gender and education

• WHAT IS THE TREND AMONGST GENDER AND EDUCATION?

  -girls outperform boys at almost every level across almost every subject

  -differences in subject choices amongst girls and boys, e.g., girls pushed towards humanities/healthcare whereas boys towards STEM
• WHAT ARE THE EXTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING GENDERED DIFFERENCES IN ACHIEVMENT FOR GIRLS?

  1. Impact of feminism

  2. changes in employment

  3 changes in girls' ambitions
• EXPLAIN THE IMPACT OF FEMINISM ON ACHIEVMENT

  -McRobbie: girls in 70s read magazines which emphasised importance of marriage whereas in modern day magazines contain images of strong, independent women

  -Feminists have campaigned for changes in law, e.g., equal rights
• EXPLAIN THE EFFECT OF CHANGES IN EMPLOYMENT ON ACHIEVMENT

  -changes in law protect women in the workplace

  -equal pay act

  sex discrimination act
• EXPLAIN THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN GIRLS' AMBITIONS ON ACHIEVMENT

  -Sharpe: girls in 1970s wanted to marry and have kids, whereas in 1990s ambitions changed into an independent role and careers
• WHAT ARE INTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING GENDERED ACHIEVMENT FOR GIRLS?

  -GCSEs/coursework

  -equal opportunities policy

  -role models

  -teacher attention

  -selection and league tables
• DESCRIBE AFFECT OF GCSEs/COURSEWORK

  -Mitos and Brown: girls do better than boys in coursework because they are more conscientious and better organised

  -Gorad: attainment gap rose when GCSEs were introduced
• DESCRIBE AFFECT OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICIES

  -GIST/WISE programs encourage girls into STEM

  -national curriculum ensures girls and boys study the same subjects
• DESCRIBE THE AFFECT OF ROLE MODELS

  -more female teachers encourages girls to see school as part of 'female gender domain
• DESCRIBE THE AFFECT OF TEACHER ATTENTION

  -Swann: boys dominate class discussions whilst girls listen and absorb information, teachers more likely to praise girls

  -French and French: boys and girls given same amount of academic feedback but boys disciplined more often so overall get more attention
• DESCRIBE THE AFFECT OF SELECTION AND LEAGUE TABLES

  -marketisation policies=more competition between schools

  -schools want the best students

  -girls more successful than boys, girl more attractive students
• WHAT ARE EXTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ACHIEVMENT IN BOYS?

  -boys literacy

  -decline in manual labour
• EXPLAIN THE AFFECT OF BOYS LITERACY

  -parents spend less time reading to boys as it is seen as 'feminine'

  -boys play sports in leisure time whilst girls chat and read which boosts literacy
• EXPLAIN THE AFFECT OF DECLINE IN MANUAL LABOUR

  -globalisation led to decline in manual industries, e.g., mining/ manufacturing

  -leads to a male 'identity crisis' so no motivation to get a job and work
• WHAT ARE INTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING DIFFERENCES IN ACHIEVMENT FOR BOYS?

  -feminisation of schooling

  -laddish subcultures
• EXPLAIN THE AFFECT OF FEMINISATION OF SCHOOLING

  -schools no longer nurture masculine traits

  -coursework disadvantages boys

  -lack of male primary school teacher=lack of role models at young age
• EXPLAIN THE AFFECT OF LADDISH SUBCULTURES

  -peer pressure on boys to succumb to laddish subculture and be 'anti-school'

  -e.g., Willis and 'The Lads