Topic 4- gender differences Flashcards
Girls achievement (17 cards)
What are the four external factors of girls achievement in education?
- Impact of feminism
- Changes in the family
- Changes in women’s employment
- Girls changing attitudes
How has the impact of feminism led to girls achievement?
Feminism improved women’s rights and opportunities. McRobbie’s 1994 study found that magazines from the 1970’s emphasised the importance of marriage, whereas magazines from the 1990s portrayed strong independent women. This leads to ambition for girls
How has changes in the family led to girls achievement?
Since the 1970s there has been an increase in divorce rates suggesting women rely less on a man. And girls often have a strong independent role model to look up to, i.e their mother.
How has changes in womens employment led to increase in girls achievement?
There have been significant changes in women’s employment , such as:
1970 EPA act made it illegal to pay a woman less than a man.
Women in paid work roe from 53% TO 67% from 1971 to 2013.
How did Sharpe say girls changing attitudes led to better educational achievement?
Sharpe (1994) interviewed girls in the 70s and 90s and saw that in the 70s girls had low expectations, prioritised love, marriage, families and husbands. Compared to the 90s which girls prioritised careers and being independent.
What did Fuller say about girls changing attitudes?
Fuller found that educational success became part of girl’s identity. They believed in meritocracy and aimed for professional jobs so they can support themselves.
A03: What did Reay (1998) say to criticise these findings about girls external factors?
Working class girls do not see the point in achieving in education because they have limited job opportunities available to them.
What are the 6 internal factors linking to girls achievement in education? (only remember 3)
- Equal opportunities policies
- Positive role models in school
- GCSE and coursework
- Teacher attention
- Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
- Selection and league tables
How did having positive role models in school lead to girls achieving better in school?
There has been an increase in female teachers and head teachers showing that women can achieve positions of importance.
How does GCSE and coursework lead to better achievement for girls?
Gorard (2005) found that that gender gap decreased once GCSEs and coursework were introduced due to them being assessments which girls tend to do better at.
There was also an increase in oral exams which girls tend to do better at due to them having developed language skills
How did selection and league tables help girls achievement?
Marketisation led to schools competing more for girls as they were more desirable recruits because they tend to do better.
Jackson (1998) found that high achieving girls are more attractive to schools.
What are the liberal feminists views on girls achievement?
- Celebrate the progress so far in relation to girls achievement.
- Further progress will be made as a result of equal opportunities policies, encouraging positive role models and overcoming sexist attitudes
What are radical feminists views on girls achievement?
They believe the system is still patriarchal, this can be shown by:
- Sexual harassment of girls at school
- Limits to girl’s subject choices and career options
- Women are underrepresented in the curriculum
What did Archer say about girls identities at schools?
Archer found that working class girls identities clash with the ethos of the school leading to conflict
What is a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity according to Archer (2010)
Girls invest significant time, effort and money into constructing their feminine identity . Bourdieu finds this to be symbolic violence.
How does having a boyfriend affect a girls achievement according to Archer?
It can get in the way of school work and can lower aspirations because girls want to settle down, have children and work locally in working class jobs.
AO3: What did Evans find to criticise Archer’s findings about working class girls
Evans said that working class girls can go on to university and succeed, they do this to overcome this working class title and so they can help their families.
