, husbands children, jobs and career, more or less in that order’.
By the 1990s girls ambitions changed and they had a different order of priorities - careers and being able to support themselves. 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 and his income.
What is Boaler’s arguments on equal opportunities policies (Internal Factor)?
Policy makers are now much more aware of gender issues and teachers are more sensitive to need to avoid stereotyping. The belief that boys and girls are entitled to the same opportunities is now part of mainstream thinking and it influences educational policies. For example, 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 ares.
Boaler 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 (based on equal opportunities) - so that girls, who generally work harder than boys, achieve more.
What is a criticism of Boaler’s argument?
Even though there has been improvements STEM is still stereotyped and still not a lot of girls pursue jobs that are to do with physics, maths, computer science.
What is Gorard’s argument on GCSE and coursework (Internal Factors)?
Gorard found that the gender gap in achievement was fairly constant from 1975 until 1989, when it increased sharply. This was the year in which GCSE was introduced, bringing with it coursework as a major part of nearly all subjects. Gorard concludes that the gender gap in achievement is a “product of the changed system of assessment rather than any more general failing of boys”. Girls have higher grades from course work from Sugarman theory of deferred gratification therefore spend more time on coursework.
What is a criticism of Gorards argument?
This has been exaggerated as course work isn’t very common in GCSE.
What is Francis’ argument on teacher attention (Internal Factor)?
Francis found that while boys got more attention, they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers, who tended to have lower expectations of them. Teachers spend more time reprimanding boys with self-fulfilling prophecy therefore they believed they were naughty = underachievements.
What is a criticism of Francis’ argument?
Fuller would criticise Francis as when he studied a group of year 11 black girls, they instead of accepting negative stereotypes of themselves, the girls channelled their anger about being labelled into the pursuit of educational success. However, unlike other successful pupils, they did not seek the approval of teachers, many of who they regarded as racist. Nor did the choice of friends to other academic achievers. Instead, they were friends with other black girls from lower streams.
What is Weiner’s arguments for challenging stereotypes in the curriculum (Internal Factors)?
Some sociologist argue that the removal of gender stereotypes from textbooks, reading schemas and other learning materials in recent years has removed a barrier to girls achievement. Research in the 1970s and 80s found that reading schemas portrayed women mainly as housewives and mothers, that physics books showed them as frightened by science, and that maths books depicted boys as more inventive.
Weiner argues that since the 1980s, teachers have challenged such stereotypes. Also, in general, sexists 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.
What is Jackson’s argument on league tables (Internal Factors)?
Marketisation policies have created a more competitive climate in which schools see girls as desirable recruits because they achieve better exam results.
Jackson notes that the introduction of exam league tables has improved opportunities for girls: high-achieving girls are attractive to schools, whereas low-achieving boys are not. This tends to create a self-fulfilling prophecy - because girls are more likely to be recruited by good schools, they are more likely to do well. Furthermore, boys are less attractive to schools because they are more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties and are four times more likely to be excluded. As a result, boys may be seen as ‘liability students’ - obstacles to the school improving its league table scores.
What is Sewell’s argument on feminisation of education?
Sewell reported as claiming that boys fall behind because education has become ‘feminised’. That is, schools do not nurture ‘masculine’ traits such as competitiveness and leadership. Instead, they celebrate qualities more closely associated with girls, such as methodical working and attentiveness in class.
Sewell sees coursework as a major cause of gender differences in achievement. He argues that some course work should be replaced with final exams and a greater emphasis placed on outdoor adventure in the curriculum. He argues: “we have challenged the 1950s patriarchy and rightly said this is not a man’s world. But we have thrown the boy out with the bath water”.
What is a criticism of Sewell’s argument?
Boys are constantly given opportunities like the DofE, leadership roles, and competitive sports, while society often assumes that girls aren’t as competitive or capable in those areas. It’s frustrating how these opportunities are marketed or presented in ways that favour boys, as if ambition, resilience, and leadership are ‘male traits’. Girls are just as driven, just as competitive, and just as capable - but they’re often overlooked or understand.
What is Mitsos and Browne arguments on globalisation and the decline of traditional men’s job?
Since the 1980s, there has been a significant decline in heavy industries such as iron and steel, shipbuilding, mining and engineering. This has been partly the result of the globalisation of the economy, which has led to much manufacturing industry relocating to developing countries such as China to take advantage of cheap labour.
Traditionally these sectors of the economy mainly employed men. Mitsos and Browne claim that this decline in male employment opportunities has led to an identity crisis for men. Many boys now believe that they have little prospects of getting proper job. This undermines their motivation and self-esteem and so they give up trying to get qualifications.
What is a criticism of Mitsos and Browne’s argument?
Historically, working class boys could leave school early and go straight into manual labour jobs that didn’t require qualifications like GCSEs or A-levels. Because those jobs were available, some boys didn’t feel the need to try hard in school - they knew they had a job waiting for them regardless of grades.
But now, those kinds of jobs have declined or disappeared due to things like globalisation, automation, and deindustrialise. So, in theory, there’s no fallback option anymore - which should motivate boys to focus more on education to succeed.
What is an argument for boys and literacy?
The gender gap is mainly the result of boys poorer literacy and language skills. One reason for this may be that parents spend less time reading to their sons. Another may be that it is mothers who do most of the reading to young children, who thus come to see reading as feminine activity.
In addition, boys leisure pursuits, such as football, do little to help develop their language and communication skills. By contrast, girls,s tend to have a ‘bedroom culture’ centred on staying in and talking with friends.
Poor language and literacy skills are likely to affect boys performance across a wide range of subjects. In response to this problem, government has introduced a range of policies to improve boys skills.
What is a criticism of boys and literacy?
There is now a scheme that encourages fathers to read more to their children to enforce more support in reading for the improvement of their language. Boys will also feel less embarrassed and will read more which will enhance their knowledge in literacy.
What is Epstein’s argument on laddish subcultures?
Epstein examined the way masculinity is constructed within school. She found that working class boys are likely to be harassed, labelled as sissies and subjected to homophobic verbal abuse if they appear to be ‘swots’. This is because in working-class culture, masculinity is equated with being tough and doing manual work. Non-manual work, and by extension schoolwork, is seen as effeminate and inferior. As a result working-class boys tend to reject schoolwork to avoid being called ‘gay’. As Epstein observes ‘real boys don’t work’ - and if they do they get bullied. She notes that:
‘The main demand on boys within their peer group, but also sometimes from teachers, is to appear to do little or no work, to be heavily competitive at sports and heterosexual, to be rough, tough and dangerous to know’.
What is a criticism of Epstein’s argument?
Traditionally male-dominated careers, often referred to as ‘masculine areas’ are becoming more gender-diverse as more women enter these fields - a process known as feminisation. This shift not only increases the presence of women in roles like doctors, engineers and military officers but can also leads to changes in workplace culture, values, and social perceptions. For example, while nursing was originally a male profession, it became associated with women over time; now the opposite trend is seen in medicine, where more women are becoming doctors. These changes reflect evolving gender roles and growing efforts toward equality in the workforce.
What is Lee’s arguments on double standards?
A double standard exists when we apply one set of moral standards to one group but a different set to another group. In the case of gender identity, Lee identities a double standard of sexual morality in which boys boast about their own sexual exploits, but call a girl a ‘slag’ if she doesn’t have a steady boyfriend or if she dresses and speaks in a certain way. Sexual conquest is approved of and given status by male peers and ignored by male teachers, but ‘promiscuity’ among girls attracts negative labels.
Feminists see these double standards as an example of a patriarchal ideology that justifies male power and devalues women. Double standards can be seen as a form of social control that reinforces gender inequality by keeping females subordinate to males.
What is Connell’s argument on verbal abuse?
What Connell calls ‘a rich vocabulary of abuse’ is one of the ways in which dominant gender and sexual identities are reinforced. For example, boys use name-calling to put girls down if they behave or dress in certain ways. Connell also found that boys called girls ‘slags’ if they appeared to be sexually available - and ‘drags’ if they didn’t. Other girls also put each other down if dressed like a ‘slag’. “You’re such a girl” = negatively associated.
What is Mac an Ghaill arguments on the male gaze?
Mac an Ghill refers to this as the ‘male gaze’: the way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down, seeing them as sexual objects and making judgments about their appearance. Mac an Ghaill see the male gaze as a form of surveillance through which dominant heterosexual masculinity is reinforced and femininity devalued. It is one of the ways boys prove their masculinity to their friends and is often combined with constant telling and retelling of stories about sexual conquests. Boys who do not display their heterosexuality in this way run the risk of being labelled gay.
