At an early age boys tend to be more aggressive than girls, due to the ability to socialize being easier for girls than for boys thereby, creating gender difference in antisocial behavior. Also at an earlier age girls are more apt to show empathy and guilt than males. This difference may also include parenting and the way the parents respond to a difficult child, the mother being more empathetic to the child than the
In addition to this, the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1988 removed one source of gender inequality by making boys and girls study mostly the same subjects. The impact of equal opportunities can be seen as a key reason for the changes in girls’ achievement because schools have been made more meritocratic and so girls – who generally tend to work harder than boys, achieve more. It can also be argued that the way in which pupils are now assessed favours girls more than it does boys. Stephan Gorard found that the gender gap in achievement was fairly consistent, up until 1988/9 when GCSE examinations were introduced. With the introduction of GCSE’s came coursework with the majority of subjects studied in schools.
Agree with the question Paragraph 2 On one hand sociologists would agree that a pupil’s home situation is more important than the type of school they attend. Parents who get involved in the students education by showing an interest and helping with homework are more likely to encourage a child to do well at school. Parental influence can affect someone’s educational achievement as if a student’s parent hated school as a child and didn’t get the grades they needed, it can cause the student to act the same. On the other hand it could cause them to progress better in school as they will want to achieve more than their parents Marxists believe students who come from a working class background tend to do worse than students who come from a high class background; this could be because of material deprivation. This is a big influence on student’s educational achievement as they do not have enough money to buy the necessary equipment for school such as revision guides.
To some extent source 13 and 14 suggest that changes in schooling that took place in the second half of the 19th century did lead to some improvements in the role and opportunities of British Women due to more women in new lines of work and free education. However to a stronger extent sources 13, 14 and 15 suggest that changes in schooling and their impact on the role and opportunities of British Women were severely limited, due mainly to the extent of provision provided and most schools encouraged the traditional role of women (the angel in the house). On one hand the sources suggest that the changes in schooling did help to improve opportunities for women in the second half of the 19th century. The sources imply that schooling challenged the traditional Victorian ideal of ‘angel in the house’. Source 14 shows this by saying it “broke the mould” implying that women were one step further into breaking their stereotype and more opportunities which were opening up for them, by sending some students on to Higher Education.
Assess the view that gender differences in achievement are the result of changes in wider society. Boys and girls are achieving high and well in education. Girls have always been high achievers in education but over the last 50 years. Only some boys are falling a little behind than usual, but this is due to a very close link between boys underachievement and social class. There are many reasons to as why there is a huge difference between girls and boys achievements.
Gillborn (1990) found that teachers were quick to discipline black pupils than any other raced pupils for the same behaviour. Gillborn and Youdell (2000) argue that this is the result of teacher’s racialised expectations. They found that teachers expected black pupils to present more discipline problems and misinterpreted their behaviour as threatening or challenge to authority. The pupils responded negatively when teachers misinterpreted their behaviour which resulted to conflict. Black pupils felt that teachers underestimated them and picked on them.
One explanation for this is labelling. Interactionists say that teachers negatively label Afro-Caribbean children as being ‘trouble-makers’ and consequently give them little attention in class. Gillborn agrees with this and says that teachers are more likely to discipline black pupils more than other students for the same behaviour. Also there is an idea that teachers form racial stereotypes of black students as they associate them with gangs and crime. This can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy in which black students internalise these negative views and consequently behave
All children can now receive state education up until the age of 18, meaning they are better educated and can achieve much higher in adulthood, whilst experiencing a longer period of youth. All of these changes have improved the experience of childhood and cause Functionalists to believe that things are getting better. However, Marxist and Feminist sociologists disagree, claiming that the march of progress view is too positive. They believe that a child’s experience of childhood depends on their class, ethnicity and gender, and that Functionalists overlook the inequalities between these factors. This is called the ‘conflict’ view.
That is, men and women, as well as boys and girls, are more alike than they are different” (Hyde, 2005, p. 581). To prove her hypothesis she focused on specific categories for possible similarities such as, cognitive variables, nonverbal and verbal communication, social and personality variables, psychological well-being, motor behaviors, and moral reasoning. My opinion of gender, prior to reading the article, men and women are far more different than others tend to want to believe. Women tend to be more driven by their emotions whereas men are driven more on their skills to problem solve and physical capabilities. That is not to say that there is not a sense of equality, but based on my personal observations a female has the tendency to be more capable of carrying out and following through with tasks more than a man.
Equal opportunities policies In recent years there has been an emphasis on equal opportunities in schools. Policies like GIST (girls in science and technology) and WISE (women into science and engineering), aimed to encourage girls into areas that were traditionally seen as ‘male areas’. The introduction of the national curriculum in the 1988 Education Reform Act, also made it possible for everyone to study the same compulsory subjects. Positive role models in schools In recent years there has been an increase in the proportion of women occupying the role of Head teacher. These can act as positive role models for girls and something to strive for and to see other roles for them that are different from the housewife role.