Differential Educational Achievement: Gender (Boys)

What are the 4 internal factors?

• Literacy

• Feminisation of education

• Lack of male primary teachers

• Laddish sub cultures

What are the 2 external factors?

• Crisis of masculinity

• Over estimation of ability

(Internal factor) Literacy

• DfCSF (2007) argues that the gender gap in education is largely due to poor literacy skills among boys

• Reading is often seen as a feminine activity, which boys are discouraged from engaging in

• Boys tend to spent their time on hobbies like video games, which involve less reading and discussion

What is the impact of literacy (int) on achievement?

Poor literacy skills mean boys have lower vocabulary, making it harder to understand exam questions, express ideas and use elaborated speech codes - all of which are valued in schools

(External factor) Masculinity crisis

• Mitsos and Browne (1998) argue that due to globalisation, there has been a decline in traditional male jobs (eg mining, shipbuilding, manufacturing)

• This has caused an ‘identity crisis’ for men, especially in the working class

What is the impact of the masculinity crisis (ext) on achievement?

Boys believe they will not get a ‘real’ job, so they lack motivation to work hard in school. However, since many of these jobs didn’t require qualifications, the decline shouldn’t directly affect school performance - yet the psychological impact still demotivates boys

(Internal factor) Feminisation of education

• Tony Sewell (2006) argues that the education system has become feminised

• Schools now favour traits like neatness, attentiveness and methodical work, rather than competitiveness and leadership which are seen as ‘masculine’ traits

What is the impact of the feminisation of education (int) on achievement?

Boys may feel alienated or bored with school and disengage from learning. Sewell suggests reintroducing more exams and outdoor activities to re-engage boys

(Internal factors) Lack of male primary school teachers

• Teaching is seen as a feminine profession, especially in primary schools, where female staff dominate

• Boys may grow up with few or no male role models in education

What is the impact of a lack of male primary school teachers (int) on achievement?

Education and learning are viewed as ‘girly’ or uncool, leading boys to disengage and see school success as not masculine

(Internal factor) Laddish subcultures

• Boys often form anti school subcultures to gain peer status

• Being disruptive or getting into trouble is seen as ‘cool’, while working hard is seen as weak or ‘gay’

What is the impact of laddish subcultures (int) on achievement?

Leads to exclusion, low effort and avoidance of help. Long term, this results in underachievement and drop out from education

(External factor) Overestimation of ability

• Barber (1996) found that boys are often overconfident about their academic ability, especially compared to girls

• They believe they’ll do well in exams without much preparation

• This may be due to patriarchal social conditioning, where boys assume success is guaranteed

What is the impact of an overestimation of ability (ext) on achievement?

Boys often underperform in GCSEs, as they fail to revise properly or prepare. When they fail, they blame teachers or the system rather than taking responsibility, which limits their learning from mistakes

What are the 6 policies to improve boys achievement?

• Raising boys achievement project

• National literacy strategy

• Reading champions

• Playing for success

• Dads and sons

• Recruitment of male teachers

Improvement policy → Raising boys’ achievement project (RBA)

• Active through 2000 to 2004

• Investigated the gender gap in achievement, especially in key stage 2 and key stage 4

• Focused on why boys were underachieving and trialled strategies to raise boys’ performance in English schools

• Helped raise awareness of gender differences and informed later policy decisions, but success varied across schools

Improvement policy → National literacy strategy

• Aims to improve literacy levels across primary schools, particularly targeting boys

• Introduced a daily ‘literacy hour’ broken down into 4 parts: 1. 15 mins whole class reading from a big book 2. 15 mins focusing on vocabulary/grammar 3. 20 mins individual or small group tasks 4. 10 mins recap and plenary

• Aimed to develop better reading habits and vocabulary, which boys typically lag in

• However the strategy was only recommended, not compulsory - so implementation varied

Improvement policy → Reading champions

• Aimed to encourage boys to read by using positive male role models (eg athletes, actors) to promote reading

• Focused on changing attitudes by making reading seem more masculine and aspirational

• Helped challenge the view that reading is ‘feminine’, especially among younger boys

Improvement policy → Playing for success

• Aimed to improve literacy, numeracy and ICT skills among demotivated pupils (mainly boys) in key stage 2 and 3

• Delivered after school study support at football stadiums and sports venues

• Tapped into boys’ interest in sports to make reading more appealing

• Increased engagement and motivation, especially in boys from disadvantaged backgrounds

Improvement policy → Dads and sons campaign

• Aimed to increase father involvement in boys’ education, particularly ages 11 to 14

• Objectives included: 1. Encouraging dads to take an active role in their sons’ schoolwork 2. Creating public discussion on the important of male involvement through media

• Recognised the importance of male support at home, especially as boys often lack male educational role models

Improvement policy → Recruitment of male teachers

• Aimed to address the shortage of male role models in education, especially at primary level

• Targeted recruitment campaigns at university students, especially men in STEM subjects

• Sought to make schools feel less feminised and encourage boys to relate to learning more positively