Assess the sociological explanations for why boys underachieve at school
Whereas girls have higher levels of attainment in education, boys are underachieving substantially at school. The reasons for this are split into different sociological explanations, these are - changes in the job market, changes in male roles, work home and school and lastly, laddish behavior. The extent of which these different explanations account for the underachievement of boy’s is debatable.
One explanation for the educational underachievement of boys is the changes in the job market. There has been a rapid decline in semi-skilled and unskilled jobs due to the increasing automation of production. Manual jobs fitted in with the masculine identity of a traditional working class man and therefore the deterioration of jobs in the manual sector has left these identities threatened. This deprecation of masculinity could questionably make boys feel uncertain and confused regarding their future, and therefore instead of working towards a manual job, amidst the uncertainty, wouldn’t try as they would believe there isn’t a chance of getting one. However, this view is subjective, as there isn’t a significant correlation between the de-masculinization of jobs and educational achievement. Another factor is jobs in the service sector, which are usually based in call centers and desks. These jobs require interpersonal and social skills, which are not traits generally found within traditional working class identities and therefore someone with these skills, perhaps chosen from the social skills shown within a job interview would be chosen over the working class man. This future disappointment could questionably deter any effort in boys to try to achieve academically, for these jobs are so ill suited to them. However, both of these concerns are based on the idea of a daunting future, and therefore as these are generally not affecting factors during the education period, the impact of these concerns are subjective because boys may be more concerned with problems that face them in the present tense.
