9699 · 6.4
Gender and educational attainment flashcards
Revision flashcards for Cambridge 9699 Gender and educational attainment (syllabus 6.4). Flip, recall, then mark a real past-paper question.
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Gender gap reversal?
Girls now outperform boys at GCSE/A Level in many countries.
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McRobbie — bedroom culture?
Girls' private study vs boys' outdoor leisure — may aid grades.
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Mitigating patriarchy?
Sharpe — girls' ambitions shifted from love to careers since 1970s.
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Lads' anti-school culture?
Working-class boys reject academic masculinity (Willis, Francis).
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Gendered subject choice?
Girls dominate humanities/health; boys dominate STEM — stereotypes persist.
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Post-school inequality?
Glass ceiling, pay gap — achievement ≠ workplace equality.
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What is meant by the 'crisis of masculinity'?
A concept, associated with Mac an Ghaill, describing the uncertainty and lack of identity experienced by working-class boys due to the decline of traditional manual labour jobs. This can lead to educational fatalism and the formation of anti-school subcultures.
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How do Radical Feminists criticise the education system despite girls' high achievement?
They argue that schools remain patriarchal. They point to the persistence of sexual harassment, a curriculum that is a 'male gaze' and ignores women's contributions, and the fact that subject choices still channel girls into lower-paid careers.
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Define 'gender domains' as used by Browne and Ross.
The idea that children, through early socialisation, see certain tasks, activities, and by extension school subjects as being either male or female 'territory'. This influences their confidence and willingness to choose particular subjects at school.
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How did Sue Sharpe's research demonstrate a change in girls' ambitions?
Her comparative studies in the 1970s and 1990s showed a major shift. In the 1970s, girls' main priorities were 'love, marriage, husbands, children'. By the 1990s, this had changed to 'job, career, and being able to support themselves'.
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What is meant by the 'feminisation of education'?
A theory, argued by sociologists like Tony Sewell, that schools have become female-dominated spaces. This refers to the majority-female workforce and an emphasis on traits like attentiveness and organisation, which may disadvantage boys' learning styles.