Subject Choice

• Class:

  > status of vocational courses

  > teacher labelling

  > cultural attitudes of parents
• Gender:

  > gender domains

  > gendered subject images

  > peer pressure

  > gendered career opportunities
• Class - Status of Vocational Courses:

  > prepares pupils for a particular work role - until recently, it has been given a lower status as it leads to lower paid jobs

  > WC pupils are more likely to be pushed towards vocational courses, as they are likely to perform manual jobs in society
• Class - Teacher Labelling:

  > teachers tend to label WC pupils as lower achieving, resulting in a self-fulfilling prophecy

  > WC pupils are then pushed towards stereotypically 'easier' BTEC subjects, such as health and social care
• Class - Cultural Attitudes of Parents:

  > Sugarman - the different attitudes of the WC and MC result from the different nature of manual and non-manual jobs

  > MC occupations provide opportunities for continuous advancement, leading to greater status and income, which encourages planning for the future (deferred gratification)

  > WC occupations quickly reach full earning capacity and there are fewer promotion opportunities (immediate gratification)
• Gender - Gender Domains:

  > Murphy and Elwood - differences in gender socialisation leads to differences in subject choice

  > gender domains - things seen as 'territory' for each gender

  > boys tend to read hobby books = interest in science

  > girls tend to read fiction = interest in English
• Gender - Gendered Subject Images:

  > some subjects are seen to be masculine or feminine

  > Kelly - science teachers are often male, and boys dominate over apparatus

  > Colley - computer science involves machines (male gender domain) and rarely involves group work

  > pupils in single-sex schools tend to hold less stereotyped subject images and make less traditional subject choices
• Gender - Peer Pressure:

  > peer pressure can influence subject choice (gender domains)

  > boys tend to opt out of dance as others view this as outside the male gender domain, so will apply negative pressure

  > Paetcher - sports is seen as in the male domain, so girls are labelled as 'gay' or 'butch' if they show too much interest
• Gender - Gendered Career Opportunities:

  > employment is still highly gendered - over half of all women's employment falls into 4 categories (clerical, personal services, secretarial or occupations like cleaning)

  > affects pupils' ideas about possible or acceptable jobs e.g. boys less likely to choose a subject that is more relevant to a 'girls' job

  > explains why vocational courses are more gender-specific (they are more closely linked to career plans)