(External&internal) Gender& Educational Achievement

Question 1

Who performs better

Answer 1

Girls outperform boys

Question 2

What is ‘sex typing’

Answer 2

When not much change has occurred with regards to subject choice

Question 3

Upon starting school:

Answer 3

Girls are more likely to score higher in tests, be able to concentrate for longer, & can write their own name & spell it

Question 4

Key stage 1-3:

Answer 4

Girls consistently do better than boys, especially in English

Question 5

At GCSE:

Answer 5

Girls are 10% more likely to achieve 5 A*- C grades

Question 6

At AS & A level

Answer 6

The gap narrows, but girls continue to be ahead: 95.8% of girls pass 2 or more A levels, to 94% of boys

Question 7

The rapid improvement in results by girls may be attributable to factors occurring outside of the education system:

Answer 7

1. The impact of feminism
2. Changes in the family
3. Changes in the women’s employment
4. Girls’ changing ambitions

Question 8

How does the impact of feminism cause differences in achievement

Answer 8

Feminism challenges traditional stereotypes regarding gender roles

Question 9

What does McRobbie’s (1994) study show

Answer 9

Study involving a comparison of girls’ magazines from the 1970s versus the 1990s - very different expectations

Question 10

How does changes in the family create differences in achievement

Answer 10

E.g. an increase in the divorce rate can help women become liberated, to pursue their own careers

Question 11

Single- mums act as a role model:

Answer 11

This meant girls look up to their mothers and want to be as independent as they are

Question 12

How does changes in women’s employment create differences in achievement

Answer 12

1. Equal pay act (1970); sex discrimination act (1975)

• Stops prejudice

Question 13

What is the ‘glass ceiling’

Answer 13

Seeing the jobs but not being able to gain them as they’re girls

Question 14

What does Sue Sharpe (1994) show about girls changing ambitions creating gender differences in achievement

Answer 14

-Interviewed girls in 1970s & 1990s;

1. Major shift in how girls view their future
2. 1970s: girls had low aspirations, saw educational success as unfeminine, & stated their priorities were ‘love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs & career’
3. 1990: priorities were now having a career & being financially independent

Question 15

What did Becky Francis ( 2001) show

Answer 15

Interviewed girls:
1. High aspirations

2. Very few saw their futures in ‘traditional female roles’
3. Desired educational qualifications

Question 16

Factors within education system:

Answer 16

1. Equal opportunities policies
2. Positive role models in schools
3. GCSE & coursework
4. Teacher attention
5. Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
6. Selection & league

Question 17

Equal opportunities policies

Answer 17

1. Feminist ideas now widespread in education; basic belief in gender equality (that boys & girls can achieve equally) now a social norm
2. Programmes set up ( such as “GIST”) to get girls in to science & technology
3. National curriculum

Question 18

Role models:

Answer 18

1. Vastly more female teachers & head teachers than in the past, especially in primary schools
2. The presence of more female teachers ‘feminises’ the learning environment - encouraging girls to see it as part of their ‘gender’ domain
3. Might therefore perceive educational success as a desirable female characteristic

Question 19

Coursework:

Answer 19

According to Mitsos & Browne (1998), girls do better than boys in coursework as they are better organised & mature earlier than boys

Question 20

What did Gorard (1995) showed

Answer 20

That girls’ results increased sharply when GCSE coursework was introduced

Question 21

Stereotypes in learning materials

Answer 21

1. In the past girls were both under- represented or presented as subordinate to males within textbooks and books studied

Question 22

Teacher attention:

Answer 22

1. Spender (1983) - found that teachers spend more time interacting with boys than girls
2. French & French (1993) - found that similar amounts of attention was spent on both genders for academic reasons
   - But boys get more overall because of misbehaving & requiring discipline

Question 23

What did Francis (2001) find

Answer 23

Found that teachers had lower expectations of boys, displinced them more harshly

Question 24

What did Swann (1998) find

Answer 24

Found boys dominate class discussions, girls prefer more group work, this finds favour with the teacher

Question 25

Selection & league tables

Answer 25

1. Incentive to try & recruit more able students to secure a good league table position 2. Girls are more successful than boys, are therefore more attractive to schools 3. Boys are lower achieving & more badly behaved - seen as a ‘liability students’

Question 26

2 views of girls achievements

Answer 26

Liberal feminist Radical feminist

Question 27

Liberal feminists:

Answer 27

1.applaud the progress in improving girls’ achievement so far 2. Believe further progress will be made by: - continuing to develop equal opportunities - encouraging positive role models for girls - overcoming sexist attitudes/ stereotypes 3. Believe education is meritocracy

Question 28

Radical feminists

Answer 28

1. Take a more critical view 2. Argue the system is still patriarchal ( male dominated), it is still a “man’s world” - sexual harassment of girls still occurs - subject choices & career options are still limited for girls - male teachers still more likely to become headteachers - women still under-represented in the curriculum