Feminism

What do Feminists see education as?

They see it as a patriarchal institution which reinforces traditional gender roles enabling gender inequality to remain.

What has feminists developed modern methods?

It is because it is fueled with anger and it is to raise the consciousness of women to make them aware of their own oppression.

Statistically although women outperform the achievement of males, Feminists argue the setup of the education system remains patriarchal.

What are the three central roles of the education system, argued by Feminists?

Formal Socialisation, Social Selection and Skills.

1)Formal Socialisation

What is the meaning of Formal Socialisation?

Formal Socialisation: Refers to the way the education system is an official agent that teaches pupils the norms and values of society. Feminists argue the norms and values which get passed on are those of men, reflecting a patriarchal society.

i) A Patriarchal Curriculum- Heaton and Lawson

Despite the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1998, what do Feminists argue still happens?

They say what is taught in schools still creates gender inequalities in education. For example:

• Sport- They way that sport is still taught in many schools tends to focus more on the achievement of boys rather than girls e.g. football and rugby.

• History- Women have been hidden from history, or are placed in the background and given second place to men. An example of this is the brief focus given to the Role of Women in World Wars 1 and 2, as though this is somehow separate to the main business of war, performed by men.

What is still evident in A-levels?

The choices made by males and females in A-Levels are still strongly gender-specific in many subject areas. Usually, girls enrol on subjects which have a lower academic status and market value, such as Sociology and Textiles.

How is this further reflected at University Level?

There is evidence of an entrenched masculinity, reinforcing the idea of women opt for courses that are less well paid.

What do Feminists argue that gendered specific choice is the outcome of?

It is the outcome of gender socialisation and stereotyping.

What did Best(1993) find about gender role socialisation?

That it led to boys choosing subjects that are more scientific. Best argues that socialisation has led to children developing their own gender stereotypes of ‘suitable subjects.’

Evaluation

1) Liberal Feminists would critique such ideas arguing the National Curriculum has since been updated, removing gender inequality. For example, Maths, Science and English are compulsory for both genders. Furthermore social policies such as GIST and WISE have been introduced to provide opportunities for females to engage in previously typical male environments.

2)Functionalist Durkheim would disagree with Heaton and Lawson and argues that every student has access to the same education and will be taught the same norms and values of society which is a good thing for social cohesion.

ii) The Hidden Curriculum- Feminists

What do Radical and Marxists Feminists believe is structured in a way that favours men?

They believe the organisation of an education and daily school life is structured in a way that favours men, reinforcing patriarchal control.

How is this done?(SPA)

Through:

• Space

• Power

• Attitudes

A)Space

Many female students are made to feel uncomfortable in the presence of male students when studying certain subjects.

Culley observing IT lessons, showed how boys tended to ‘colonise’ the space around computers. In many cases, teachers did not intervene, leaving many girls feeling excluded from what was wrongly perceived as a male activity.

Kelly found boys also dominate science classrooms often grabbing apparatus first and answering questions aimed at girls. Furthermore, the examples used by teachers often draw boys’ interests and experiences rather than girls.

More recently, what has happened to transgressive women?

More recently, there has been aggression towards transgressive women who challenge male dominance. For example, women are taught how to avoid sexual violence implying that the women have brought it upon themselves and not dealing with male sexually violent behaviour itself.

B)Power

According to the Future Leaders’ Trust, 63% of all secondary teachers in Britain are female yet 60% of secondary head teachers are male. Male staff are still more likely to occupy the senior management levels of secondary schools and colleges, reinforcing a gendered hierarchy. Feminist s argue that this creates an expectation in young minds that positions of power and authority are automatically associated with men rather than women.

How is gendered hierarchy in wider society, evident?

Women are more likely to carry out jobs such as cleaning, dinner assistants and secretaries. Statistics show that over half of all women’s employment falls into these categories whereas they make up only a sixth of male employment. The ONS (2013) found that women make up 82% of the caring labour force(tending to be lower status roles) whereas men make up 67% of senior officials and management. This could show how females are socialised in schools to occupy lower positions when entering employment in wider society.

C)Attitudes

Heaton and Lawson argue that teachers still possess sexist ideas about certain tasks within the classroom and around schools, e.g. boys are asked to mover furniture and help with manly tasks.

McCabe found evidence of gender stereotypes reinforced in textbooks between 1900 and 2000 where 31% had female central characters and even books present positive images around race, yet fail to address gender equality. This sends a strong message that girls and women are less important, encouraging children to accept the invisibility of women so reinforcing gender division- often referred to as symbolic annihilation.

Evaluation

1) Functionalist Parsons argues that the hidden curriculum does not create gender inequality, but is simply there to teach every student the universalistic values of society indirectly.

2) Bowles and Gintis criticise this as they believe that the hidden curriculum role is to socialise students into capitalist values of society, for example students learn to be submissive to hierarchy, to do hard work, accept low pay and be obedient workers. They believe school has special parallels to the workplace.

2)Social Selection or Cultural Reproduction

What is the meaning of cultural reproduction?

Cultural reproduction: Refers to the transmission of existing cultural values and norms from generation to generation. Cultural reproduction often results in gender reproduction from generation to generation.

i) Marketisation - Jackson

What has the introduction of marketisation policies created?

It has created a more competitive climate in which schools see girls as being more desirable, because they achieve stronger exam results.

How has the introduction of exam league tables improved opportunities for girls?

Because high achieving girls are selected in outstanding schools as they are seen as more attractive to heads, in relation to exam success and the school’s position in the league tables.

What does Slee argue about how boys are viewed in schools?

Slee argues boys are less attractive to schools because they are more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties and are four times more likely to be excluded. As a result, boys are seen as ‘liability students’ -obstacles to the school improving its league table position- as they give the school a ‘rough, tough’ image that deters girls applying to such schools.

Evaluation

1)Functionalist Davis and Moore criticise the idea that girls have an advantage because of Marketisation. They argue that the filter is neutral, that students are selected because of their ability no matter their gender or social class.

2) New Right Realists Chubb and Moe would criticise that girls have an advantage, they argue that education needs more competition to make it fair, they propose a voucher system where schools are allowed to select students they want and in turn this increases competition and makes sure the most talented go to the best schools. This ensures there is meritocracy and people are selected according to their ability. It’s not about gender but talent.

3) Skills

What is the meaning of skills?

Skills: Refers to the passing of particular talents and abilities which enable the younger generation to fit into the employment sector.

i) Gendered Skills - Skeggs

What does Skeggs say the education system reproduces and reinforces?

It reproduces and reinforces a combination of gender and social class inquality.

What is Skegg’s study based on?

It is based on nine years of observations of working-class females on low-level ‘caring’ courses in further education.

What are the two ways in which courses reproduced class and gender inequalities?

• They encouraged stereotypical feminine qualities such as domesticity and putting others first.

• They emphasised how difficult it is to care properly. They encourage the women to regard their own caring skills as inadequate and to see the expertise of middle-class professionals such as doctors, teachers and health visitors as superior to their own.

As a result, what do women see themselves as?

Both as suited to feminine caring work and as incapable middle-class professions. This prepares them for low paid work which as care assistants and also for unpaid women’s work in the home.

What does Functionalist Buswell argue about vocationalism?

That it reproduces gender and class inequalities.

What does vocationalism often channel women into?

In terms of the vocational education and vocalisation training females are often channeled into low level courses that are often linked to a caring role and/or low paid and part time work.

What did Fuller(2011) find about schools?

Fuller(2011) found schools were steering boys and girls towards certain types of jobs through work experience. Fuller found that the school encouraged working class girls to attend nursery, retail or beauty placements. Therefore the school offered gendered and classed experiences.

Evaluation

1) Liberal Feminists recognise many government policies have been pushed forward which now promote equality in the workplace, such as the Equal Pat Act 1970 and Sex Discrimination Act 1975 helping to reduce the glass ceiling and gendered roles.

2) New Right Realists argue that it’s a positive thing that females are taking part in vocationalism. This is because it it making sure everyone in society has the opportunities to learn the skills for work and ultimately it will reduce the amount of NEETs. It is also positive as it’s creating more employment opportunities for females.