SUBJECT CHOICE

• Peer Pressure Carrie Paetcher

  Boys and girls pressure others if they disapprove. Boys doing drama or dance face criticism. 1998 Paetcher found sport was seen as a male subject, girls who chose it faced contradiction with traditional female stereotype.

  less in same sex schools
• Gendered career opportunities


  employment is still viewed as gendered. ‘women’s jobs’ involve similar work to housework, childcare or administration. over half of female employment falls to secretarial and personal services
• gender, class Carol Fuller


  vocational courses have class element, W/C girls make more gendered decisions
• gender role socialisation Murphy and Elwood


  boys and girls are socialised differently and develop different tastes in reading. boys more on hobbies and information, girls more on people
• gender domains Browne and Ross

  due to socialisation girls and boys see different activities as their ‘territory’ Fixing a car = male domain. shaped by early interaction with adults. confidence levels higher within domain tasks
• gendered subject images Kelly


  science is seen as a boys subject as teachers more likely to be male, examples draw on male interests, textbooks use masculine examples
• single sex schooling Diana Leonard


  EVALUATION

  pupils in single sec schools have less stereotypical views and make less traditional choices. 13,000 students analysed. more girls chose maths and science A-levels, boys chose English and MFL
• A-level statistics 2019


  computing 90% boys

  physics 80% boys

  PE 60% boys

  performing arts 90% girls

  english language 75% girls

  psychology 80% girls