gender differences

• ›Achievement in education has generally increased over the past 30 years›However, girls have improved significantly more than boys
• external factors of girls achievement:


  the impact of feminism

  changes in the family

  changes in womens employment

  girls changing ambition
• the impact of feminism

  Since the 1960’s, feminism has grown and challenged patriarchy in all areas of society, Though progress still needs to be made, feminism has had considerable success in improving women’s opportunities and raising women’s expectations of their lives,

  Evidence from McRobbie (1994): girls magazines

  ›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
• changes in family

  -increase in divorce

  -female headed lone families

  -increase in cohabitation

  -women are having less children

  -more women are staying single
• changes in employment:

  equal pay act 1970

  sex discrimination act 1975
• girls changing ambition

  How girls see themselves and where they can go in future can have a significant impact on their education

  sue sharp: Girls’ priorities in the 1970s were love and marriage.

  In the 1990s this changed to careers and independence.
• girls changing ambition:

  How are changing ambitions a result of feminism?

  Feminism has made it possible for girls to have realistic ambitions, including changes in how women are perceived and laws such as the Equal Pay Act.

  How this positively impacted girls’ educational achievement?

  If girls are able to have ambitions that are realistic, that provides them with more motivation to work hard in school, which could lead to better grades.
• girls changing ambition:

  
• internal factors

  -equal opportunities policies

  -positive roles models in schools

  -GCSE and coursework

  -teacher attention

  -challenging stereotypes in the curriculum

  -selection and league tables
• equal opportunities policies:

  ›The belief that boys and girls are entitled to the same opportunities is now part of mainstream thinking and this influences educational policies›For example, programmes such as GIST (Girls Into Science and Technology) and WISE (Women Into Science and Engineering) aim to encourage girls’ participation in non-traditional areas›Additionally, the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1988 has removed one source of gender inequality, as it meant that girls and boys now studied same subjects at school
• equal opportunities policies- meritocracy:

  ›Equal opportunities have removed many of the barriers to girls’ educational achievement, making education more meritocratic›Meritocracy = literally ‘rule by merit’›Merit = hard work›Therefore, meritocracy is a fair system where those who work the hardest get the best rewards›So, if education is meritocratic, this means that girls, who generally work harder than boys, will now see this reflected in their achievement
• positive role models in schools:

  ›There are now more female teachers and head teachers in schools compared to the past›This provides a pro-education role model for girls, showing that they can achieve positions of importance and giving them non-traditional goals to aim for›Teachers are a particularly important role model for young girls in school because becoming a teacher involves a lengthy and successful education
• GCSE and coursework:

  Gorad (2005)

  ›Found that the gender gap in achievement increased in 1989 when GCSE was introduced›Most GCSEs included coursework at the time›Why might this have increased the gender gap?

  Mitsos and Browne (1998)

  ›Concluded that girls do better than boys in course work because they are more conscientious and organised›Therefore, if GCSEs are coursework-based, girls will end up with better GCSE grades
• teacher attention:

  
• challenging stereotypes:

  ›Research in the 70s/80s found that:›Reading schemes portrayed women mainly as housewives and mothers›Physics books showed them as being frightened by science›Maths books depicted boys as more inventive
• challenging stereotypes:

  However, Weiner (1995) argues that since the 1980s..

  ›Teachers challenge stereotypes more›Sexist images of girls and women removed from learning materials›This presents girls with more positive and achievement-driven images of what women can do
• selection and league tables:

  
• selection and league tables:

  
• symbolic capital and symbolic violence:

  
• symbolic capital and symbolic violence

  ›Archer found that by performing their working-class feminine identities,  the girls gained symbolic capital from their peers›She identifies several strategies that the girls followed for creating a valued sense of self, that brought them into conflict with the school:

  being loud, having a boyfriend and hyper-heterosexual feminine identity
• symbolic capital and symbolic violence:

  
• successful working class girls:

  ›Although working class girls in general are likely to underachieve, some do succeed and go on to higher education›However, even they may be disadvantaged by their gender and class identities›E.g. Evans found that successful girls wanted to go to university to increase their earning power, but not for themselves – to help their families›Also, ‘caring’ was a crucial part of their identity, leading them to remain at home while studying, limiting their choice of university and the market value of their degree
• What have sociologists focused on regarding boys' education?

  Reasons for boys' underachievement at GCSE
• What factors have been identified as responsible for boys' underachievement?

  Feminisation of schooling, literacy, globalisation, laddish subcultures
• Why is literacy considered a feminine activity?

  Mothers are more likely to read to children
• How do boys' leisure interests affect their literacy skills?

  They do not encourage communication and language skills
• What is meant by 'bedroom culture' in relation to girls?

  It encourages communication and language skills
• What do sociologists identify as a factor contributing to boys' underachievement?

  Poor literacy skills
• How has globalisation affected traditional male jobs in the UK?

  Manufacturing industries have relocated to developing countries
• What identity crisis do some sociologists argue boys face due to job decline?

  They believe they have no chance at getting a job
• What is the feminisation of schooling according to some sociologists?

  Boys lack adequate role models in education
• What does Sewell (2006) argue about education?

  Education has become feminised
• What did YouGov (2007) find regarding male teachers?

  Most boys said a male teacher improved their behavior
• What did Francis (2001) find about young boys' beliefs on gender?

  2/3 of 7-8 year olds believed gender did not matter
• What did Read (2008) discover about teacher discourse?

  Both male and female teachers used masculine discourse
• What concern do boys have regarding being labeled as 'smart'?

  It threatens their masculinity
• What did Epstein (1998) find about pro-school working-class boys?

  They were likely to be harassed and labeled as 'gay'
• How do laddish subcultures affect boys' academic performance?

  They create peer pressure to be anti-school
• What do critics of the feminist movement argue about policies for girls?

  They are no longer needed
• What does Ringrose (2013) argue about the views on boys' education?

  They have created a 'moral panic' about failing boys