Assess sociological explanations of gender differences in education (20 marks) Exams results for GCSE and A level have shown that girls are doing better than boys even in the traditional male subjects like maths and science, although boys are slightly improving, they are not improving as fast as girls are and this is dues to many external and internal factors. An external factor of why girls are achieving better than boys in education is because there is now changes in the attitudes, ambitions and roles of females in society. Sue Sharpe’s (1994) did a study on working class girls in the 1970’s and found that girls main priorities were love, marriage and family. She then did the study again in 1990’s and found that attitudes of females have changed as girls now believe a career and being independent is important. Sharpe’s believe this could be because of the changing attitudes of society in general towards women and the impact of feminism.
arol Gilligan—influential feminist psychologist and author—is worried. Gilligan's 1982 book In Another Voice (called "the little book that started a revolution" by Harvard University Press) electrified the pundit class with its premise that girls were fundamentally misread and oppressed by American society. The advocacy programs promoting equality for girls that resulted from Gilligan's call-to-arms have had an impact few would deny. In fact, they may have worked too well, as schools generally acknowledge that girls now outshine boys in grades and high level-course enrollment (even in math and science, says the National Center for Education Statistics) and outnumber them in formerly male bastions such as honor societies, debating clubs and
Since the early 1990’s, girls have begun to outperform boys at most levels of the education system. According to Pirie in Item A, the modular courses and continuous assessment found in education today has been seen to favour the systematic approach of girls, compared to the old O level exam which typically favoured boys. These changes within the education system are seen as the main result of gender differences in education, nevertheless, external factors such as the impact of feminism and changes in the job market may also have influenced the increase in girl’s attainment. Firstly, it may be argued that the way pupils are assessed has favoured girls and disadvantaged boys. Gorard found that the gender gap in achievement was stable from 1975 up until 1988 when it increased rapidly.
Math is NOT a Waste of Time Susan Jacoby, a former columnist for the New York Times, raises awareness of scientific and mathematic depravity in the female community in her article “When Bright Girls Decide That Math is ‘a Waste of Time.’” Jacoby believes adolescent girls avoid advanced science and math courses because of stereotypes and “cultural expectations” that society places on women (282). Throughout the article, Jacoby tries to educate parents and women of the lost opportunities girls inflict on themselves so that parents and teachers can decrease the learning gap between boys and girls in the math and science fields. Jacoby believes that parents need to push their daughters to break the barriers and add more science and math classes to their school schedules so that they do not become as “intellectually handicap” as earlier generations. I agree that girls need to continue their education in the math and science fields and that society acts as an influential factor in what classes females take. However, I think the lack of females in advanced science and math classes has no definitive reason.
One of the arguments of co-education is the idea that it provides too many distractions for students. Several scholars have argued that these distractions have led to less attention on school work and class participation, due to girls and boys trying to impress each other. Furthermore, it has also been argued that students who are intimidated by the opposite sex may also be affected by low performance and low grades. Many educators believe that single-sex education does not enforce any type of gender-based stereotypes or adolescent subculture. Due to this, single-sex schools have been established to combat these issues.
Pros and Cons of Coeducation One of the most important decisions a parent can make is where to send her child to school. Among the many decisions (which include school location versus offered programs, and public versus private), there is the choice of sending a child to a same-sex or co-ed school. Co-education is the most common type, but it has its advantages and disadvantages. CON: Females Study Better in All-Female Classes * Experts have shown that in many classes, especially in subjects that are considered to be "male domains" like engineering and math, teachers subconsciously give preferential treatment to male students. Female students might receive less attention or less encouragement, and therefore will be less likely to perform as well as the males; it may also force a girl student's attention towards the arts and humanities, even if her real interest lies in the sciences.
BA (Hons) in Education – Post Compulsory Education and Training Farnborough College of Technology 20056487 Mark L Brown 07 May 09 To what extent might recent changes in the educational performance of males and females challenge established explanations of gender inequalities in educational performance? The focus of much early sociological research into the effect of gender on educational achievement was generated by femininity; but, recently (the last fifteen years or so) the emphasis of the research in this area has shifted – from explaining why girls underachieve at school (for, as will be explained, they generally don’t) to why girls now cope better against perceived disadvantages and why boys are now thought to be the main educational conundrum. Garrod (2004:26) writes, ‘Statistics on performance at AS and A-level and in GCSE and SATs have revealed that boys are showing less improvement in grades and qualifications than girls. By the end of 1998 the Ofsted chief inspector for schools in England described “failing boys” as “the public burden number one”, and “one of the most disturbing problems facing the education system”. Raising the achievements of boys has become a government priority, and there are many suggestions offered regarding the reasons why boys are now lagging behind girls in educational performance’.
Also, parents and teachers pay much attention to children’s academic achievement. Once their children’s academic achievement are lower than others’, they may look for for the reasons. However, birth order is quite possible one of the reasons. For instance, Zajonc (1976) reported that first born siblings scored higher on intelligence tests than their later born siblings. Thus, it is important to study the relationship between birth order and children’s academic achievement.
Can parts of gender stereotype be biological? Can we link this to how children develop the ability to communicate and how they use it at a young age? There are many researchers discussing whether language acquisition between men and women are indeed different and many believe that its caused by gender bias among our society. The general concept is that we are not born with gender, but that gender is something we perform or learn to do. However, there is evidence to show that even at a young age, boys and girls that learn how to communicate, will learn at different speeds and will struggle with different aspects of learning how to communicate.
Are Co-ed Schools bad for students’ self-esteem? Studies such as in “The Effects Of Single Gender Schools On Boys’ Self-Esteem And Academic Confidence” by Nichols G. Morgan “ Boys in Mixed gender schools experiencing constant failure will continue a downward spiral of self-esteem and academic performance.” In a study conducted by James A. McGruder, “Comparison of Academic Performance and Self-Esteem Levels in Female Adolescents Attending Single Gender and Coeducational Public Schools,” “…[A]dolescent girls attending coeducational schools are at a disadvantage in terms of developing positive self-esteem and academic achievement. Researches proposed that coeducational schools have difficulty providing a ‘comfortable’ learning environment for adolescent girls. Some researches also observed that adolescent girls attending coeducational schools often do not receive a through and comprehensive education.” Single gender schools would be a better environment for both girls and boys. They would benefit from being in a learning state where they don’t have to be inferior to the opposite sex in a specific subject because that is the stereotype.