Boys and achievement

• Sewell - feminisation of education

  • boys fall behind due to education becoming 'feminised'
  • schools to not nurture 'masculine' traits such as competitiveness and thinks that education has prioritised females as feminine traits are celebrated
  • sees coursework as a major cause of gender differences in achievement and argues that some coursework should be replaced with final exams and greater emphasis placed on outdoor education
  • the learning preference of girls is prioritised meaning boys struggle to engage
• factors that affect boys achievement

  • boys and literacy
  • globalisation and the decline of traditional mens jobs
  • feminisation of education
  • shortage of male primary school teachers
  • laddish subcultures
• boys and literacy

  • according to DCSF 2007 the gender gap is mainly the results of boys poorer literacy and language skills
  • reasons for boys poorer literacy skills
  • Parents spend less time reading to sons
  • It is mainly mothers who read to young children, so reading is seen as a feminine activity
  • Boys' leisure interests (e.g. sport and computer games) don't encourage language and communication skills, whereas girls' 'bedroom culture' does
  • Because language and literacy are important in most subjects, boys' poorer skills have a wide ranging effect on their achievement
  • in response to this the government has introduced a range of policies to improve boys skills
• Globalisation and the decline of traditional mens jobs

  • Globalisation has led to much manufacturing industry relocating to developing countries, leading to a decline in heavy industries like shipbuilding, mining, and manufacturing in the UK
  • these sectors of economy mainly employed men
  • Mitsos and Browne argue that the decline in male employment opportunities has led to a male identity crisis, with a loss of motivation and self-esteem
  • Many boys now believe they have little prospect of getting jobs and so give up trying to get qualifications
  • the decline has largely been in manual working class jobs that require few if any qualifications
  • thus it seems unlikely that the disappearance of such jobs would have much impact on boys motivation to obtain qualifications
• shortage of male primary school teachers

  • the lack of role models at home and school causes boys underachievement
  • only 1 in 8 primary school teachers are men and about 40% of 8-11 year old boys have no lessons with a male teacher, which may give boys the idea that education is a feminine activity
  • most boys surveyed that the presence of a male teacher made them behave better and 42% said it made them work harder
  • male teachers are better at imposing discipline to boys whereas female teachers are unable to control their behaviour
• Read (2006) - criticism of needing male teachers

  • criticises the claim that only male teachers can exert the firm discipline boys need
  • She studied the kinds of language teachers use to express criticism or disapproval of pupils work and behaviour and identified two types of language
  • the disciplinarian discourse - authority is made explicit and visible
  • the liberal discourse - authority is made implicit and invisible
  • the disciplinarian discourse is associated with masculinity and the liberal discourse is associated with femininity
  • however in her study she found that female teachers also used a disciplinarian discourse, disproving the claim that only male teachers can provide the stricter classroom culture boys are said to need
• 'laddish subcultures'

  • argue that the growth of 'laddish subcultures' has contributed to boys' underachievement
  • Epstein 1938 argues that WC boys are more liked to be harassed, labelled as sissies or gay if they appear to be 'swots'
  • This supports Francis (2001) findings that boys are more concerned about being labelled than girls are as it's a threat to their masculinity
  • boys therefore reject schoolwork as it's seen as 'feminine' and goes against WC culture of being tough & doing manual work
• the moral panic about boys - Ringrose 2013

  • Those who criticise feminism say we don't need policies like GIST because girls are succeeding at the expense of boys
  • The moral panic reflects the fear that WC boys will become a dangerous, unemployable underclass that threaten social stability
  • says this panic has influenced educational policy- it narrows down equal opportunities policies to just 'failing boys', which ignores the problems WC and minority ethnic pupils have as well as ignoring female pupils' problems such as sexual harassment
• the moral panic about boys - Osler 2006

  • focus on underachieving boys neglects girls
  • this is partly because girls often disengage from schools quietly
  • boys disengagement often takes form of public displays of 'laddish' subcultures that attract attention from teachers and policymakers
  • osler points out that that schemes to prevent exclusions among black boys ignores the problems of exclusions among girls which are increasing
  • girls who are excluded are less likely to go to a Pupil Referral Unit
  • official exclusion rates also mask the hidden problems of exclusion among girls including self-exclusion (truancy) and internal exclusion (taken out of lessons)