internal gender differences in education

Question 1

positive role models within schools

Answer 1

There’s been an increase in
female teachers/headteachers,
who act as role models and
show that girls can aim for
important/non-traditional
positions.
* Female teachers are more likely
to be important role models for
girls’ educational achievement,
as they had a long and
successful education to get the
role.

Question 2

equal opportuntite spolciies

Answer 2

Due to feminist ideas, policymakers are aware of gender issues, and teachers are more aware of avoiding stereotyping. The belief that boys and girls are
equal is part of mainstream thinking- it influences educational policies.
* Educational policies- GIST (Girls Into Science & Technology) and WISE (Women Into Science & Engineering) both encourage girls to pursue careers
that are non-traditional.
* Introduction of National Curriculum in 1988 removed a source of gender inequality by making boys and girls study the same subjects.

Boaler (1998)- says a key reason for changes in girls’ achievement is the impact of
these educational policies. Barriers being removed means school is more meritocratic (equal opportunities)- girls work harder than boys, and meritocracy
means they achieve more.

Question 3

Teachers Attention

Answer 3

Teachers in the classroom interact differently with
boys and girls.
* French (1993)- classroom study found boys got more
attention because they attracted more reprimands.
* Francis (2001)- found despite boys getting more
attention, they were disciplined more harshly and felt
teachers picked on them- who tend to have lower
expectations of boys.
This helps explain why teacher respond more positively
to girls- because they see them as cooperative, and that
they see boys as potentially disruptive.
This can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy where teachers
promote girl’s self-esteems and help them raise
achievement levels.

Question 4

challenging steretypes in curriculum

Answer 4

Sociologists ague that removing gender
stereotypes from textbooks, reading schemes
and other learning materials over the years has
removed a barrier to girls’ achievement.
‘70s/’80s research found reading schemes
portrayed women as housewives and mothers,
with physics books showing females frightened
by science, and maths books showing boys to
be more inventive.
* Weiner (1995)- argues that teachers have
challenged these stereotypes, and that sexist
images have been taken out of learning
material.
This helps raise girls’ achievements
by showing them more positive images of
what women can do.

Question 5

Marketisation and League Tables (Internal Gender Differences in Education)

Answer 5

Marketisation policies have made education a more competitive environment- where schools see girls as desirable recruits because they get
better exam results.
* Jackson (1998)- argues that league tables have improved opportunities for girls- high-achieving girls are attractive to schools, and low-achieving boys are
not.
This can create a self-fulfilling prophecy as girls are more likely to be recruited by good schools, meaning they’re more likely to do well.
* Slee (1998)- argues that’s boys are less attractive to schools as they’re more
likely to have behaviour problems, and are 4 times more likely to be excluded.
This means schools may see boys as ‘liability students’ that prevent them from improving its’ league table score. They give schools a ‘rough, tough’ image that
high-achieving girls don’t want to apply to.

Question 6

GCSEs & Coursework: Gender Differences

Answer 6

Sociologists argue the way students are assessed favours girls and disadvantages boys.
* Gorard (2005)- found the gender gap widened in 1989- when GCSEs and its coursework were introduced. He concludes the achievement gap isn’t the general failing of boys, it’s the changed system of assessment.
* Mitsos & Browne (1998)- girls succeed in coursework as they spend more time on it, meet deadlines better, and are better organised than boys.
They argue these factors mean girls have benefitted from coursework, as well as the introduction of AS, A-Level, and GCSE they therefore achieve better than boys.

• GCSEs have also caused more oral exams, and because girls have better developed language skills, they benefit from them more than boys.
• Girls have these characteristics/skills from early gender role socialisation, where family may encourage them to be tidy and patient. These qualities are an advantage in today’s education
  system, which helps girls achieve better than boys.
• Elwood (2005)- argues that coursework is unlikely to be the cause of the gender achievement gap, as exams have more influence on final grades than coursework does.

Question 7

Radical Feminist view on Girls Achievement

Answer 7

Despite more female headteachers, male teachers are
more likely to become heads of
secondary schools.

Girls subject choices/career options are still limited by
education.
They are critical, saying that despite
girls achieving more, the education system is still patriarchal/male- dominated.

Sexual harassment of girls
still continues in schools.

Question 8

Liberal Feminist view on Girls Achievement

Answer 8

Believe more equal opportunities policies
being developed will make further progress.

Progress can also be made with more
encouraging role models and overcoming sexist
attitudes/stereotypes.
This is similar to functionalism- where
education is a meritocracy that all individual can achieve in regardless of gender/class/ethnicity.