education - gender differences - theorists

Gender Differences in Achievement

External Factors

• McRobbie: Media representation of women has changed, showcasing the impact of feminism.

  • Example: Analysis of magazines and their portrayal of women's roles.

• Sharpe: Conducted interviews with girls from the 70s and 90s, finding a shift in ambitions from homemaking to professional careers.

• O'Connor: Studied 14-17 year-olds showing that marriage and children were not significant in their life plans.

• Beck & Beck-Gernsheim: Connection between altered ambitions for girls and individualisation trends.

• Fuller: Girls in her study identified educational success as central to their identity.

• Reay: Working-class girls still aspire to gender-stereotyped roles of marriage and children, reflecting their class realities.

• Biggart: Working-class girls perceive themselves in a precarious labor market position, affecting their aspirations.

Internal Factors

• Boaler: Attributes improvements in female achievement to equal opportunities policies.

• Gorard: Gender gap consistent until 1989; noticed an increase post-GCSE introduction.

• Mitsos & Browne: Suggest that girls excel at coursework due to being more conscientious and organized.

• Elwood: Contends coursework alone cannot explain the gender gap; exams still hold more weight.

• French & French: Boys receive more attention in class, leading to negative attention effects.

• Francis: Boys face harsher discipline and feel targeted by teachers.

• Swann: Boys dominate discussions, while girls prefer collaborative pair/group work; girls communicate more collaboratively.

Changes in the Educational Environment

• Weiner: Noted that since the 80s, efforts have been made to eliminate sexist stereotypes from curricula.

• Jackson: Introduction of league tables has improved opportunities for high-achieving girls while rendering boys less attractive due to behavioral issues.

• Slee: Attributes lower attractiveness of boys to schools due to higher risks of behavioral difficulties.

• Archer: Discusses "symbolic capital" and how hyper-heterosexual feminine identities can conflict with educational success.

• Bourdieu: Examines how symbolic violence affects perceptions of educational aspirations.

Class and Gender Identity

• Evans: Working-class girls seek university education to enhance family earning potential.

• Skeggs: Emphasizes the importance of caring in working-class feminine identities, pointing to a preference for local universities.

Boys and Achievement

• Mitsos & Browne: Claim that the decline in male employment opportunities has resulted in an identity crisis among boys.

• Sewell: Argues that education is feminized, neglecting masculine traits essential for boys.

• YouGov: Reports that 39% of 8-11 year old boys lack lessons with male teachers.

• Francis: Two-thirds of Year 3 boys claim the gender of teachers is irrelevant.

• Read: Highlights that most teachers use disciplinarian discourse, which doesn't vary by their gender.

• Hease: Points out that primary education remains male-dominated despite a predominance of female teachers.

• Jones: Highlights that male teachers have much lower chances of becoming headteachers compared to female teachers.

Gender Identity and Education

• Epstein: Suggests that working-class boys may face harassment or be labeled as "sissies" when pro-education.

• Ringrose: Addresses a moral panic surrounding boys' educational failures.

• Osler: Critiques the focus on boys which leads to neglecting girls' educational needs.

• McVeigh: Notes similarities in gender achievement often outweigh differences when compared to class.

Intersectionality of Gender, Class, and Ethnicity

• Fuller: Reports many Black girls successfully frame their femininity around education and achievement.

• Sewell: Black boys may underperform as they often position their masculinity against academic achievement.

• Connolly: Suggests specific combinations of gender, class, and ethnicity influence educational outcomes.

Gender Role Socialization

• Norman: Boys and girls receive different treatments from an early age affecting their societal roles.

• Byrne: Notes teachers encourage boys to be assertive while girls are expected to be polite.

• Murphy & Elwood: Identify how gender role socialization leads to divergent subject selections in education.

• Browne & Ross: Suggest children’s beliefs regarding gender domains are shaped by early experiences and adult expectations.

• Murphy: Points out differing focuses between boys and girls with regard to tasks: emotional versus functional.

• Kelly: Argues science is male-dominated due to male teachers and male-centric examples.

Social Pressures and Gender Norms

• Colley: Highlights that computer studies are perceived as masculine due to associations with machines.

• Leonard: Shows that girls in single-sex schools are more inclined to pursue STEM A-levels.

• Paechter: Explains that sports activities maintain a masculine identity in schools.

• Dewar: Observations reveal male peers label female athletes negatively, reflecting gender biases.

• Fuller: Girls often aim for careers in childcare and beauty, aligning with working-class norms.

• Lees: Addresses double standards regarding sexual behavior among genders.

• Connell: Discusses how a rich vocabulary of insults reinforces gender and sexual identities.

• Parker: Documents boys labeled as "gay" for being friendly towards girls or teachers.

Male Peer Groups and Gender Identity Formation

• Mac an Ghaill: Explores the concept of the male gaze and its surveillance effects in educational settings.

• Epstein & Willis: Discuss how boys in anti-school cultures often ostracize pro-school boys using the gay label.

• Redman & Mac an Ghaill: Analyze how definitions of masculinity shift through educational stages.

Balancing Female Identity Norms

• Ringrose: Discusses the ideological conflict between idealized feminine versus sexualized identities among girls.

• Currie et al.: Girls navigate the tension between cultural expectations—"slut shaming" versus "frigid shaming."

• Reay: Identifies ways girls may assume an asexual identity to adhere to the ideal pupil role.

• Francis: Middle-class girls may derogatorily view working-class peers as "chavs."

• Haywood & Mac an Ghaill: Highlight how male teachers reinforce gender norms through their discipline approaches.

• Askew & Ross: Discuss how male teacher behavior can further entrench gender stereotypes.

Key Takeaways

• The impact of feminism, changing family structures, and shifting ambitions shape both gender roles and educational achievements.

• Equal opportunities, teacher attention, and challenging stereotypes play crucial roles in fostering female success.

• The intersection of gender, class, and ethnicity uniquely influences educational outcomes and aspirations.