Gender Differences in Achievement Flashcards
What are the differences in achievement between boys and girls on starting education?
Girls were ahead of boys by between 7 and 17% in all learning areas.
What are the differences in achievement between boys and girls at key stages 1 to 3?
Girls do consistently better than boys. Especially in English, and despite the gap being narrower in maths and science, girls still do better.
What are the differences in achievement between boys and girls at GCSE?
Although, achievement between both sexes has risen, girls are still doing significantly better.
What are the differences in achievement between boys and girls at AS and A-Level?
Girls are most likely to sit, pass and get higher grades than boys, though the gap is much narrower than at GCSE. In 2013, 46.8% of girls gained A or B grades at A-Level, but only 42.2% of boys.
What are the differences in achievement between boys and girls on vocational course?
A larger proportion of girls achieve distinctions in every subject, including more ‘masculine’ subjects such as engineering.
How has the external factor of the impact of feminism affected gender differences achievement?
McRobbie found that in the 70s, magazines encourage girls to get married, whereas magazines nowadays show images of assertive, independent women.
How has the external factor of changes in the family affected gender differences achievement?
There have been major changes in the family since the 1970s, such as
An increase in divorce rate
An increase in cohabitation and a decrease in the number of first marriages
An increase in the number of lone-parent families
Smaller families
How has the external factor of changes in women’s employment affected gender differences achievement?
Since 1975, the pay gap between men and women has halved from 30% to 15%.
The 1970 Equal Pay Act makes it illegal to pay women less than men for work of equal value.
How has the external factor of girls’ changing ambitions affected gender differences achievement?
Sharpe did a study spread across 20 years. She interviewed a group of young girls in the 70s and a young group of girls in the 90s.
In the 70s, women had low aspirations and believed that they should just find themselves a husband. Whereas, in the 90s, women were career-driven and had ambitions.
How has the internal factor of equal opportunities policies affected gender differences in achievement?
Policies such as GIST (Girls Into Science and Technology) and WISE (Women Into Science and Engineering) encourage girls and women to get jobs in non-traditional areas.
How has the internal factor of positive role models in schools affected gender differences in achievement?
Women teachers are more likely to be a particularly important role model as far as girls’ educational achievement is concerned since, to become a teacher, the individual must undertake a lengthy and successful education herself.
How has the internal factor of GCSE and coursework affected gender differences in achievement?
Mitsos and Browne agree that when GCSEs were introduced that that was when the gap in gender achievement began to increase. They found that girls were more successful and better suited to the GCSE and coursework system because they:
Spend more time on their work
Take more care in the way that their work is presented
Are better at meeting deadlines
Bring the right materials and equipment to lessons
How has the internal factor of teacher attention affected gender differences in achievement?
Francis found that while boys get more attention from their teachers, they are disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers, who tended to have lower expectations of them.
How has the internal factor of challenging stereotypes in the curriculum affected gender differences in achievement?
Weiner found that gender stereotypes have been challenged in learning materials. This has been done by removing sexist images from textbooks.
How has the internal factor of selection and league tables affected gender differences in achievement?
Slee argues that boys are less attractive to schools because they are more likely to suffer from behavioural issues and are four times more likely to be excluded.
