gender differences in achievement

• statistics on gender

  • 2013 teacher assessments showed girls are ahead of boys in all areas of learning by 7-17 % points
  • the gender gap is at approximately 10% points (GCSE)
  • girls do better in maths/physics even though they are 'boy subjects' - more likely to get A-C (A level)
  • both genders have improved over time, but girls have improvement has been more rapid
• external factors to explain trends in girls achievement

  • impact of feminism
  • changes in family
  • changes in women's employment
  • girls changing ambition
• impact of feminism


  feminism hasn't achieved full equality but it has been successful in improving women's rights and opportunities

  • Mcrobbie - did a study of girls magazines, she found in the 70's they emphasise being 'left on the shelves' whereas now women are now shown as independant
  • feminism has impacted girls self-image for the better
• changes in the family

  since the 1970s there has been an increase in divorce rate, cohabitation and number of lone parent families - links to Divorce Reform Act (1969) and contraception

  • more lone parent families = women are breadwinners - financially independent
  • creates a role model for young girls causes them to want to achieve independence
• changes in women's employment

  • 1970 Equal Pay Act - made women have equal pay to men
  • 1975 Sex Discrimination act - outlaws discrimination in the workplace
  • proportion of women in employment rose from 53%-67% form 1971-2015
  • gives girls more of an incentive to get qualifications
• girls changing ambitions


  Sharpe found in the 1970's girls had low aspirations as they prioritised love, marriage and husbands over educational achievement

  • in the 1990s this changed as girls found having careers and being able to support themselves as more important - saw their futures as independent women
• internal factors to explain trends in gender achievement

  • equal opportunities policies
  • positive role models in schools
  • GCSE and coursework
  • teacher attention
  • challenging stereotypes in the curriculum
  • selection and league tables
• equal opportunities policies

  • national curriculum (1988) - removed some gender inequality by making both genders do mostly the same subjects
  • Jo Boaler - sees the impact of equal opportunties policies as a key reason for changes in girls achievement - barries being removed means education is more meritocratic
• positive role models in schools


  there has been an increase in the proportion of female teachers and head teachers going from 22% to 27% from 1992-2012 (secondary)
• GCSE and coursework

  • Gorard (2005) found that the gender gap widened in 1989 as this was the year GCSE and coursework were introduced
  • Mitsos and Browne - girls succeed in coursework as they spend more time on it, therefore they are more organised than boys

  however, Elwood argues coursework is unlikely to be the main cause of the gender achievement gap, as exams influence final grades more
• teacher attention


  French - found boys receive more attention because they attracted more reprimands

  Francis - despite boys getting more attention, they were disciplined harshly and teachers picked on them - less expectations for boys
• challenging stereotypes


  Weiner (1995) argues that since the 1980s , teachers have challenged stereotypes seen in textbooks and other reading materials

  • sexist images have been removed which raises girls achievement by presenting them more positively
• selection and league tables

  David and Jackson (1998) notes that the introduction of league tables has improved opportunities for girls, as high achieving girls are attractive to schools

  Slee (1998) finds boys are 4x more likely to get excluded
• factors causing boys underachievement

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


  DCSF (2007), the gender gap is mainly the result of boys' poorer literacy and language

  • parents spend less time reading to their sons
  • mothers also do most of the reading to young children - makes reading appear more feminine
  • poor language and literacy skills are likely to affect boys' achievement
• feminisation of education

  • Sewell (2006) reported that boys fall behind because education has 'feminised'
  • qualities more closely associated with girls are celebrated instead e.g methodical working
• shortage of male primary school teachers

  • the lack of male role models both at home and at school is said to be a cause of boys underachievement
  • Yougov (2007) 14% of primary school teachers are male and 39% of 8-11 year boys had no lessons with a male teacher
  • Read (2008) is critical of the claim that education has become more feminised and only male teachers can exert the firm discipline that boys need
• decline in traditional men's jobs


  since the 1980s there has been a significant decline in heavy industries such as steel and iron - due to globalisation

  • Mitsos and Browne claim this decline has led to an identity crisis for men - boys have little prospect of getting a job - undermines motivation to get qualifications
• 'laddish' subcultures

  • Epstein (1998) - examined the way that masculinity is constructed within school she found - w/class boys are more likely to be harassed and labelled as sissies and subject to homophobic abuse by peers if they appear to be swots
  • supported by Francis (2001) as boys were more concerned than girls about being labelled as swots - more of a threat to their masculinity
• moral panic about boys


  critics of feminism argue that policies to promote girls' education are no longer needed and believe girls have succeeded at the expense of boys

  • Ringrose (2013) argues that these views have contributed to a moral panic about 'failing boys' - it reflects a fear that underachieving w/class boys will grow up to become a dangerous unemployable underclass that threatens social stability
  • this causes a larger focus on failing boys farther
• why do not all girls succeed?

  in 2013, only 41% of girls from poorer families achieved 5 A*-C GCSEs, whereas 68% of girls who don't get free school meals achieved 5 A*-C

  • Archer et al (2010) found one the reasons for social class differences in girls achievement is due to a conflict between w/class girls feminine identities and the schools values and ethos
  • girls gained symbolic capital through having a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity, having boyfriends and being loud
• explanations of gender and subject choice

  • gender role socialisation
  • gendered subject images
  • gender identity and peer pressure
  • gendered career opportunities
• gender role socialisation


  this is the process of learning the behaviour expected of males and females in society

  • Norman (1988) from an early age, boys and girls are dressed differently, given different toys and encouraged to take part in different activities
  • due to differences in socialisation, boys and girls develop different tastes in reading, therefore subjects
• gendered subject images


  the gender image of a subject affects who will want to choose it

  • Leonard - girls in all girls schools are more likely to take maths/science - single sex schools tend to hold less stereotypical subject images
  • Kelly - science is a boys subject because most teachers are men, textbook examples and resources draw in boys' interests e.t.c
• gender identity and peer pressure

  • w/class pupils in particular may make decisions about vocational courses that are based on a traditional sense of gender identity - childcare courses are 99% female, and engineering are 97% male
  • Dewar (1990) found that male students would call girls 'lesbian or 'butch' if they appeared to have an interest in sport - this explains why single-sex school pupils will pick non-traditional subjects due to a lack of pressure
• gendered career opportunities 


  different subject choices come from employment have different sex-types

  • women are concentrated into a narrow range of occupations
  • Fuller (2011) found placements in feminine, w/class jobs (e.g nursing) were the norm for the w/class girls in her study
• how do schools reinforce patriarchy

  • verbal abuse
  • teachers and discipline
  • double standards
• verbal abuse


  Connell - "a rich vocabulary" of abuse is one way that the dominant gender and sexual identities are reinforced

  Paechter - sees name calling as a way to shape gender identity and maintain male power

  Parker (1996) - found boys were labelled as 'gay' for being friendly to girl teachers
• teachers discipline 


  teachers also play a role in reinforcing dominant definitions of gender identities

  • Haywood and Mac an Ghaill (1996) found more male teachers told boys off her behaving like girls - they would also ignore boys verbally abusing girls or blame the girls for it
• double standards

  • Lees (1993) found there is a double standard for sexual morality - boys can boast about sexual exploits, but girls are called slags for not having a steady boyfriend or dressing a certain way
  • this justifies male power and can be seen as a form of social control