mock- miss huett Flashcards
(24 cards)
statistics from the department of education 2014/15
showed that the percentage of girls achieving 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE was 10.7% higher than for boys. The same gap dropped to 9.9 the following year; however, girls still achieved higher.
june 2016 table shows the percentage of boys and girls achieving A* - C grades at A level by subject
Males Females
Chemistry 76.9 77.1
Physics 70.6 74.2
Maths 79.8 80.8
History 81.2 85.1
Sociology 68.8 76.3
Art and Design 77.6 85.4
English 77.6 81.9
university statistics
-In the UK, women are 35% more likely to go to university.
-In 1990 only 34,000 women graduated from universities all over the UK while the number of male university graduates was 43,000. By 2000 the numbers changed completely. At the turn of the millennium, 133,000 women and only 110,000 men graduated from universities.
gender and education: the rise of feminism
the feminist movement has generated new ideas and attitudes to women’s roles in society. previously boys were expected to look after the family financially while girls were taught to take domestic responsibilities which do not require a high education. feminists challenged the idea that a woman’s role in society can only be fulfilled as a wife and mother. after the first and second wave of feminism women started to be more confident in their abilities and began to acheive great things in education and the workplace.
the rise of feminism in education- what more needs to be done?
liberal feminists
liberal feminists point out that complete equality in education and in the workplace is yet to be achieved. they argue that equality of opportunity-policies can further the cause and the challenging of sexist attitudes and stereotypes in school can also contribute to the development of equality.
changing aspirations- sue Sharpe (1994)
Sharpe did interviews with girls in the 1970s and in the 1990s (aspirations and values).
1970s- girls predominantly valued finding love, having a husband, a family and a home to direct.
1990s- girls valued career achievement and financial independence highly
the rise of feminism in education- what more needs to be done?
radical feminists
unlike liberal feminists radical feminists claim that policies and changing attitudes can do very little for women and girls if the system remains patriarchal, like it is now. they believe girls are subject to sexism in schools, that girls educational achievement is underrepresented and that male teachers are more likely to be appointed as heads of educational institutions (lack of role models for girls)
changing aspirations- fuller (2011)
fuller did a similar study to Sharpe’s in 2011 and found that educational success and the ability to enter a professional career was an essential part of girls identity
changing job opportunities
sociologists predict that in the future more women will be in paid-employment than men. it is also predicted that the number of traditionally ‘male’ professions within manufacturing and engineering will be decreasing, while the number of traditionally ‘female’ jobs within the service sector will be increasing. women might be needed in the job market more than men.
legal changes and equal opportunities policies- the sex discrimination act of 1975
this made the negative discrimination against any individual based on their sex in education illegal. it raised awareness of the overwhelming dominance of men in science subjects, for example
-kelly (1981) found that textbooks presented images of mainly male scientists; few female role models for school children interested in pursing a career in science, and the classes were dominated by male teachers and students she concluded that this resulted in sciences being perceived as ‘male’ subjects.
GIST (girls into science and technology) and GATE (girls and technology education)
to improve imbalance, national projects were set up to promote science subjects among girls, gist and gate were the two most important programmes supporting girls involvement in science and technology
the introduction of the national curriculum
the national curriculum dictates a set material for schools and students in the uk. certain subjects, like science, are compulsory for everyone. as a result boys and girls have equal access to the same subjects.
how gender effects subject choices- joint council for qualifications (2016)
boys girls
chemistry 25937 25874
physics 27699 7645
maths 56535 35628
history 25252 29497
sociology 7848 26132
art and design 10315 32927
english 22980 61730
why do boys and girls choose different subjects?-external factors, murphy and elwood (1999)
murphy and Elwood argued that gender socialisation, which happens in the family, is one of the reasons for girls and boys choosing certain subjects in school. the way parents treat their children and the expectations they set up for them can later shape their interests in school
gender socialisation example
boys spending more time outside in nature or with helping to fix things around the house this might make them more familiar than girls with science subjects. as a result science is often seen as a male subject.
why do boys and girls choose different subjects?- internal factors, Mitsos and Browne (1998)
Mitsos and Browne pointed to in-school factors that stand behind the gender division when it comes to school subjects. The four most important factors are
- gender stereotypes in textbooks
-the lack of female role models in science and maths textbooks
- gender stereotyping by teachers
- the domination of the science equipment in the classroom by male teachers and students
single-sex classrooms/schools - Alan smithers
argued that single-sex classrooms and single-sex schools are not as beneficial for girls as other think, he says it makes no difference to the attainment of girls. smithers points out that people think single sex schools are better because they do well at the league tables, however it is not the single-sex nature of them which makes them do well but the socio-economic background of their students ( pupils from wealthy middle class backgrounds, independent grammar schools). smithers is referring to the results of a Scottish study published in 2006 which proved that single sex classes do not result in better educational achievement of boys nut instead led to greater indiscipline.
single-sex and mixed schools
some sociologists argue that single-sex schools are beneficial for girls development. they seem especially supporting for girls in science subjects. there has been experiment of single-sex classrooms in mixed schools. this means that girls and boys were separated for certain subjects during their education, the aim was to eliminate the disruptive behaviour of the other sex from learning.
gender in education- social issues
the rate of girls education success is increasing faster than that of boys.
Harris et al.(1993)
did research on the educational education al achievement of 16 year old students with working class backgrounds. they found that
-boys are suffering from low self esteem and poor motivation
-girls are much much more willing to struggle to get through difficulties in their studies
-girls are more hardworking on the long term whilst boys get distracted much more easily
-boys find it harder to organise their time effectively when doing coursework
-girls spend more time on homework
- girls are more concerned about getting qualifications for their future careers than boys
gender and education: impact of external and internal factors on boys
-school environment
-self-image
-the meaning of masculinity
school environment
moir and moir (1998) argued that educational institutions have become too ‘girl friendly’ which means that they don’t suit boys and needs in terms of education development. they point to the emphasis on verbal skills and to the non competitive environment that schools aspire to as examples ‘girl friendly’ education
self image
Katz (2000) claims that peer pressure and the fear of being teased for studying contributes to boys underachievement and lack of effort in school. Katz also argued that boys nowadays see a lot of incompetent male role models in the media and advertising which undermines their self esteem
the meaning of masculinity
James (2000) argued that while women reassessed their role in society and decided that education and paid employment is a significant part of their lives, men are more uncertain about what their role in society is. the meaning of masculinity is being reassessed.
james argues that nowadays being good at school is not necessarily seen as the most masculine feature especially among the working class so boys tend not to work hard for educational success
