External factors and gender differences in achievement
Cards (11)
- Beck + Beck - Gernsheim 2001
- 1950 - 1960 - traditional norms and values based on collective identity such as class and gender
- 1970-1980 - deindividualisation and old norms are broke down
- 1990-now - a period of reflexive individualism where independence is more valued and a career has become part of womens life project
- McRobbie study - the impact of Feminism 1
- girls magazine
- in the 1970s they emphasised the importance of getting married and not being 'left on the shelf'
- nowadays they contain images of assertive, independent women
- the changes encouraged by feminism may affect girls self image and ambitions with regard to family and careers
- may explain improvement in their educational achievement
- Sue Sharpe study - changing ambition of girls
- interviews girls in the 1970 and in the 1990s to show the major shift in the way they see their future
- in 1974 the girls had low aspirations and they beleived educational success was unfeminine and appearing to be ambitious would appear as unattractive
- in 1990 girls ambition had changed and they had a different order of priorities as saw their future as independent women with a career rather than being reliant on their husband
- cared about their career more
- external factors that have contributed to the improvement in girls achievement
- impact of feminism
- changes in the family
- changes in womens employment
- girls changing ambitions
- feminism
- Challenging patriarchy in all areas of social life and rejecting the traditional stereotypes of women as inferior to men in the home, work, education and law
- changes in the family
- major changes in the family since the 1970s including
- Increase in the divorce rate
- More lone parent families, about 90% of which are female headed
- More cohabitation and a decrease in first marriages
- Smaller families and more women staying single
- these changes are affecting girls attitudes towards education in a number of ways
- for example, due to more women headed lone parents and more women divorcing their husbands they may try harder in school so they achieve this independence
- changes in womens employment
- many important changes in womens employment in recent decades including
- The 1970 Equal Pay Act
- 1975 Sex Discrimination Act
- growth of part-time jobs and jobs in service sectors
- Women in employment has increased from in 1971 only having 53% in employment to in 2013 having 67% in employment
- Women are breaking through the glass ceiling
- the invisible barrier stopping them from reaching high-level professional or managerial roles
- these changes have encouraged girls to see their future in terms of paid work rather than as housewives
- Better pay, career opportunities and role models of successful women are all incentives for girls to work hard at school and get qualifications
- Fuller 2011
- found that girls found educational success was a central aspect of their identity
- they saw themselves as creators of their own future and had an individualised notion of self
- they believed in meritocracy and aimed for a professional career that would enable them to support themselves
- this therefore required educational qualifications
- class gender and ambition
- WC girls still have stereotypically female aspirations like marriage and children, and expect to do traditional women's work
- Reay 1998
- This shows the reality of WC girls' positions.
- Their limited inspirations reflect the limited job opportunities they see as available to them.
- by contrast a traditional gender identity like being part of a couple is attainable, and is a source of status
- biggart 2002
- found that working class girls are more likely to face a precarious position in the labour market, and motherhood is seen as the only viable option for the future.
- This means they see less point in education, the WC girls in Fuller's study that weren't interested in staying on at school as they desired low-level jobs