External factors and achievement

Changes in the family - increase in divorce rate

• Shows importance of not relying on a husband

  • Encourages girls to focus on their own qualifications and income to make a living

Changes in the family - increase in cohabitation

• Cohabiting couples are often more equal both financially and domestically

  • This gives girls a less traditional view of relationships, showing that relationships can be, and are, more equal, allowing them to prioritise personal goals and independence

Changes in the family - increase in SP families

• Women take on breadwinner role

  • Girls have the role model of a financially independent woman

    • Have motivation to get good qualifications in order to get well-paid jobs and reach this giak

Changing ambitions - Sharpe (1994) - interviews with girls

1974

• Low aspirations- educational success unfeminine and ambition unattractive

• Priorities: love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs and careers

1990s

• Future: independent woman w/career, not dependent on husband and his income

• Priorities: career, being able to support self…

Changing ambitions - O’Connor (2006)

• Marriage and children not major part of 14-17-year-old’s life plans

Changing ambitions - Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (2001)

Individualisation and value placed on independence

• Trend towards individualisation means independence valued more strongly

  • Career part of woman’s life project as promises recognition and economic self-sufficiency

Independence and self-sufficiency requires good education

Changing ambitions - Fuller (2001)

• Educational success central aspect of girls’ identity as all following ambitions and thoughts require educational qualifications:

  • Individualised notion of self, saw selves as creators of own future

  • Belief in meritocracy

  • Aim for professional career to self-support

Changes in women’s employment - social impacts for girls

• Women breaking the glass ceiling that keeps them out of high-level professional and managerial jobs

• Girls see future as paid work, not housewifery

• More career opportunities, better pay for women, successful women offering role models

  • Incentive for girls to gain qualifications

Class and ambition

• Class differences in changes in ambition evident

• W/c girls have gender-stereotyped aspirations for marriage and children

  • Expect to go into trad. low-paid women’s work

Class and ambition - Reay (1998)

W/C aspirations

• W/C expectations reflect reality of class position

• Limited aspirations are due to limited job opportunities perceived as being available to them

  • Trad. gender identity, esp. as part of a couple, is attainable and offers a source of status

Class and ambition - Biggart (2002)

• W/c girls more likely to face precarious position in labour market

  • Therefore also see motherhood as only viable option for future

    • Less point in educational achievement

• E.g. most low-aspiring w/c girls in Fuller’s study not interested in staying and school, expressed desire for low-level jobs

Impact of feminism

• Challenged traditional stereotypes, improved rights and opportunities through changes to law

• Raising girls’ expectations and self-esteem

  • Differing ambitions and expectations towards the family and careers

    • Improvements to educational achievement

Impact of feminism - McRobbie (1994) - magazines

• Study of girls’ magazines

• 1970s- importance of getting married and not being left on the shelf

• 1990s- images of assertive and independent women