Education

External factors of why boys underachieve?

• Boys and literacy (socialisation)

• Crisis of masculinity

How is boys and literacy (socialisation) an external factor of why boys underachieve?

• sociologists: boys underachieve bc of poor literacy and language skills.

• They are less likely to spend time reading 

• Parents are less likely to read them bedtime stories

• Boys are more likely to play sports outside whereas girls are socialised into the ‘bedroom culture’

How is crisis of masculinity an external factor of why boys underachieve?

• Since the 1980’s there has been a significant decline in heavy industries such as coal mining, steel manufacturing etc. 

• This has been due to industrialisation & globalisation whereby companies move to developing countries for cheap labour

• Mitsos and Brown: that this decline in job opportunities has led to an identity crisis for men, which lowers their motivation to acquire qualifications

Internal factors of why boys underachieve?

• Feminisation of education

• Laddish subcultures

• Lack of male primary school teachers

• Moral panic

How is feminisation of education an internal factor of why boys underachieve?

• Sewell: boys fall behind in school because education has become ‘feminised’.

• He: schools nurture feminine traits like good work ethic and being attentive in comparison to masculine traits like competitiveness and leadership

How is Laddish subcultures an internal factor of why boys underachieve?

• Epstein (1998) researched into how masculinity is constructed in schools and found that working-class boys are likely to be harassed, labelled as sissies subject to verbal abuse if they were seen to try hard in school.

• As a result, they do not try hard in school as it clashes with their working-class identity

AO3 for boys underachieving

• Not all boys fail in the education system - many from middle-class backgrounds are socialised to value and place importance on the education system - although this can create a gap between gender and social class. contemp knowledge - girls lag behind boys in maths and science BBC news, 2025

Why do girls and boys choose different subjects?

• Gender role socialisation

• Gendered subject images

• Peer pressure

• Career opportunities

How does gender role socialisation explain differences in subjects between genders?

• Oakley (feminist) coined the term ‘canalisation’ 

• Due to this early socialisation, boys read hobby books and information texts which encourages them to choose science and maths

• Girls read stories about people, so they choose English subjects

• Browne and Ross (1991) propose ‘gender domains’ = the way we have been socialised are heavily influenced by our experiences which means that there are specific tasks that are seen as ‘male domain’

How does gendered subject images explain differences in subjects between genders?

• The gender image of a subject can affect who chooses it. 

• Eg. Science is seen as a boys’ subjects because science teachers are more likely to be men, in textbooks, images may have more boys than girls, boys are more likely to dominate during a practical

• Eg. Computer studies is seen as a boys subjects because it involves working with machines and there are fewer opportunities for group work - which girls favour

How does peer pressure explain differences in subjects between genders?

• Peers can pressure an individual to change their subject option if they disapprove of their choice

• Peers are an agent of socialisation - we care about our friends’ opinions

• Dewar (1990) in a study of an American college found that male students would call girls ‘lesbian’ or ‘butch’ if they were interested in sport

• Peer pressure can influence a person's gender identity and can lead a person to not choose that subject. 

How does career opportunities explain differences in subjects between genders?

• Employment is highly gendered - jobs tend to be labelled as a ‘man's’ or a ‘woman's’ 

• Studies have suggested that over half of all women tend to fall under 4 specific career categories including childcare, healthcare, domestic and secretarial services. 

• If boys learn over time that nursing is a female dominated profession, they are less likely to choose it.