gender & subject choice

what subjects do boys and girls tend to opt for?

• maths and physics - boys

• english, sociology, modern languages - girls

4 explanations of gender differences in subject choice?

• early gender role socialisation

• gendered subject images

• gender identity and peer pressure

• gendered career opportunities

what’s gender role socialisation?

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

who talk about books?

what do they say?

• murphy and elwood

• reading leads to subject choices. boys read hobby and information texts, girls read book about people. this explains why boys prefer science and girls english

what are 3 criticisms of early gender role socialisation?

• liberal feminism - it’s improving (e.g. clothes are becoming less gendered)

• social media campaigns

• women’s sport

what are gender domains?

the tasks and activities that boys and girls see as male or female ‘territory’ and therefore relevant to themselves (e.g. fixing a car is seen as a male role)

what personality trait do children gain when taking part in something in their gender domain?

confidence

what are the differences in how boys and girls tackle the same task?

girls focus more on how people feel, boys focus on how things are made/work

explain gendered subject images?

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

explain why science is seen as a ‘boys’ subject? (3)

• science teachers are more likely to be men

• the examples in textbooks often draw on boys rather than girls interests

• in lessons, boys monopolise the apparatus and dominate the laboratory

what’s gender identity and peer pressure?

subject choice can be influenced by peer pressure. other individuals may apply pressure if they disagree with a subject choice

what may be a criticism for this?

students may be more influenced in gcses than a levels

what’s gendered career opportunities?

employment is highly gendered. women’s jobs often involve childcare and nursing.

over half of women’s employment falls into what category?

• tertiary sector

what did carol fuller find?

that placements in feminine, working class jobs such as nursery nursing and retail work were overwhelmingly the norm for girls in her study

what does she conclude from this?

that school was implicitly steering girls towards certain types of jobs - hence certain types of vocational courses - through work experience places if offered to them

what’s 2 criticisms of gendered career opportunities?

• outdated

• GIST/WISE