4 GENDER GAP IN ACHIEVEMENT

Problems with the idea of a 'gender gap'

Although there is a definite 'gender gap' it is not just a simple case of 'boys doing badly, girls doing well'. The picture is more complex. The 'gender gap' is... ... not the same in all subjects - GCSE Science, boys do slightly better than girls, GCSE Maths, girls and boys perform similarly ...not the same at all levels of education - disproportionately more males opt for science, ICT etc. in higher education ...affected by social class and ethnicity ...not necessarily translated into better jobs/careers for women ...happening within the context of improving exam results for both males and females

Boys underachievement evaluation

Changes to employment have affected mainly manual work - and academic qualifications were not needed for this in past. Is male over-confidence just a recent thing? It would have to be a recent development to explain a recent change in performance. Some would suggest that laddish cultures are nothing new - Willis pointed to this in the 1970s. Read argues that many female teachers have a similar approach to discipline to that of male teachers.

Internal factors (in-school factors)

Educational policies to help girls Over the last thirty or so years there have been some attempts to improve the academic performance of girls. Girls Into Science and Technology, National Curriculum, OFSTED guidelines, anti-sexism training etc. have all tried to raise the profile of women in education. Coursework favours girls The introduction of coursework in many subjects is often thought to have helped female students achieve higher grades. This reflects a different approach to schoolwork than that of boys, more careful, more time spent on it and being better prepared. National Curriculum Before the National Curriculum pupils had more choice over which subjects to study. There was a marked gender bias in subject choice and often 'subject channelling' of boys and girls into different subjects. The National Curriculum means that both male and female pupils have to do broadly the same courses. Marketisation: because of their better exam results, girls are more valuable to schools as they can boost the school league table position. Girls benefit from this too as they are therefore more likely to attend a successful school. Gender role models in schools: there are increasing numbers of female Headteachers and senior staff in secondary schools - successful women =positive female role models

Explanations of the 'gender gap' External factors (outside school factors)

Feminism: this social movement to improve female opportunities has had a number of effects. It has raised awareness and female aspirations, campaigned for changes in laws relating to pay, employment and rights, challenged media stereotyping etc. Changes to employment: Equal pay and anti-discrimination laws have improved women's employment opportunities as have changes to the occupational structure moving it away from traditional heavy industry towards the service sector. These open up opportunities for women to develop careers similar to those of men. Changing ambitions: research in the 1970s showed girls to have limited career aspirations - these came behind family and marriage. This was changing in the 1980s and 1990s and now there is far less focus on domestic futures and much more on a career. This rising expectation of economic and social independence links to the need to obtain educational qualifications. There is a greater range of role models for girls in business, politics etc. Changes to family structure: There have been several important changes in family structure - smaller families (so less time tied to a domestic context), increase in divorce (so women need to be more self-sufficient) and increased number of lone-parent families (mainly headed by a woman so again the need to be self-sufficient).

Evaluation for the 'gender gap'

It is difficult to estimate the impact of feminism as it is so general. There are major class differences in girls' ambitions with many working-class girls continuing to focus more on family and home than on an external career. This is partly to do with family values and partly the result of limited work opportunities. Mac an Ghaill and others have pointed out that women still face disadvantage in employment through the 'glass ceiling' etc. despite their better educational performance. Equal opportunities policies have been fairly patchy and their impact is been difficult to estimate. Although girls outperform boys in coursework, they also outperform them in examinations as well. When there is a free choice after 16, traditional gender choices still seem to occur. Radical feminists argue that schools are still patriarchal and although girls' results are better than boys', their experience of sexism in school is damaging to them.

Gender and achievement Evaluation

Some of the explanations suggested by researchers do not really explain why there has been a recent change in the educational outcomes of boys and girls. Labelling, anti-school subcultures, male over-confidence etc. are all not new factors so how can they explain changes in performance? The cause seems to lie in society-wide changes. Employment opportunities, changes in career aspirations of girls, the declining influence of traditional views of males and females in relation to work, equal opportunities laws and so on, seem to be having a major impact. Mitsos and Browns claim that the underlying factor affecting male performance is 'an identity crisis for men'. There is a need for some major research to be carried out - the limited nature of a lot of the 'evidence' cited regarding this issue makes it very difficult to evaluate the possible causes of the gender gap in educational performance.

Boys underachievement

Poorer employment prospects for males Changes in the structure of employment have drastically reduced the number of manual jobs. Globalisation means that these are now located in China and the Pacific rim countries. This may mean that boys have lower expectations of a job/career and consequently, so they see little reason to achieve in education. Male overconfidence Boys tend to be over-confident in their own abilities and maintain unrealistically high expectations. Consequently, they leave it too late to take to do the necessary work. 'Men behaving badly' imagery/anti-school culture Some sociologists have suggested that male socialisation leaves boys vulnerable to acting out the 'men behaving badly' image - something that places little value on education. Doing schoolwork is seen as not being masculine, especially in working-class subcultures Boys who do work get bullied. Male literacy problems Boys read and write less than girls. Poorer levels of male literacy can restrict the educational performance of boys across many subjects. Parents may not read as much to boys, their leisure pursuits may not involve much reading or writing, or these activities may be perceived as being feminine. Feminisation of education This may take a number of forms. There is a shortage of male teachers in primary schools so many boys are not taught by male teachers until age 11. Education may therefore be perceived as feminine. Furthermore, there may be a lack of male discipline that boys are more used to. Sewell claims schools do not emphasise masculine traits, for example, coursework rather than exams.

The 'gender gap' in educational attainment

There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that girls have opened up a 'gender gap' in educational performance and that there is now a real problem of 'boys under-achievement'. Boys lag behind from Year One in all skills including literacy. This gap continues through KS1-3. Girls outperform boys at GCSE (10% more girls than boys gain 5+ A*-C grades) Post-16 a higher proportion of girls gain top grades - though the gap narrows at this point. This 'gender gap' is not confined to Britain with most Western countries reporting a similar trend.

Has there been a 'moral panic' over 'boys under-achievement'?

Wiener and others have suggested that the issue of male under-achievement has been inflated into a 'moral panic' by politicians and others. There has certainly been much more concern about boys' performance than there previously was about the under-acheivement of girls in education. It is also the case, that the relationship between gender and attainment is much more complex than simply being a case of 'boys' under-achievement'. Not all groups of girls are outperforming boys, educational success does not seem to be reflected in employment for women and subject choice after 16 reflects traditional views of gender and career.