Gender - subject choice - external Flashcards
(6 cards)
Change in ambition - Sharpe (1994)
E - Sharpe interviewed with girls in the 1970s and 1990s to present a major shift in the way girls see their future. 70s - girls had very low aspiration and prioritized marriage and motherhood. 90s - girls, favorite education, and having a career over children and family.
E - This shift reflects broader changes in gender norms in wider society. Today, young women, look up to people such as Malala Yousafzi who is a Nobel prize winner along with an Oxford graduate advocating for girls, education worldwide, representing women’s ambition.
E - However, she fails to engage with how institutional practices, such as gendered subject choices in school still restrict girls access to certain fields such as STEM. She doesn’t address how these changes are not always reflected in the lived experiences of girls from marginalised backgrounds who may still face barriers, despite that ambition.
Gender role socialisation - Murphy & Elwood (1998)
E - Murphy and Elwood show how the toys and books they were given when younger lead to different subject choices between each gender. Boys read hobby books and information about texts, whereas girls are more likely to read stories about people.
E - This helps to explain why boys usually choose more science and STEM subjects and girls prefer subject such as english and arts.
E - Post -modernists argue gender roles are becoming more fluid and students are challenging stereotypes - more girls in male-dominated subjects.
Boys and literacy - DCSF (2007)
E - DCSF argues the gender gap is mainly the result of boys poorer literacy and language - parents spend less time reading with their sons and how mothers do most of the reading to their children, making it appear as a feminine activity.
E - Girls develop ‘bedroom culture’ where they ft or text friends giving them communication and language skills. However, boys tend to pursuit lesiure activities such as football, no language skills. This affects boys performance across a wide range of subjects, leading to the government, introducing policies to improve their literacy such as the ‘Raising Boys Achievement Project’, helping them not gain special educational needs.
E - However, critics argue these policies tend to treat boys as homogeneous and reinforce stereotypes of boys achievement, meaning they normally require special educational needs.
Subject images - Kelley
E - Kelley argues science is seen as a boys subject due to science teachers are more likely to be men and in science lessons boys monopolies apparatus and dominate the lab.
E - This suggests that a subjects reputation is maintained through media representation, teacher expectations and societal norms. Students internalise these ideas which then influences their subject choice and achievement. If is a subject is seen as ‘masculine’ a girls may not want to choose it impacting future career options, and achievement if they do not feel motivated.
E - However, due to the increase in showcasing of STEM, girls tend to feel more confident choosing these subjects. This is evident for places such as GIST or WISE which have helped girls choose STEM subjects and achieve highly.
Peer pressure - Paechter (1998)
E - Paechter found because peoples see sport has mainly in the gender domain, girls who are sporty had to cope with opting out of traditional female stereotype. This may relate to why girls don’t take science subjects due to the Institute of Physics finding ‘there is something about doing physics as a girl that is off-putting in a mixed setting.’
E - Peer pressure is a powerful influence on gender identity and how people see themselves depending on their subjects. This leads to girls being pressured to avoid subjects like physics but in single sex schools girls may feel a lot calmer taking STEM subjects.
E - However, Giddens structuration theory reminds us that individuals aren’t aren’t just controlled by societal pressures but also have power to make choice and push back - students can still reject.
Vocational choice - Fuller (2011)
(could criticise Sharpe or McRobbie)
E - Fuller studied WC girls that have ambitions to go into jobs such as hairdressing and childcare, reflecting their WC habitus which is their sense of what a realistic expectation is for ‘people like us.’
E - This shows how girls may feel their only way to achieve in education is if they take these vocational courses due to their cultural messages embedded in their environment. They may have limited educational role models that lead to them believing these are the only subjects and aspirations available to them.
E - However, Reay argues the only reason these WC girls choose these subjects is because they want to stay respectable within their community and family expectations. Girls choose these courses based of love, loyalty and care, not based off institutional control.
