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What Official Statistics prove that girls perform better than boys upon statrting school?
In 2019, end of year assessments showed that in reception girls are ahead of boys by 13.6 percentage points.
A study conducted by The Department for Education (2013) found that in state primary schools boys were two and a half times more likely to have special educational needs.
What Official Statistics suggests that girls perform better than boys at GCSEs?
In 2019, 3/4 of girls’ grades were at a pass level or above, whereas only 1/3 of boys' grades were at a pass level or above.
What Official Statistics suggests that girls perform better than boys at post-16 education?
In 2019 53% of girls gained A*-B grades, but only 49.8% of boys.
Even in male-dominated subject girls were more likely to get an A*-C grades
A larger proportion of girls achieve distinctions in vocational courses, even in courses where girls are the minority.
What are the external factors that affect girls' achievement?
The impact of feminism
Changes in the family
Changes in women's employment
Girls' changing ambition
Who found in their study that magazines now display images that portray women as strong and indepent?
McRobbie (1994)
What did McRobbie find in her study about changes in media targeted towards girls?
She did a study of girls’ magazines and saw a change in what they emphasised.
In the 1970s magazines focused on the importance of getting married and not being left on the shelf.
Whereas nowadays magazines contain images of strong, independent women.
What are some of the significant changes in the family that may have imapcted girls' achievement?
Increase divorce rate.
An increase in cohabitation and a decrease in the number of first marriages.
An increase in the number of lone-parent families.
Smaller family sizes.
How may have these changes in the family impacted girls' attitudes towards education?
The increase in matrifocal lone-parent families means that girls have a financially independent female as a role model.
To achieve the same status as their role models, they have to obtain a good job through education.
The increase in divorce rates also suggests that girls shouldn’t be financially dependent on a man.
What laws have led to equal opportunities for women in the work place?
The Equal Pay Act (1970)
Sex Discrimination Act (1975)
How has employment for women improved in the past 50 years? [3]
Since 1975, the pay gap has halved from 30% → 15%.
For full-time employees under 40, the gap is close to zero.
The proportion of women in employment has grown since 1971 from 53% → 72%
Some women are now breaking the glass ceiling.
Who conducted a study that showed that there has been a shift in girls' aspirations since the 1970s?
Sharpe (1994)
Summarise Sharpe's study about girls' changing ambitions?
Conducted interviews with girls in the 1970s and 1990s and saw a significant shift in girls’ aspirations.
In the 1970s, girls had low ambitions and saw educational success as unfeminine and unattractive.
Finding love and getting married was at the top of their priorities, whereas having a career was low.
In the 1990s, girls’ ambitions had changed and they now prioritised careers and financial independence over anything.
Who said that the change in girls' ambitions was due to the rise of individualisation in sociey?
Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (2001)
What was Beck and Beck-Gernsheim's (2001) explanation for the change in girls' aspirations?
Suggested that this trend is due to a rise in individualisation in modern society and that women desire a career because it grants them recognition and self-sufficiency.
What did Fuller (2011) find about girls' new aspirations?
Found that educational success was a central aspect of girls’ identity.
They believed in meritocracy and that they could shape their own future through education.
They aspired to have professional jobs, which obviously required academic qualifications.
Who found that girls made educational success a huge part of their identity and used education and meritocracy to shape their future?
Fuller (2011)
According to Reay (1998), why do working-class girls still haved gender-stereotyped aspirations?
Due to the limited job opportunities they believe are available to the working class, whereas fulfilling traditional gender roles seem as something attainable to them that offers them some status.
Who said that due to the limited job opportunities for the working-class as a reason for the working-class girls' stereotypical aspirations?
Reay (1998)
According to Biggart (2002), why are working-class girls still likely to have stereotypical aspirations?
Some working-class girls are more likely to have an uncertain position in the labour market so see motherhood as the only possible option for their futures, therefore they see less point in getting an education.
What are two examples of educational policies trying to tackle gender inequality?
GIST (Girls into science and technology) and WISE (women into science and engineering) encourage more girls to enter fields of work less typical for women.
How does the National Curriculum help create gender equality?
The introduction of the National Curriculum (1988) means that boys and girls are mainly studying the same subjects which creates a level playing field.
What was introduced in 1988 to create more gender equality?
The National Curriculum
When was the National Curriculum introduced?
1988
Who said that equal opportunity policy is a significant reason for the improvement in girls' achievement?
Boaler (1998)
What did Boaler (1998) say about equal opportunity policy?
That these equal opportunities policy are a significant reason for the improvement in girls’ achievement.
How has the increase in female teachers impacted girls' achievement? [3]
There has been an increase in the proportion of female teachers and headteachers since the 90s.
These teachers then may act as positive role models for girls, showing them that important positions are attainable for girls.
This then gives them unconventional goals to aspire to, especially as teachers would have had a successful education, so girls may be encouraged to obtain one as well.
Who found that the introduction of coursework may be a reason for the improvement in girls' achievement?
Gorard (2005)
What did Gorard (2005) say about coursework? [3]
The gender gap remained constant until GCSEs were introduced and coursework played a significant part in pupils’ assessment.
From then on, the gender gap increased greatly, with girls outperforming boys.
Gorard concludes that the gender gap is just a result of a changed system of assessment rather than boys’ failure.
What Mitsos and Browne (1998) say about coursework and achievement?
They argue that coursework → girls’ success and boys’ failure because girls are more organised than boys.
This is because girls, spend more time on their work, take more pride in their work, bring in the right equipment and materials to lessons and are more punctual regarding deadlines.
What other type of assessment has benefited girls and why?
Oral exams as girls tend to have better language skills than boys.
Who criticised the idea that coursework significantly advantages girls by pointing out that exams impact grades more?
Elwood (2005)
How did Elwood (2005) criticise the idea that coursework signiicantly advantages girls?
Argues that coursework can’t be the only factor causing the gender gap because exams have a greater influence on pupils’ final grades.
Who found that boys received more attention from their teachers because they received more reprimands?
French and French (1993)
What did French and French (1993) discover about teacher attention in the classroom?
After analysing classroom interactions, they discovered that boys received more attention from their teachers because they received more reprimands.
Who found that boys received more (negative) attention and felt picked on by teachers?
Francis (2001)
What did Francis (2001) discover about teacher attention?
That boys got more attention, they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers who tended to have lower expectations for them.
What did Swann (1998) discover about teacher attention?
Found gender differences in the communication styles of boys and girls.
The communication style of boys characterises them as disruptive in the eyes of teachers as they tend to dominate class discussions and interrupt more often.
Whereas the communication style of girls, such as talking in pairs, talking in turn and attentive listening, is favoured by teachers.
The difference in the ways teachers perceive boys and girls based on their communication → respective self-fulfilling prophecies.
What was the portrayal of boys and girls like in the 70s and 80s like?
Research of learning resources in the 70s and 80s showed that in books, women were mainly portrayed as housewives, physics books portrayed girls as intimidated by science and maths books presented boys as more inventive.
What did Weiner say about gender stereotypes in learning materials?
Since the 1980s, teachers have been challenging gender stereotypes and learning materials no longer contain stereotypical depictions of girls.
These changes may have helped raise girls’ ambitions and therefore their achievements.
Why are schools more likely to admit girls?
They are seen as the ideal pupil who will maintain or improve their position in league tables.
What did Jackson (1998) say about the introduction of league tables for girls' opportunities?
He notes that the introduction of league tables has improved opportunities for girls as they are high-achievers so the best schools are more likely to accept them, whereas boys go to sink schools.
He argues that this leads a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Accoding to Slee (1998), why do less schools want to admit boys?
She argues that boys are less attractive to schools because they are more likely to have behavioural problems and are four times more likely to be excluded.
Consequentially, boys are seen as liability students.
Who said that the behavioural problems of boys mean that they are seen as liabilty students to schools who could admit them?
Slee (1998)
How do Liberal feminists view the achievement of girls?
They have a positive view of girls’ achievement and believe that the more progress that’s made, the less gender inequality there will be.
How do radical feminists view the achievement of girls?
They are more critical as the education still remains patriarchal.
In what ways is the education system still patraichal? [5]
Sexual harassment still occurs in schools.
Girls’ subject choices and career paths are still limited.
Male teachers are still more likely to become headteachers.
Women are underrepresented in many parts of the curriculum, e.g. history.
Weiner (1993): because of this, they describe the secondary school history curriculum as a woman-free zone
Who described the secondary school history curriculum as a woman-free zone?
Weiner (1993)
What are external factors that impact girls' achievement? [4]
Feminism
Changes in the family
Changes in women's employment
Girls' changing ambitions
What are internal factors that impact girls' achievement? [6]
Equal opportunity policies.
Positive role models in school.
GCSEs and coursework.
Teacher attention.
Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum.
Selection and league tables
What statistic shows that there are still class differences in achivement amongst girls?
In 2013, 40.6% of working-class girls achieved five A*-C GCSEs, compared to 67.5% of middle-class girls.
According to Archer et al (2010), what causes the class differences in achievement amongst girls?
The conflict between the school's values and the working-class girls' feminine identities.
This is because working-class girls gained symbolic capital from their peers by adopting hyper-heterosexual feminine identities.
However, this created conflict with the school and prevented them from gaining educational and economic capital.
Who said that class differences in achievement amongst girls is caused by the conflict between schools and working-class girls' feminine idenitites?
Archer et al. (2010)
According to Archer et al. (2010), what are the charactersitics of a hyper-heterosexual feminine identity? [3]
Investing in their appearance.
Having boyfriends.
Being loud.
How did the girls' investment in their appearance lead to underachievement?
Many of the girls in Archer’s study spent a significant amount of money and time creating a desirable and glamorous hyper-heterosexual identity.
E.g. one girl in the study spent all of the money she earned babysitting on her appearance.
This created conflict with the school as they were sanctioned for going against the uniform policy - e.g. wearing too much jewellery.
→ schools would then other the girls and view them as incapable of educational success.
Bourdieu: describes this process as symbolic violence.
According to Acher, what is school's idea of the ideal female pupil?
A de-sexualised, middle-class girl.
Who said that school's idea of the ideal female pupil is a de-sexualised, middle-class girl?
Archer et al. (2010)
How did having boyfriends lead to the girls' underachivement?
Having boyfriends gave the girls symbolic capital but also lowered their aspirations.
They lost interest in going to university, studying traditionally male subjects and pursuing a professional career.
Their aspirations geared towards settling down, having children and working in a more working-class, feminine job, e.g. childcare.
One girl in the study even dropped out after falling pregnant.
How did being loud lead to the girls' underachievement?
Many working-class girls adopted loud feminine identities which included being assertive, outspoken and independent e.g. talking back to a teacher.
However, this led to conflict.
This did not fit the school’s idea of the ideal female pupil who was meant to be passive and submissive.
This meant that teachers saw their behaviour as aggressive.
In Archer's et al (2010) study, what issue did working-class girls face?
Working class girls face a dilemma where they can either:
Gain symbolic capital from their peers by conforming to the hyper-heterosexual feminine identity.
Or gain educational capital by rejecting their working-class identity and conforming to the school’s notions of the ideal female pupil.
How did some woring-class girls handle the dilema they faced?
Some girls handled this dilemma by defining themselves as good underneath, despite the negative views the education system had of them.
Who found that even successful girls may still be disadvantaged by their class and gender?
Evans (2009)
Describe what Evans (2009) found in her study of successful working-class girls?
In her study of working-class sixth-form girls in a south London comprehensive school, she found that even successful girls may still be disadvantaged by their class and gender.
One of the girls wanted to go to university to increase their potential earnings, however this was more to benefit their family, rather than themselves.
Skeggs (1997): notes that caring is a significant part of working-class feminine identities and this girl’s motivation reflects that.
Many of the girls in Evans’ study wished to stay at home to contribute to their families.
The girls also chose to live at home out of economic necessity → this limited the girls’ choice of university and degrees.
It was also noted that living at home positively impacted their working-class identities.
Archer (2010): a preference for the local is a key feature of working-class habitus.
According to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (2007), what is the main reason for the gender gap in achievement and why?
The gender gap is mainly a result of boys poorer literacy and language skills.
A reason for this could be that parents spend less time reading to their sons.
Another reason is that it is primarily mothers who do reading to their children, therefore reading is seen as a feminine activity.
What's another reason why girls develop better literacy skills than boys?
The activities boys do in their free time contribute little to the development of their language and communication skills.
Whereas the bedroom culture of girls is centred on staying inside and talking with friends.
How have the governement tried to improve the literacy skills of boys?
The government has introduced policies to raise boys’ achievement. The National Literacy Strategy helps improve boys’ reading.
The Reading Champions scheme creates male role models for boys who celebrate reading.
What are the reasons for the underachievement of boys? [5]
Poor literacy skills.
The decline of traditional men's jobs.
The feminisation of education.
A shortage of male primary school teachers.
Laddish subcultures.
What process has led to the decline in traditional men's jobs?
Globalisation
Who said that the decline in tradional men's jobs has created an identity crisis for men?
Mitsos and Brown (1998)
What did Mitsos and Browne (1998) say about the decline in traditional male jobs?
They claim that this decline in male job opportunities has led to an identity crisis for men as boys now believe there is little chance of them getting a proper job.
This lessens their motivation and self-esteem → they give up in trying to get qualifications.
What is a criticism of Mitsos and Browne's argument about the decline in traditionally male jobs?
The jobs that declined in availability tended to be manual jobs that required few qualifications anyways, so it’s unlikely that the disappearance of these jobs actually led to a decline in boys’ motivation.
What did Sewell (2006) say was the reason for the falling behind of boys?
He claimed that boys are falling behind because of the feminisation of education.
Schools don’t accommodate masculine traits such as competitiveness and leadership but celebrate feminine traits such as attentiveness.
He sees coursework as a major contributor to the gender gap and argues that it should be replaced with final exams and that the curriculum should place a greater emphasis on outdoor adventure.
Who said that boys are falling behind because the eucation system has become feminised?
Sewell (2006)
What percentage of primary school teachers are male?
13%
Who found that 39% of boys aged 8-11 had no lessons at all with a male teacher?
Yougov (2007)
What did Yougov find out about male primary school teachers?
That 39% of boys aged 8-11 had no lessons at all with a male teachers.
What percentage of boys aged 8-11 had no lessons at all with a male teacher?
39% - Yougov (2007)
What else did Yougov (2007) discover in his survey?
Most boys who contributed to this survey agreed that having a male teacher made them behave better.
42% of boys said it made them work harder.
How does Francis disprove the idea that a lack of male primary school teachers leads to boys underachievement?
They found that two-thirds of 7-8 year olds did not believe that the gender of teachers was important.
Who criticised the idea that primary school has become feminised and only male teachers can provide adequate discipline?
Read (2008)
What did Read (2008) discover in her study of discipline in the classroom?
She studied the language teacher’s used to express disapproval of pupils’ work or behaviour and identified two types of discourse:
Disciplinarian discourse
Liberal discourse
Although liberal discourse is associated with women, when studying 51 primary school teachers she found that most teachers used the disciplinarian discourse.
This shows that even female teachers can provide the right discipline to regulate the behaviour of their male pupils.
What are the two types of discourse that Read (2008) identified in her study?
Disciplinarian and Liberal discourse
What is disciplinarian discourse?
When the teacher’s authority is made clearly visible, e.g. through shouting.
What is liberal discourse?
When the teacher’s authority is implicit and less visible.
This involves pseudo-adultification where the teacher speaks to the child as if they were an adult and they expect the same respect back.
How do Haase (2008) criticise the idea that education has become feminised?
They argue that primary schools haven’t become feminised due to the large amount of female teachers, rather primary school is a “masculinised educational structure that is numerically dominated by women.”
What evidence does Jones (2006) provide to suggest that there's still gender inequality in education?
Although there are less male teachers, they still have a 1 in 4 chance of getting promoted to headteacher, compared to women who only have a 1 in 13 chance.
Who found that despite them being a minority, male teachers are still more likely to be promoted to headteacher?
Jones (2006)
What did Epstein find out about laddish subculture?
They found that working-class boys are more likely to be harrassed and victims of homophobic abuse if they don’t conform, and appear to be “swots”.
Who found that working-class boys are more subject to abuse when they don't conform?
Epstein (1998)
What did Francis (20010 find out about laddish subcultures?
Boys are more concerned than girls about being labelled as swots by their peers because it’s a greater threat to their masculinity than it is to girls’ femininity.
This is because the working class associates masculinity with manual work.
Therefore, non-manual work (e.g. school work) is seen as effeminate → working-class boys rejecting school work to avoid being teased and called gay.
According to Francis, what is the result of more girls entering masculine fields of work?
As girls enter more masculine fields of work, boys respond by becoming increasingly laddish in order to avoid being emasculated.
What did Ringrose (2013) say about the idea that the success of girls is at the expense of boys?
She believes these views have created a moral panic about boys falling behind.
This moral panic reflects a fear that these failing boys will become a dangerous underclass that threatens society.
This moral panic has now led to educational policies focusing on raising the achievement of boys, which has had two negative effects:
it ignores the problems of other disadvantaged groups such as working-class or ethnic minority pupils.
by narrowing gender policies to only the issue of the achievement gap, it ignores other gender issues such as sexual harassment and stereotyped subject choices.
What did Olser say about policies now focusing on the underachievement of boys?
The focus on underachieving boys has led to the neglect of girls who tend to quietly disengage from school which results in teachers not noticing their underachievement, unlike boys who disengage through public displays.
Who said that the focus on underachieving boys leads to the neglect of girls who tend to disengage from schoool more quietly?
Olser (2006)
How does McVeigh (2001) evaluate the idea that boys are a lost cause compared to girls?
Notes that the similarities in girls' and boys' achievement are far greater than the differences, especially compared to class or ethnic differences in achievement.
E.g. the class gap in achievement at GCSE is three times wider than the gender gap.
As a result, girls and boys of the same social class obtain fairly similar results - e.g. the gender gap within any given social class is rarely greater than 12 percentage points.
Whereas there is a much wider achievement gap between students of the same gender but different class.
The extent to which gender influences achievement is also dependent on the pupil’s ethnicity.
What examples are there to show that the extent to which your gender affects your achievement is reliant on your ethnicity?
Black girls define their femininity in terms of independence and educational success, so are more likely to achieve good grades. (Fuller)
Whereas Black boys define their masculinity in opposition to the school, they are more likely to underachieve. (Sewell)
Who argues that certain combinations of gender, class and ethnicity impact educational achievement more than others?
Connolly (2006)
What did Connolly (2006) say about gender, class, ethnicity and achievement?
They said that certain combinations of gender, class and ethnicity impact educational achievement more than others.
E.g. being female improves achievement more when added to being Black than it does when added to being White.
Describe briefly the gender divide between subject choices?
Boys tend to choose subjects such as maths and physics.
Girls tend to choose subjects such as English and modern languages.
What limits pupils freedom and prevents the gender divide in subject choice?
The National Curriculum
What is one downside of the National Curriculum?
When there is a choice in the national curriculum, boys and girls tend to opt for different subjects.
E.g. although design and technology is compulsory, girls tend to pick food technology whilst boys opt for graphics.
Note 
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