feminist

• 4 main changes from 1800s 1990s

  1. 1880 - only girls from wealthy families were taught to read and write - the primary concern was to raise her to be a good wife by cooking, sewing
  2. 1950 - girl's education was less important - girls learnt practical skills in feminine subjects eg home economics
  3. 1980 - concern of girls underachievement - likelier to fail and not do A levels
  4. 1990 - girls outperformed boys - STEM subjects still are male dominated
• reasons boys underachieve

  1. crisis of masculinity - boys suffering due to ‘status frustration' as job markets change
  2. decline in manual jobs - decline in manufacturing industry eg coal mining since the Thatcher years resulted in less manual (male) work
  3. more feminized workforce -growth of tertiary industry, part time jobs became more suited to the skills and lifestyle of women
• reasons boys underachieve

  1. changing roles of men and women - ‘breadwinner' is no longer males - both men and women are held by same expectations of work
  2. too cool for school - boys view doing work as 'uncool’ and 'feminine’ creates an ‘anti-school subculture'
  3. not enough male teachers - teachers have lower expectations of boys eg behaviour and deadines - girls have more female role model reachers
• Liberal feminists

  • celebrate the progress of equality within education
  • believes equality can be achieved by a meritocratic system

  Radical

  • education is still unequal
  • sexual harassment - is underlooked, needs better sanctions
  • male dominated subjects (STEM) / gendered subjects
  • males likelier to be headteachers
  • Weiner - History and sociology feature mostly male thinkers, women are under presented throughout the curriculum
• Evaluation

  • Functionalists criticise the idea of ‘gendered subjects’ by saying that it is due to biological differences - girls are better suited for nurturing occupations (eg health and social) while boys opt for manual jobs

  Feminists say it’s not biological, but due to integrated gender stereotypes that limit choices

  • Postmodernists - say male and female roles became more fluid due to more diversity and industrialisation, society is rapidly changing