4. Gender differences in achievement

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.

What are 2 equal opportunities policies for equal opportunities in gender?

GIST and WISE

How did Jo Boaler say introducing the national curriculum have a positive impact on gender achievement? 1988

Males and females now study the same subjects so theres a more meritocratic society where man and women compete on equal terms. This means when women often work harder they can achieve more

What are some evaluation points for equal opportunity policies effecting education?

Boys still dominate STEM subjects and also people from minority ethnic groups may face more barriers despite the policies

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

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.

What are some evaluation points for role models effecting girls achievement in school?

• In high schools there are approximately 2 times as many male headteachers than female

• Also some may say primary schools have become feminised and so women still fall into the expressive role of nurturing and socialising the younger children.

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

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.

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.

Who challenged the view that coursework was the reason for the gender gap and how did he challenge it?

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

What did Francis say about teacher attention?

He said while boys got more attention as they often work in large groups so were seen as disruptive. 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

What may be some evaluation against teacher attention?

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.

What did Weiner say about challenging stereotypes in the curriculum effecting the gender gap?

He 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.

How may some people challenge the view that challenging stereotypes in the curriculum effected the gender gap?

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 negative self fulfilling prophecy.

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

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?

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.

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

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

What are some policies that changed women's employment? And what could be a counterpoint to all these policies?

Equal pay act, sex discrimination act, maternity leave HOWEVER Bryant's glass ceiling stops women from achieving managerial positions

What stats can support the view that women's employment has improved?

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

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?

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.

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 may be a negative evaluation point for girls changing ambitions?

Class - 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

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 also 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

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

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

• 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

What's a negative evaluation point for the globalisation and decline of traditional jobs effecting boys achievement?

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?

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

What are 2 evaluation points for Sewell's view on feminisation of education effecting boys achievement?

• 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 too.

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.

What percentage of nursery and primary school teachers are male?

14%

How can the current structure of many families be a positive evaluation point for the shortage of male primary school teachers effecting boys education?

1.5 million households are run by female lone parents showing how a male role model is needed

What did Epstein say about laddish subcultures effecting boys achievement?

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

Evaluate subcultures effecting boys achievement?

Exceptions in grammar/private schools