4. Gender differences in achievement

Describe 2 trends linked to the gender achievement gap in education?

• On starting school girls do much better in eg: English and more boys have ADHD than girls however as they get older the gap gets smaller but girls still do better (link to teacher attention)

• 94% of boys passed 2+ A-levels compared to 95.8% of girls.

What are all the internal factors effecting gender differences in achievement? (girls)

Equal opportunities policies, positive role models in schools, GCSE and coursework, teacher attention and classroom interaction, challenging stereotypes in curriculum, selection and league tables.

How do equal opportunity policies create gender differences in education? Evaluate?

• Boaler said that the implementation of the national curriculum in 1988 meant males and females study the same subjects so theres a more meritocratic society where men and women compete on equal terms.

• This means when women often work harder they can achieve more.

• Also GIST and WISE supported women in stem

However, boys still dominate STEM subjects and people from minority ethnic groups may face more barriers despite the policies. Some of the schemes can be seen as tokenism

How can positive role models effect girls achievement according to a sociologist? Evaluate?

Sewell said that over the years there are more female teachers and headteachers showing women can achieve positions of importance. Also to be a headteacher you need a degree PGCE and masters showing women can succeed in school.

However, while 70% female headteachers in primary schools this may reflect feminisation of primary schools causing women to fall into the expressive role of nurturing and socialising the younger children. Also, in high schools 2x as many male headteachers

What did Gorard say in relation to GCSE and Coursework effecting girls achievement? Evaluate?

He said the gender gap increased when GCSE's and coursework were introduced showing the gender gap is due to the changed system of education.

However, Elwood said coursework can't be the only cause of the gender gap as the final exams have more of an influence on grades.

Who supported Gorard's view about coursework?

• Mitsos and Browne said about girls being more organised and so were better at coursework and also girls mature faster and so can concentrate longer on their coursework and spend more time on it.

• oral exams benefit girls because girls were better at language skills as their parents used to read to them when they were younger unlike boys.

Which sociologist spoke about teacher attention causing differences in achievment?

• Francis said while boys got more attention as they often work in large groups so were seen as disruptive - negative attention

• They were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by the teachers causing the techers to have lower expectations of them -> self-fulfilling prophecy.

• While girls were seen as cooperative and motivated so gaining more support from teachers

However, if boys get more attention and are disciplined more then teachers won't have the time to focus on girls so that can't be the reason why they succeed.

Why may teacher attention be negative towards girls?

Archer argued that working-class girls gain status through their hyper-heterosexual identities (their style, boyfriends, being ‘loud’).

• These identities often clash with the values of school, limiting academic success

• Girls face a dilemma between gaining symbolic capital (peer status/approval) and academic capital (school success)

• Some girls may also adopt anti-school identities to maintain symbolic capital to preserve popularity, which affects their achievement

Who said about challenging stereotypes in the curriculum effecting the gender gap? Evaluate?

Weiner said more sexist images or images as women as housewives have been removed from learning resources eg: mice and men or books like Jane Eyre being re written to present women in a more positive way.

However, radical feminists may say books some books still see women in a domestic way.

How did league tables and marketisation policies improve girls education according to Jackson?

• They make schools want to attract more girls as they do better in school so will attract more funding which creates more of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

• Boys are less attractive as they have behavioural difficulties and don't achieve as high generally and so are 4 times more likely to be excluded

• meaning girls will be picked over boys making a positive self fulfilling prophecy.

Name the 4 external factors which influence difference in gender achievement?

Impact of feminism, changes in the family, changes in women's employment, changes in social attitudes/ambitions

Explain the impact of feminism's effect on genders achievement according to a sociologist? Evaluate

McRobbie said since the 1960's the housewife stereotype has been challenged so females with jobs are seen as positive role models and raise self-esteem and motivation to fight for eg: equal subject choice. In the past women were more interested in marriage whereas now they prioritise work.

However, there has been a recent tradwife movement popularised on social media reflecting anti-feminist ideologies

How did changes in the family influence the gender attainment gap according to feminists? Evaluate?

Increase in female-headed lone parent homes and divorce increases and the new symmetrical family (Young and Wilmott) meaning women have more authority within the family and can work so children can aspire to be like them.

However, New Right may argue changes in the family aren’t inspirational as many people are on benefits

What are some policies that changed women's employment? And evaluate these policies?

Equal pay act, sex discrimination act, maternity leave

PRO: Proportion of women in employment has increased by 20% and the gender pay gap has fallen by almost half since 1975

CON: Bryant's glass ceiling stops women from achieving managerial positions

Name 2 sociologists that support the view that women's employment has improved which led to girls achievement

• Mitsos and Browne said the service economy led to more feminised careers

• Webb said more women are breaking through the glass ceiling into more managerial jobs

What did Sue Sharpe say about girls changing ambitions? Evaluate

In the 1970's girls thought it was unfeminine to succeed in school and they prioritised family and marriage whereas now they prioritise their career a lot more and education.

However, tradwife movement and people in the middle class will have the cultural capital to allow them to have role models and inspirations to aspire for a professional career whereas people in the working class don't

How did Beck and Beck-Gernshien explain girls changing ambitions?

In todays society individualism and self-sufficiency is more valued causing girls to change their ambitions from family to careers.

What are the 2 external factors for boys underachievement?

Boys literacy, globalisation and the decline of men's traditional jobs

What are 3 internal factors for boys underachievement?

Feminisation of education, shortage of male primary school teachers, laddish subcultures

How's boys education effected by literacy? How is this supported?

• Reading is feminised as mostly mothers read to young children (mostly girls) whereas boys are socialised to be active

• Girls have 'bedroom culture' where they would sit and talk compared to boys who play sports which explains why girls communication and literacy skills are better (McRobbie)

How did globalisation and the decline of traditional mens jobs effect boys achievement? Evalaute

• many male jobs such as manufacturing for apple or nike have moved abroad due to globalisation

• Rise in the service economy → works more with female traits such as patience

• Mitsos and Browne say this created a crisis of masculinity as boys now believe there is little chance of a masculine job so have low motivation to work in school and do well

However, most masculine jobs don't need many qualifications anyway so this wouldn't be a reason for boys to not try in school

Which 2 sociologists spoke about the feminisation of education effecting boys underachievement and what did they say? Evaluate?

Sewell - school has been feminised so doesn't nurture masculine traits such as competition instead of cooperation

Gorard - schools have neglected boys when trying to help girls eg: girls access schemes

However, can be seen as stereotypical as girls also have competitive traits + league tables create competition

How does the shortage of male teachers in primary schools effect boys achievement according to Francis? Evaluate.

Francis says 2/3 of 7-8 yr olds say the gender of primary schools have teachers matter however they are young so their view may not be reliable. Also, 1.5 million households are run by female lone parents showing how a male role model is needed

Eg: 14% of nursery and primary school teachers are male

What did Epstein say about laddish subcultures effecting boys achievement? Evaluate?

Boys are more likely to be subject to homophobic harassment if seen doing more work so form subcultures and truant to protect their masculinity

However, exceptions may be in grammar schools or private schools