Unit 2: Education3) Gender differences in Education

Application

• Always make sure the material you are using applies to the question set

• Is it about girls’ (or just boys’) achievement?• Or is it about gender differences in

achievement? In which case, make sure you write about both sexes

• Avoid writing an all-purpose, “everything I know about gender” answer

Gender patterns in achievement• G have improved rapidly since the 1980’s• Now they do better than B at all levels and in most

subjects• KS1-3: G consistently better than B, especially in

English.• The gap is narrower in Science and Maths• GCSE: G are 10 percentage points ahead of B• AS/A2 level: G more likely to pass, get higher grades• The gap is narrower than GCSE• G do better than B in traditional subjects i.e. Science• More G go into higher education

Application

• Point out that although a ‘gender gap’ has developed, exam results for both sexes have improved at all levels over the years, so boys are only ‘doing badly’ in comparative terms

Reasons for improvement

• External factors – factors outside the education i.e. home and family background, the job market and wider society

• Internal factors – factors within schools and the education system i.e. the effect of schools’ equal opportunities policies

External Factors and Girls’ achievement

Sociologists have identified a range of external factors that have contributed to the improvement in girls’ achievement…

E.F: McRobbie (1994)• Since the 1960’s, feminists have challenged patriarchy

in all areas of social life and rejected the traditional stereotypes of women as inferior to men in the home, work, education, and law

• Comparison of girls magazines • Jackie emphasised importance of getting married

etc.• NOW: images- assertive, ambitious, independent

women• G motivated to do well family and careers

Influence of Feminism

Application

• What effect might feminism have on girls’ – and boys’- achievement?

E.F Sharpe (1994)• Compared G priorities• 1970’s ‘love, marriage, husband, children, job,

career’- saw future: domestic role, not paid work• 1990’s priorities had switched to careers and being

able to be independent Similarly, Francis (2001) found G had higher career

aspirations needed educational qualifications Ensure you explain how this impacts G attitude

towards education

Girls’ changing perceptions and ambitions

E.F Changes in the family• Since the 1970’s:• Increase in divorce rates 40% marriages end in

divorce• Increase in lone-parent families over 90% are female

headed• Increase in co-habitation + decrease in 1st marriages• Smaller families • More women staying single Interpretation: Therefore, there is both more need

and more opportunity to be economically independent – gives G more motivation to do well educationally and get good qualifications

E.F Changes in women’s employment (LAW)

• C.I.T.L: The 1970 Equal Pay Act illegal if unequalGap between men + women dropped from 30 17%• C.I.T.L: The 1975 Sex Discrimination Act + rightsTraditional men's jobs have declined, Women in employment:• * 1959 47% *• * 2007 70% * As a result G have more incentive to see their

future in terms of paid work creates an incentive for them to gain qualifications

Internal factors and girls’ achievement

There have been major changes in the education system since the 1970’s and some sociologists see these as important in explaining girls’ improved performance…

Analysis

• Although for convenience we can divide explanations into internal and external factors; however, in reality they are linked

• Make this analytical point by showing connections between some of these factors

I.F ‘GIST + WIST’ + National curriculum

• G/W. Into. Science. + Technology:• Female scientist going to schools role-models• Pursue careers in non-traditional areas• Non-sexist career advice provided • Learning materials in science- develop interest• N.C: (1988) Kelly (1987): making G and B study

the same subjects helps to equalise opportunities

Equal opportunities policies

cont. Jo Boaler (1998)• Claims the Equal Opportunity Policies are a key reason

for the changes in girls’ achievement• It helps achieve MERITOCRACY (based on the principle

of equal opportunity)• More opportunity for G G now do better

Cont. Changes in women’s employment

I.F Positive Role models• Increasing numbers of female teachers and

female head teachers pro-educational women in positions of authority/seniority

• Some say: Schools are becoming ‘feminised’• Encourage G to see school as a female ‘gender

domain’• As a result, they come to perceive educational

success as a desirable feminine characteristics

I.F Mitsos and Browne (1998)• According to M+B, girls do better than boys in

coursework• G more conscientious, better organised, mature

earlier, concentrate longer• G spend more time, present neatly, meet deadlines,

good conduct to lessons• G are better in oral exams New Right thinker Pirie thinks gender role of G

benefit them in education i.e. neat, tidy, patient Similar to M+B, Gorard (2005): gender gap increased

sharply in 1988 when coursework was a major part of most subjects in GCSE

Coursework

Evaluation• Elwood (2005) notes:• Although coursework has some influence, it is

unlikely to be the only cause for the gender gap

• Analysing the weighting of coursework and written exams

• Concludes that exams have more influence on final grades

Coursework

I.F Weiner (1995)• Claims: since the 1980’s, teachers have been

challenging stereotypes (i.e. G housewives/ mothers/ physics: frightened/ amazed by science)

• Sexist images have been removed from materials

Stereotypes in learning materials

Analysis

• Link ideas together • E.g. connect removal of stereotypes to equal

opportunities policies and the impact of feminist ideas on education

Spender (1993)• Found teachers spend more time with B than G However, the French’s (1993): - found the amount of time with B and G for academic reasons

were similar Francis (2001): - B attention B had more reprimands, disciplined harsher, felt

picked on, teacher = lower expectations Similarly, Swann (1998) found boys were generally boisterous

dominate class discussions- Girls preferred group tasks cooperative and listening i.e. get

teacher’s praise more Explain how these classroom interaction processes might help girls

to do better

Teacher attention

I.F Selection and league tables • Marketisation policies i.e. exam ‘league tables’

competition• Schools have incentive to recruit more able students

boost results + L.T. positions• Successful students are more attractive (generally GIRLS) • Low achieving, badly behaved (generally BOYS) are seen

as a ‘liability students’ who will create a bad image + produce poor results for the school

As a result, G are likely to attain places in successful schools

In turn, they get a better education and achieve more

Evaluation

• Girls are now achieving more• BUT RADICAL FEMINISTS argue:- • that the education system remains patriarchal,

e.g. sexual harassment of girls continue in schools

• Education system limits their subject choices and careers

• Secondary head teachers are still more likely to be men

Boys’ and achievement• Sociologists: some factors that may be responsible for boys’ under-achievement are the ‘opposite’ of the factors which have led to girls’ improving achievements

•External factors boys’ poorer literacy skills, decline of traditional ‘men’s jobs’ Internal factors the feminisation of education, shortage of male role-models, and ‘laddish’ subcultures

E.F Poorer literacy skills• According to DCSF (2007), gender gap is the result of boy’s

poor literacy skills• Parents spend less time reading to sons• Mothers mostly do the reading seen as a feminine

activity• Boys’ leisure pursuits i.e. football, computer games do

little to help to develop language• Contrast: Girls ‘bedroom culture’ centred talking and

listening to friends Because language and listening are vital in most subjects,

boys’ poorer L.S. have a wide-ranging effect on their achievement

Mitsos and Browne

• Since the 1980’s, globalisation manufacturing relocating to developing countries decline in heavy industries like shipbuilding, mining, and manufacturing in the UK

• M + B claim: that the result of decline in male employment opportunities has led to a male ‘identity crisis’ with a loss of self-esteem + motivation

• Many boys now believe they have little prospect of getting jobs and so cease trying to get qualifications

Globalisation and decline of traditional ‘men’s jobs’

Evaluation• Traditional male manual jobs needed few

qualifications• So it seems unlikely that the disappearance of

these jobs would affect boys’ motivation to obtain qualifications

Sewell (2006)• Argues: boys fall behind because education has

become ‘feminised’• Schools no longer nurture ‘masculine’ traits e.g.

competitiveness and leadership• Like Gorard, Sewell sees coursework as a

disadvantage to boys• 1 in 6 are male primary teachers • Over 60% of 8-11 have no lessons with male

primary teachers idea that education is a feminine activity

The feminisation of schooling

Epstein (1998)• Epstein: found peer pressure among boys were to

demonstrate their masculinity i.e. more likely to be harassed, labelled ‘sissies’, + subjected to homophobic verbal abuse

Similarly, Francis (2001) found: boys were more concerned than girls about being labelled as ‘gay’ or ‘swots’

- Because it threatened their masculine identity According to Francis, as girls move into traditional

masculine areas such as paid work, boys become more ‘laddish’ effort to identify themselves as non-feminine underachievement

‘Laddish’ subcultures

Interpretation

• Are ‘laddish’ subcultures and ‘internal’ or ‘external’ factor? You can make the point that they operate both inside and outside the school

Evaluation

• Epstein’s studies suggest that ‘laddish’ subcultures are mainly working-class parallel to Mac an Ghaill + Willis

• Connolly (2006) notes: there is an ‘interactions effect’ – certain combinations of gender and class (or gender and ethnicity) have more of an effect on achievement than others

Policies to raise boys’ achievement• Concerns about boys’ under-achievement relative to

girls has led to the introduction of a range of policies• These often use boys’ leisure interests (e.g. sports)

and famous role models and are aimed at improving boys’ literacy skills and motivation to achieve

• Examples:-- Raising Boys Achievement project- Reading Champions Scheme- Playing for Success

Interpretation• Interpret questions about boys’ under-

achieving by putting it into context• Compared with boys in the past, boys today

do better• And although they do worse than girls, the

similarities between boys and girls’ achievement are greater than the differences

Gender and subject choiceAlthough girls have overtaken boys in achievement, there continue to be major gender differences in subject choice. Girls and boys follow different ‘gender routes’ in their subject choices

In the National Curriculum In post 16 education In vocational subjects

(1) G + B different ‘gender routes’

In the National Curriculum:• most subjects are compulsory, but where

choice is possible, girls and boys choose differently; e.g. in design and technology, girls choose food technology, boys choose resistant materials

(2) G + B different ‘gender routes’

In post-16 education:• there is more choice available and big gender

differences emerge;• E.g. B opt for Maths and Physics • ..whilst G choose Modern Language, English

and Sociology• This pattern continues into higher education

(3) G + B different ‘gender routes’

• In vocational subjects:• Gender segregation is at its greatest• Only 1% of construction apprentices are

female

Explaining gender differences in subject choices

• Several factors are responsible for gender differences in subject choice:

1. Early socialisation2. Gendered subject images3. Peer pressure 4. Gendered career opportunities

Interpretation

• Some questions are about gender experiences in school (achievement, subject choice and identity), while others limit you in some way –

• E.g. to just achievement or subject choice • Only use material that is specific to the

question

1. Early socialisation• Gender role socialisation: involves learning the behaviour expected

of males and females

1. In the family: from an early age, B and G are dressed differently and given different toys, while B are rewarded for being active and G passive

2. At school: Byrne (1979) found, teachers encourage B to be tough and show initiative, while they expect girls to be quiet, helpful, clean and tidy

3. Leisure reading and subject choices: Murphy and Elwood (1998) found that B read hobby books and information texts and so prefer science subjects, while G read stories about people and prefer English

cont. Early socialisation• Gender domains: are tasks and activities seen as either male or

female ‘territory’. • These views are shaped by children’s early experiences and by the

expectations of adults• E.g. looking after an elderly person is ‘female’ {gender domain}

• Browne and Ross (1991) found that: when set open-ended tasks such as designing a boat B designed

powerboats and battleships , while G designed cruise ships• reflecting different gender domains

This affects subject choice: people’s feeling are part of the female gender domain so G choose humanities; how things work is in the male domain, so B choose science

2. Gendered subject images• related to gender domains, subjects have a

‘gender image’ – they are seen as either male or female

• For example, science is mainly taught by men and textbooks traditionally use boys’ interests as examples

As a result, it is seen as a masculine subject, part of the male gender domain, and so it is taken mostly by boys

Peer pressure• Other boys and girls pressurise individuals to

conform• B often opt out of music because of negative

peer response, whilst G who choose sport have to contend with accusations from B of being ‘butch’ or ‘lesbian’

• This also links to subject image and gender domains – sport is seen as masculine, and music feminine

Evaluation

• Pupils in single-sex schools make less traditional subject choices

• This may be because there is no opposite-sex peer pressure to conform to gender-stereotypical subject choices

Gendered careers

• Many jobs are seen as either ‘men’s’ or ‘women’s’ and tend to be dominated by one gender

• E.g. nursing and construction work• Vocational courses, which prepare young

people for specific careers therefore also tend to be dominated by one gender or the other

Gender identity and schoolingPupils school experiences may reinforce their gender and sexual identities

Connell (1995): ‘Hegemonic masculinity’

• Argues that school reproduces ‘hegemonic masculinity’

• That is, the dominance of heterosexual masculine identity and subordination of female and gay identities

Feminists

• Argue that experiences in school act as a form of social control to reproduce patriarchy

• That is, male domination and female subordination

• This happens in several ways:1. Verbal abuse (SIMILAR TO: L & MG)2. Teachers 3. The male gaze4. Double standards

1. Verbal abuse

• Name-calling puts girls down if they behave in certain ways and acts as a form of social control to make them conform to male expectation

Lees (1986): Verbal abuse

Lees concludes similar views to Feminists• He notes that boys call girls ‘slags’ if they

appear sexually available, but there is no equivalent term for males

Paetcher notes that pupils police one another’s sexual identities through negative labels

Mac an Ghaill (1992): Verbal abuse

• Found that anti-school W.C. boys’ subcultures use verbal abuse to reinforce their definitions of “masculinity”

• They called the other W.C. boys who worked hard, ‘dickhead achievers’

Analysis

• These labels often do not reflect actual behaviour: they reinforce gender norms

• E.g. boys may be called ‘gay’ simply for having female friends

2. Teachers

• Haywood and Mac an Ghaill (1996) found even more evidence to support Feminists views:

• They found that male teachers reinforced gender identities by telling B off for ‘behaving like girls’

• Also, for ignoring B verbal abuse of G

3. The male gaze

• The Male Gaze: is a form of social control where male pupils and teachers look girls up and down as sexual objects

• B who don’t participate may be labelled as ‘gay’ – also a form of social control

4. Double standards

• Double standards: is when one set of moral standards is applied to one group BUT a different set to another group

• For example, Lees (1993) found that B boast about their own sexual exploits, but label girls’ negatively for the same behaviour