Explains whys samesex schools has less pressure! (absence of boys). Less pressure to conform to restrictive stereotypes of what subjects they can or cannot study.
- Gendered career opportunities.
Employment is highly gendered! Womens employment= clerical secretarial personal services and occupations such as cleaning by contrast only 1/6 male do these kind of jobs. For example boys understand that nursing is a womens career so they will be less likely to opt for a career in childcare and this will affect subject choices! Vocational courses therefore more gender specific as they are closer to students career plans.
GENDER IDENTITY! (how pupils experiences in school reinforce gender and sexual identities.
Bob connel 1995 says that these all contribute to to reinforce gegemonic masculinity the domincancle of heterosexual masculine identity and the subordination of female and gay identities.
1.verbal abuse
A rich vocabulary of abuse .. name calling! Slags= if girls appear sexually available and drags= if they didn’t.
Name calling helps shape gender identity and maintain male power. Gay queer lezzie pupils police each other’s sexual identities. Andrew parker 1996 boys labelled gay if they were friendly with girls or female teachers. Both lees and patcher note that these labels bear no relation to pupils actual sexual behaviour they just reinforce gender norms.
2.male peer groups
Epstein and willis boys in anti school subcultures accuse boys who do well of being gay or effeminate.
Mac ann ghail peer groups reproduce a different class based masculine identity. Working class machos aspired middle class careers referred them to dickhead achievers.
Middle class= reall Englishmen tried to project an image of succeeding without really trying. In some cases some worked hard on the quiet.
Redmen and mac an ghail 1997 mucho lads changes to real Englishmen by sixth form .. drift away from working class toughness to middle class intellectual ability. This in turn reflects the middle class composition and atmosphere of the sixth form.
3.teachers and discipline
Teachers also play a part in reinforcing dominant definitions of gender identity. Teachers told boys f for behaving like girls! Teased them when they gained lower marks in tests than girls teachers tended to ignore boys verbal abuse and blamed girls for attracting it! Also male teachers reinforce messages by gender protect girls from boys verbal abuse however this reinforces the idea that woman cant cope alone.
4.the male gaze
Male pupils and teachers look at girls up and down making judgements about their appearance and seeing them as sexual objects!
Male gaze= for of surveillance through which dominant heterosexual masculinity is reinforced and femininity devalued.! It is one of the ways boys prove their masculinity by telling and retelling stories about their sexual conquests. Boys who don’t display their heterosexuality in this way run the risk of being labelled gay.
5.double standards
One moral standards to one group but different to another group. Call girls slags if she doesn’t have a steady boyfriend or dress a certain way but boast about their own sexual exploits. Sexual conquest approved of and given status by male peers ignored by male teachers however negative label to girls.
Feminists see double standards as an example of patriarchal ideology that justifies male power but devalues women.
All these things reinforce gender inequality by keeping females subordinate to males.
Functionalist perspective on education!
Based on view that society is a system of interdependent parts held together by the society, family economy education all play a part in maintaining society.
Durkheim – solidarity and skills..
- Creating social solidarity
Durkheim argues that society needs a sense of solidarity. Its individual members must feel themselves to be part of a community. He argues that without social solidarity social life and co operation would because each individual would want to pursue their own selfish desires.
Education system helps to create social solidarity by transmitting societys culture its shared beliefs and values from one generation to next.
School ‘society in miniature’ preparing us for life wider society. for example co-operating with people who aren’t friends or family. *also set of rules*
- Teaching specialist skills
Cooperation of every single item usually involves the cooperation of many different specialists. This cooperation promotes social solidarity. Each specialist should have knowledge and skills to perform their role. Durkheim argues education teaches individuals the special knowledge and skill they need to play part in social division of labour. Equip train young people with specialist skills.
PARSONS MERITOCRACY!
1961
Draws on durkheims ideas .. parson: school as focal socialising agency in modern society acting as a bridge between the family and wider society! children need to learn a new way to live if they wanna cope with the wider world!
Within the family child judged my particularistic standards that is rules that apply only to that particular child. Childs status fixed by birth.
Because of differences of age and sex
School + wider society= judge us all the same and impersonal standards, e.g. same laws apply to everyone! School= sit the same exam weather pass or fail = own individual effort!
Parson sees school as preparing us to move from family to wider society! school + society= both based on meritocratic principles! Everyone given equal opportunity! Achieve rewards through own effort and ability!
Davis and moore role allocation!
Parsons argues by assessing individuals attitudes and abilities schools help to match them to the job they are best suited to.
Davis and moore also see education as a device for selection and role allocation. Focus on relationship between education and social inequality.
Inequality is necessary to ensure that the most important roles in society are filled by the most talented people! For example it would be inefficient and dangerous to have less able people performing roles such as surgeon or airline pilot. = higher rewards for these jobs! Competition.. select most talented to fill position!
Education plays a key part in this process since it acts as a proving ground for ability. Education is where individuals show what they can do. ‘sifts and sorts’ us according to our ability. < gives them entry to the highest posititions.
Peter blau and otis Duncan 1978 argue modern economy depends for its prosperity on using human capital its workers skills. mericrotic does this best allows each person to be allocated to the jobn best suited to their abilities. Make effective use of their talents and maximise their productivity.
Evaluation of the functionalist perspective.
Evidence that equal opportunity in education does not exist. For example achievement is greatly influenced by class background rather than ability
Melvin tumin .. criticise davis & moore for circular argument..
How do we know that a job is important
It is highly rewarded
Why are some more rewarded than others
Because they are important
Functionalists see education as a process that instils the shared values of society as a whole Marxists:capitalist society only transmit idea of a minority ruling class!
Dennis wrong : over socialised view people puppets of society.
Functionalists wrongly imply that pupils passively accept all they are taught and never reject the school values.
Unlike davis and moore new right : education system fails to prepare young people adequately for work. This is because state control of education discourses effiency competition and choice.
New right perspective on education...
CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE
State cannot meet peoples needs and that people are best let to meet their own needs through the free market. Favour marketisation of education!
Similar in many ways to functionalists..
Believe some people are naturally more talented than others.
Favour meritocratic principle of open competition and one that serves the economy by preparing young people for work.
Education should socialise pupils into shared values. Such as competition and instil a sense of national identity.
Key difference with functionalism is : new right DO NOT believe that the current education system is achieving goals!! Reason for failure? RUN BY STATE!
New right argue that in all state education systems political and education bureaucrats power of state to impose their view of what kind of schools we should have. One size fits all approach. Imposing uniformity and disregarding local needs. Local consumers who use the schools pupils parents and employers have no say. State education therefore unresponsive. Breen inefficieny schools that waste money or get poor results not answerable to their consumers. Lower standards of achievement for pupils less qualified workforce and a less prosperous economy.
New rights solution is creating an education market. Laws of supply and demand empower consumers bringing greater diversity choice and efficiency to schools increasing their ability to meet the needs of pupils parents and employers.
Chubb and moe!
Consumer choice
Good example of new right perspective of education comes from chubb and moe.. State education has failed! Make the case for opning it up to maeket frces of supply and demand.
Disadvantaged groups lower class ethnic religious minories and rural communites. Have been badly served by state education state has failed to create equal opportunity.. fails rto produce pupils with the skills needed by the economy.
Private schools deliver higher quality education because unlike state schools they have to pay the consumers- the parents!
Chubb & moe.. base their arguments on a comparison of the achievements of 60,000 pupils from low income families. 1015 state and private schools failing schools apparently being turned around. Pupils low income 5% better in private schools.
Market system would improve quality and effieciency.
Each family would be givena voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their choice. This woulkd force schools to become more responsive to parents wishes. Since the voucher would be the schools main source of income.. schools would have to compete to attract customers by improving their product.