Gender differences in achievement Flashcards
(19 cards)
What did McRobbie’s study on girls magazines find about the impact of feminism? (External factor)
-found that in 1970s, they emphasised the importance of getting married
- now, they contain images of strong, assertive and independent women
What laws has caused changes in women’s employment? (External factor)
- Equal pay act (1970) and Sex discrimination act (1975) have improved the position of working women
What did Sharpe’s interview on girls find about the changing in girls ambitions? (External factor)
- Their ambitions in 1970s were to marry and have children + saw their future in terms of domestic role
- In 1990s, girls priorities had changed to careers and wanting to be independent
What did Mitos and Brown find about GCSE and course work? (Internal factor)
- Girls do better than boys in coursework because they are more conscientious and organised
What did Gorad find about GCSE and course work? (Internal factor)
The gender gap in achievement increased sharply when GCSE was introduced in 1988
Give 2 equal opportunity policies? (Internal factor)
GIST and WISE programmes to encourage girls into science and technology
- National curriculum, girls and boys largely study the same subjects (eg. making science compulsory)
How do role models affect achievement? (Internal factor)
- More female teachers, feminises the learning environment + encourages girls to see school as part of ‘female gender domain’
What did Swann find about teacher attention? (Internal factor)
- Boys dominate class discussions, girls are better at listening + cooperating
- Teachers respond more positively to girls + give them more encouragement
What did French + French find about teacher attention? (Internal factor)
Teachers pay boys and girls similar amounts of attention for academic reasons but boys received more attention overall because they were disciplined more often
How does selection and league tables affect achievement? (Internal)
-Marketisation policies have led to increased competition between schools
-Gives schools the incentive to recruit more able students
- Girls are generally more successful than boys, so are more attractive to schools
How does boys literacy affect achievement? (External factor)
- Parents spend less time reading to sons because it is seen as a ‘feminine’ activity
- Boys leisure interests do not encourage language and communication skills, whereas girls ‘bedroom culture’ does
How does a decline in manual labour affect achievement? (External factor)
-Globalisation had led to the decline in heavy industries (eg. mining)
- Led to a male ‘identity crisis’, giving them little motivation to get qualifications for a job
How has the feminisation of schooling affect achievement? (Internal factor)
- Boys fall behind because education has been ‘feminised’, no longer nurture masculine traits
- Introduction of coursework has disadvantaged boys
-Lack of male primary school teachers- 1 in 6 are male
How do laddish subcultures affect achievement? (Internal factor)
There is a peer pressure on boys to demonstrate their masculinity by being ‘anti-school’
Explain 3 factors that affects boys achievement
Feminisation of schooling- Sewell- boys fall behind due to this schools don’t nurture ‘masculine traits’ such as competitiveness and leadership, sees course work as an issue.
Boys + literacy- DCSF- gender gap is mainly the result of boys’ poorer literacy and language skills. Parents spend less time reading with sons- seen as a feminine activity.
Globalisation + decline of traditional men’s job- decline in heavy industries, mining, mainly employed men- Mitos + Browne claim decline in opportunities has led to an ‘identity crisis’
What external factors affect gender differences for women?
-changes in employment- 1970 equal pay act, since 1975 pay gap from 30% to 15%
-changes in the family- an increase in divorce, increase in lone parent families
-girl’s changing ambitions- Sharpe’s study
Give 3 external factors that affect gender differences in achievement
Changing girl’s ambition- decline of traditional gender roles- stay at home dads, duel earning families. Sharpe’s interviews with Girls in the 1970s then 90s show a major shift in the way girls see their future. Before girls had low aspirations- believed educational success was unfeminine and that appearing to be ambitious would be considered unattractive- prioritised husbands and children. 90s- priorities now having careers, more likely to see their future as an independent woman with a career rather than being dependent on her husband
Changes in women’s employment- 1970- equal pay act makes it illegal to pay women less than men for work of equal value- since 1975 pay gap has gone from 30% to 15%. Encourages girls to see their future in terms of paid work rather than as housewives. Role models provides girls with incentives for girls to gain qualifications
Changes in women’s employment- Have been major changes in the family since 1970s- an increase in the divorce rate, increase in cohabitation. Changes are affecting girls’ attitudes towards education.e.g, increased numbers of female- headed lone-parent families may mean more women need to take on a breadwinner role
Give 3 internal factors that affect gender differences in achievement
Role models- increase in the proportion of female teachers and heads in the last 20 years. 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.
GCSE and coursework- once introduced in 1988, girls began to out perform boys a the gap widened. Mitos and Browne found that girls are more successful in coursework due to being moe organised: better at meeting deadlines, take more care in presentation
Teacher attention- the way teachers interact with boys and girls differ. Jane and French analysed the classroom interaction and found that boys received more attention in classrooms- negative. Boys also tend to dominate class discussions whereas girls tended to be more democratic.
Give 3 ways schools shape pupil identities
Ethnocentric curriculum- Ball- current curriculum is focuses on MC white British culture, what ball refers to as ‘little englandism’- can turn booth ethnic minorities and girls who feel excluded
Subject choice- schools reinforced gender stereotypes- pushing girls to expressive subjects and boys to instrumental ones- this reinforces gender identity. Can also be achieved through stereotypical images within school.
Labelling- positive and negative labelling impacts of self esteem and self image. Students labelled negatively may assume that academic achievement is not part of their identity and therefore look towards more vocational courses in the future
