Gender difference in education

• internal factor of gender differences in education

  GCSE AND COURSEWORK- mitsos and brown argue that girls spend more time on their work, take pride in their presentation and meet deadlines better.

  Gorad discovered that the gender gap was consistent until the year gcse and coursework was introduced.
• Criticism of Gorad (2005)

  Elwood(2005) argues that coursework is still an issue but isn't the main cause of the gender gap because the final grades are most important.
• Internal factors of gender difference in education (2)

  Teachers attention: Spender found that teacher spend more time with boys than girls.

  Argues: girls become more independent
• Criticism of spender

  French argues that boys and girls get almost the same amount of attention but boys get more because of behavior only.
• External factors for gender difference in education

  Impact of feminism: Mcrobbie(1994) argues that magazines helped girls find their identity and learn their expectations from childhood onwards such as romance, fashion and pop culture.

  Changes in ambition :

  O’Connor’s (2006) study on 14-17 year olds found that they didn’t find marriage or having children important to them
• External factors in gender difference in education (2)

  Changes in the family:

  There have been significant changes in the family from the 1970s such as

  • Increase in divorce rate
  • increase in single parent families
  • decrease in number of marriages
  • increase in small families
• How did the changes of the family affect girls

  • These changes affected girls attitudes the decrease in marriages and increase in single parent families made girls more independent.
  • Divorce increase- girls learn to not be financially dependent on their partner.
• Gender difference statistics

  • in 2022 84% of exams taken by girls achieved an A* - c compared to 80% of boys
  • 18 % of girls achieved an A compared to 17% of boys in 2019
  • there Is a 6% gender gap with 53% of girls achieve grade 5 or more in maths and English
• Gender socialization of children

  Norman- 1988 argues that from an early age boys and girls dress differently ,given different toys and encouraged for different activities.

  Arguement: results for why boys and girls choose very different things.

  Example- subject choices

  linked to- paetcher(1998) girls get an image for picking PE as a subject.
• Boys achievement

  Literacy skills: According to DFES a main cause for gender gap is because of boys having poorer literacy and language skills. This may be a result of parents not reading to their sons. This then becomes a feminine activity to them

  Laddish subcultures: Epstein found that boys are likely to be harrassed or bullied for wanting to get a good education.
• Girls achievement

  Symbolic capital- girls gain more recognition and status from their peers.

  1. Girls spend more money on their appearance: Archer‘s study on a girl who used all £40 of her babysitting money on her appearance. Teachers think this is a barrier to girls learning.
  2. boyfriends: girls get distracted by them and become less aspired to want to do work or education leading them to want to settle down.
• symbolic capital boyfriend criticism 


  Evans (2001) found 21 working class girls in sixth form wanted to go to university and increase their economic capital for themselves and their family.