Gender - boys

• Laddish subcultures


  Wc boys focus on masculinity, manual jobs, reject school work.

  Boys mature later than girls

  Fall behind to lack of focus
• Epstein - laddish subcultures


  Wc boys likely to be harassed - “sissies“ (homophobic abuse)
• Shortage of male teachers


  Lack male role models

  • 1.5 million female headed households
  • 39% 8-11 year olds taught by females
• Yougov - shortage of male teachers


  42% boys say male teachers make them work harder
• Literacy

  Boys have poorer language skills - less time reading as its “feminine”

  Boys leisure = sports (not develop language skills)

  Policies:

  • ’playing for success’ - football boost skills
  • ’dads and sons’ - more dads involved in education
• Ringrose - moral panic about boys


  Wc become a threat - pressure to raise achievement
• Osler - moral panic about boys


  Focus - boys disengage publicly

  Increasing girls exclusions
• Mitsos and Browne - globalisation and feminisation


  Decrease in male employment leads to identity crisis

  Little prospect, undermine motivation and self esteem

  Give up qualifications
• Sewell - globalisation and feminisation


  Schools don’t nurture masculine traits

  Coursework = major cause of gender differences

  Emphasis needed on outdoor adventUte
• Gender, class and ethnicity

  Gender= boys + girls both improved but girls are better

  Class= class gap at GCSE 3x wider than gender gap

  Ethnicity= varies on factors, gender gap in black Caribbean is largest
• Gender and subject choice


  boys= maths, physics, pe

  girls= english, food tech, modern languages

  national curriculum gives little freedom to choose
• Norman - gender role socialisation


  Boys + girls dress differently, toys, activities, hair styles
• Byrne - gender role socialisation


  Teachers encourage boys to be tough

  Girls expected to be quiet and helpful
• Murphy + Elwood - gender role socialisation


  Boys read info texts

  Girls read stories

  > explains subject choice
• Browne + Ross - gender role socialisation


  Gender domains

  Childrens beliefs shaped by experiences

  More confidence in tasks with gender domains
• Kelly - gender subject images


  Science = boys (textbooks are men, show men, dominate the lab)
• Colley - gender subject images


  Computer science = boys (machines, way taught is off putting to girls)
• Leonard - single sex schooling


  Less stereotyped

  Boys = english and language

  Girls = maths and science
• Paechter - gender identity + peer pressure


  Sport = girls cope with image contradicting strestyle
• Dewar - gender identity + peer pressure


  “Lesbian”/“butch” (girls in sport)
• Fuller - gendered career opportunities


  Wc girls - childcare and beauty
• Connell


  Domination of masculinity and subordination
• Lees - double standards


  Sexual morality

  Boys boast about sex but call girls “slags”
• Connell - verbal abuse


  “Rich vocab of abuse” - boys name call girls
• Paetcher - verbal abuse


  “Gay”/”queer” labels bear no relation, reinforce gender norms and identities
• Mac an Ghaill - male gaze


  Surveillance - dominant heterosexual masculinity reinforced way to prove masculinity - ditch risk of “gay” label
• Mac an Ghaill- male peer group


  Wc “macho lads” dismissed hard working boys

  Boys = ”dickhead achievers”

  Effortless = “real Englishmen”
• Archer - female peer groups


  Gain symbolic capital from sexual identities
• Ringrose - female peer groups


  Popularity is crucial
• Reay - female peer groups


  “Boffin” identity need to conform to ideal pupil to achieve

  Lacking interest in boys
• Mac an Ghaill - teachers and discipline 


  Teased boys for behaving like girls

  Ignored the abuse of girls
• Askew + Ross - teachers and discipline 


  Reinforce gender messages - males protect females