feminism

• Focus

  • gender inequalities
  • gender differences in subject choices
  • patriarchal nature of education system
  • traditional definitions off masculinity and femininity remain
  • main roles of education is to maintain gender inequality
  • despite general improvement of girls achievement exam performance of working- class girls remains as a concern
• Criticisms

  • fails to consider issue of class differences
  • concerns about boys underperforming especially working class boys
• Gendered language

  • School textbooks and teachers often use gendered language like "he," "him," and "man" to refer to people generally.
  • This language can marginalize women and make them less visible in educational materials.
• Gendered roles

  • School textbooks have historically depicted men and women in traditional roles, such as women as mothers and housewives.
  • This was especially common in reading materials from the 1960s and 1970s.
• Gender Stereotypes

  • Reading materials from the 1960s and 1970s often reinforced traditional gender stereotypes
  • Boys: Typically portrayed as adventurous, physically stronger, and with more freedom and choices. They were shown as taking active roles and as being more independent.
  • Girls: Often depicted as caring, focused on domestic tasks, and interested in family and home life. They were presented as followers rather than leaders, reinforcing a supportive or secondary role.
• Women in the curriculum

  • Gender Bias in Curriculum
  • Women are often underrepresented or secondary e.g missing, in the background in school curriculum especially in history.
  • Feminists argue that women have been "hidden from history," with historical narratives centered around men and their achievements
• Subject choice

  • Female students have traditionally avoided STEM subjects, which were seen as "boys' subjects."
  • Subjects favored by girls often held lower status and had less economic value in the job market.
• Discrimination

  • Evidence shows girls have faced discrimination solely based on gender.
  • 11-Plus Exam Example: In the 1940s, the pass mark for boys was set lower than for girls to ensure equal numbers in grammar schools
  • Causing some girls to "fail" artificially to allow more boys to "succeed."
• Further and higher education

  • Lower Female Participation: Historically, fewer girls than boys pursued further and higher education.
  • Teacher Influence: Research (Stanworth, 1983) indicates that teachers often encouraged boys more than girls to attend university.
• Crtiticism

  • Feminist Contributions: Feminist perspectives have highlighted gender inequalities in education, prompting positive changes.
  • Reduced Sexism: Sexist content in reading materials has largely been removed.
  • Female Academic Success: Today, women outperform men in GCSEs, A levels, and higher education enrollment.
  • Current Concern: The focus has shifted to addressing boys' underachievement rather than discrimination against girls.
• Families socialise daughters into a bedroom culture
• Gendered violence

  • within schools
  • over 6000 sexual offences happened within 3 years in school
• Genderquake

  • Improved ambitions of girls towards the labour market
  • this has served to motivate women in education
  • Girls are more interested in high paying jobs
  • increase of women in stem and with high paying jobs
• Examples of patriarchy within education

  • Head teacher usually a man
  • Male students more likely to follow instructions of male teachers
  • Girls uniform is more strictly enforced
  • School hierarchy, more men in higher positions as a result of glass celling
  • Gendered subject choices
  • Labelling and teacher expectations of girls are more based on gender stereotypes
  • Control of behaviour is different
• Female achievement

  • Achieve higher than males because of reasons like girls being more organised and more home-centered than boys
  • feminisation of education- the school has become a female dominated environment which benefited girls while making boys feel less comfortable in environment
• Effect of class

  • working class students are socialised to focus on low-paying jobs because of subcultural attitudes
  • According to Louise Archer, they are more focused on establishing a "glamourous female identity"
  • It is centered around gaining status from appearance, clothes and boyfriends