Gender Differences In Education

Question 1

How have families changed?

Answer 1

-increase in divorce rate
-female headed lone family’s
-increase in cohabitation
-women having less children
-more women staying single

Question 2

How is women having less children making women’s level of education increase?

Answer 2

Women have more opportunity to succeed through spending more time focusing on their careers

Question 3

How is women staying single making women’s level of educational achievement increase?

Answer 3

Women have more time to focus on their careers

Question 4

How does an increase in female headed lone parent families lead to an increase in womens educational achievement?

Answer 4

More female role models

Question 5

How does an increase in cohabitation lead to an increase in womens educational achievement?

Answer 5

Less stress on getting married, less financial stress

Question 6

What acts have caused a change to employment?

Answer 6

-equal pay act 1970
-discrimination laws
-sex discrimination act 1975

Question 7

What are the key features of the sex discrimination act 1975?

Answer 7

-repealed in 2010
-protected men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status
-the act concerned employment, training, education, harassment, the provision of goods and services and the disposal of premisies

Question 8

What are the key features of the equal pay act 1975?

Answer 8

-passed in 1970 but did not come into force until 1975
-prohibited unequal pay and working conditions between men and women

Question 9

What are the 3 key changes contributing to the increase in women’s educational achievement?

Answer 9

-changing ambitions
-changing families
-changing employment

Question 10

What are the main 3 reasons for boys underachievement?

Answer 10

-literacy
-feminisation of education
-laddish subcultures

Question 11

How has literacy led to boys underachievement?

Answer 11

-parents spend less time reading to their sons
-boys leisure pursuits eg football does not develop their language & communication skills
-girls ‘bedroom culture’ centred on staying in & talking with friends

Question 12

How has the feminisation of education led to boys underachievement?

Answer 12

-schools do not nurture ‘masculine’ traits eg competitiveness and leadership
-coursework
-“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”

Question 13

How have laddish subcultures led to boys underachievement?

Answer 13

-w/c boys are likely to be harassed, labelled as sissies & subjected to homophobic abuse
-these labels are a threat to their masculinity more than a threat to a girls femininity
-w/c boys avoid doing work to avoid being called gay
-real boys don’t work and if they do they get bullied

Question 14

How does your gender effect the subjects that you choose?

Answer 14

-vocational courses, gender differences are most present= only 1% of construction apprentices are female
-post 16 education= more choice available, so bigger gender gaps appear
-national curriculum=most subjects compulsory, but chosen subjects differentiate depending on gender EG. Girls=food tech Boys=woodwork

Question 15

How does gender identity and peer pressure effect gender differences in education?

Answer 15

-pressure to conform to gender stereotypes
-eg girls opt out of sport, boys opt out of music

Question 16

How does your gender effect your career?

Answer 16

-many jobs viewed as ‘male’ or ‘female’ eg builder, nurse
-gendered jobs tend to be dominated by that gender

Question 17

How are gender domains created?

Answer 17

-children’s beliefs about gender domains are shaped by early childhood experiences and expectations of adults
-children are more confident when engaging in tasks that they see as part of their gender domain

Question 18

How are subjects made to have a gendered subject image?

Answer 18

-examples in teachers use, and those in textbooks
-eg science teachers are more likely to be men and examples are likely to be male so science is seen as a ‘male’ subject

Question 19

What did Connell say about gender in education?

Answer 19

-schools reproduce ‘hegemonic masculinity’ which makes the hero-male identity dominant and subordinates female and gay identities

Question 20

How does verbal abuse effect gender differences in education?

Answer 20

-name calling girls who act in a certain way makes them conform to male expectations- acting as social control
-mac an ghaill- anti-school w/c boys use verbal abuse to reinforce their definitions of masculinity, they called other w/c boys ‘dickhead achievers’