Examine the reasons why females tend to achieve more than males in the education system
Examine the reasons why females tend to achieve more than males in the education system Females are now exceeding their male counterparts in their achievement in the education system. From the early 90's females have been achieving more and have clearly overtaken males. In 2003/4 the females had taken over males by 20% in achieving 5 or more A*-C GCSE grades. This enormous gender gap is now causing some sociologists to be concerned in male underachievement in the education system. The media have created the view that boys are underachieving; they are just not improving as quickly as females. Sociologists such as Sue Sharpe and Weiner, Arnot and David look at the reasons for the female's success. Whereas sociologists, like Paul Willis and Mitsos and Browne suggest reasons for male underachievement. Weiner, Arnot and David are cynical about the underachievement of boys. They feel that the concern about the boy's underachievement is a reaction against the progress of women. They say that girls are succeeding because of the National Curriculum at GCSE level, but at A-level the subjects are still gendered. Meaning that not many females pick certain subjects - therefore limiting the subjects that can do. By the subjects being limited it doesn't allow females to pick subjects they either want to do or will achieve well in due to an overwhelming number of male students in the
In the rest of the U.K., to what extent did the domestic legislative reforms of the liberal’s administration of 1868-74 Improve conditions for the working class?
In the rest of the U.K., to what extent did the domestic legislative reforms of the liberal's administration of 1868-74 Improve conditions for the working class? Society was in desperate need of a political shake-up, and Gladstone although deeply involved with Ireland attempted a great programme of reforms. Gladstone had to satisfy a number of political pressure groups both within and outside the liberals, whilst keeping to what he believed in; sound finance, religious toleration and equality of opportunity. The third is the most important as he aimed to help the working classes, it was an, "Attack on privilege to create a meritocracy." Gladstone did bring in many reforms that were designed to help the working classes but how far did they go to bring social change. An example of the political pressures can be drawn from the education reforms. The middle classes had wanted educational reform after seeing U.S.A. and Prussia offering free education, and thought that Britain was falling behind. The liberals however had to work between extremely fine lines as they had opposing pressures from Anglicans and Nonconformists. There were other opposing pressures from the national education league and the national education union, who were opposed on whether or not education should be denominational. Gladstone was under tremendous pressures and found it hard to draw up an act that
In resent years in education, family life and in the work place, society has become much less sexist. Are these changes in society shown in todays media?
In resent years in education, family life and in the work place, society has become much less sexist. Are these changes in society shown in today's media? Sociological research in the media has shown that gender stereotypes and sexist images still continue to be shown regularly in today's media. In films and television programs research has shown that women are shown in a more narrow range of carers and roles in their lives. Where as men are shown in a variety of carers, women are more likely to be shown as the 'house wife' Another stereotypical role for women involves 'romance' and 'sex'. (Tuchman, 1978). When women are seen in an important carer they still are not as well paid or well looked after as a man in the exact same carer. Ferguson's content analysis of women's magazines (1970s, 1980s) showed that a 'cult of femininity' existed, with women's lives being successful in marriage and looking good. The focuses of makeup, fashion, relationships and appearance is still high even though there has been change from this research from teenage girl magazine such as Cosmo Girl and women's magazines such as Take a break. Women also has to take care of their physical appearance to get a good carer like TV presenting or a main role in a film etc. In films, TV, magazines and adverts young women usually appear due to their looks and beauty, providing 'erotic pleasure' for the
Compare and evaluate Subcultural theory and labelling theory
Compare and evaluate Subcultural theory and labelling theory And their perspectives on crime and deviance. What makes people commit crime or deviance can be analyzed in many different ways, sociologists for many years have came up with many theories that they believe fits patterns of crime and deviance, the two that I am going to compare and discuss are the Subcultural theory and the labelling theory. I will discuss each theory individually then I will compare them to each other to see what similarities they have to each other and if they contradict each other also if they differ, and also see if either of them actually work or play any relevance on today's society. Subcultural theory Albert Cohen in 1955, first developed the Subcultural theory of working class crime and deviance, he took his research from investigating delinquent gangs in low income, inner city areas. Merton had previously wrote an article called, 'Social structure and Anomie', this concluded that people look towards developing a sense of the norm, of gaining the 'the American dream', but find that this is hard to reach with their own norms, so they reach a state of Anomie, a sense of normlessness where anything goes, they take on the attitudes and views of other people to gain 'the American dream' this making them feel Anomie. Cohen agreed with Merton that people's mainstream value of gaining
Which is the Greater Evil - Censorship vs. Freedom of Speech.
Which is the Greater Evil: Censorship vs. Freedom of Speech Amrit Sehdev The notions of free speech and censorship have been at the stem of much debate for many years. Margaret Laurence explores various arguments in her work, The Greater Evil, and concludes that censorship is indeed the greater evil. There are valid points that persuade both sides of this argument, however it is clear that censorship mutes society and blinds it from the truth. As a result, censorship is the greater evil. Freedom of speech is one of the most fundamental rights that individuals have. It is essential to the existence of democracy and the respect of human dignity. Freedom of speech is a notion which sets this country apart from others, and a belief upon which an individual's rights as a citizen rest upon. Freedom of speech gives society a voice, a voice that can be shared amongst thousands or millions of people, all coming from different classes of society. This way the poor as well as the minorities are not ignored. Democracy over dictatorship is what allows individual's to speak their mind, and have an opportunity to share their ideas with others. It is also one of the most dangerous rights, because freedom of expression means the freedom to express one's discontent with the status quo and the desire to change it. Freedom of speech can be abused, as illustrated by Margaret Laurence. She
Voting is no longer a matter of loyalty to a certain class but a rational decision based on a range of factors
"Voting is no longer a matter of loyalty to a certain class but a rational decision based on a range of factors" To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence supports this view? (40 marks) Instrumental and expressive are models of voting behaviour; expressive models are about social background whereas the instrumental model is about rational choice. The instrumental model shows 3 main factors that affect voting behaviour to make it a rational choice; these 3 main factors are the consumer theory, lifetime learning and tactical voting. Whereas the expressive model has 4 main factors that are: family socialisation, interactionist model, embourgeoisement and class alignment/dealignment. When voting first came into place, everyone voted for which party was representing their class, e.g. labour was working class and middle class was the conservative party. But these days people base their decisions on many different factors, some vote on what their family vote for so they stay loyal in that respect but on the other hand others vote more tactically. The instrumental model suggests that people vote through the consumer theory, Himmel Weit et al 1981 stated that voting is like a political market place, they said that people vote on which party matches their own personal values therefore this sociological argument supports that people aren't loyal to their own class, but
How Crime is Detected and Prevented
How Crime is Detected and Prevented In this essay I will describe and explain how different methods are used to detect and prevent crimes. The different types are Alcohol, Arson, Ballistics, Blood, Documents, Drugs, Explosives, Fibres, Fingerprints, Footprints, Glass, Hair, Paint, Plastic, Pollen, Soil and finally Teeth. ALCOHOL: When a person is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, the police can test them with different types of machines. These machines are called breathalysers. The Lion Alcolmeter S-L12 is the most common of these. These machines test the breath for traces of alcohol. If the suspect tests positive, they will be detained until they are cleared. Other ways of detecting alcohol on a person are physical tests. The police will ask the suspect to perform certain actions such as walking in a straight line and following a finger with there eyes. ARSON: When the forensic gets to the scene he must be very careful. An arson attack would burn away most of the evidence so the forensic must be careful where he treads. They would look under furniture and cloth, as this would have protected any fingerprints or fibres lying there. One of the most important roles of the forensic scientist following an arson attack is to establish the chemical nature of the accelerant - the material used to start the fire. When the evidence has been
An Evaluation on the Biological Theories of Crime
An Evaluation on the Biological Theories of Crime The biological theories of crime are based on the nature versus nurture debate. Are we born criminals or do we learn crime? The main objective of these theories is: 'Does the way you look say that you are a criminal?' Lombroso (1876) introduced the first theory. This theory proposes the following three points: You have an innate predisposition towards criminal behaviour. In other words crime is something you are born to do. Your physiognomy - the way you are going to turn out by the way you look. We as 'normal' humans are termed as Homo Sapiens. Criminals are thought to be 'retarded'; therefore they are termed as Homo Deliquens. Lombroso stated that criminals (homo delinquens) exhibit the following physical characteristics: A narrow sloping brow symbolizing low intellect High cheekbones and large ears Extra nipples, fingers or toes A renowned jaw symbolizing strong passion Lombroso had also stated that these criminals behaved in a different way to everyone else. These different behaviours are as follows: An inability to adjust to social and moral issues An inability to differentiate between right and wrong A low inability to show any kind of guilt or remorse An inability to show any kind of feelings towards other people An inability to form any kind of relationship However, from an evaluative point of
crimes committed by males and females
The difference between crimes committed by males and females Hypothesis: females have a different attitude towards committing crime than males and therefore female crime rates are low. Rationale: Gender differences within crime can be seen as a reflection of the long held views about the particular strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate responsibilities that shape both male and females into their everyday lives, patterns of crime and response to crime. Although the idea that men and women naturally possess distinct characteristics is treated skeptically in the twenty-first century, it was a universally held view in the past. Men and women were thought to inhabit bodies with different physical make-ups and to possess fundamentally different qualities and virtues. Men, as the stronger sex, were thought to be intelligent, courageous, and determined. Women, on the other hand, were more governed by their emotions, and their virtues were expected to be modesty, compassion, and piety. Men were thought to be more aggressive; women more passive. These differences were echoed in the faults to which each sex was thought to be prone. In this project I am interested to see the correlation between the different characteristics that men and women possess which leads them to commit crimes that are severe to different extents. Hence, this leads me to my hypothesis which is that 'females
My First Day at School.
My First Day at School My first day at school, I can remember it as if it was yesterday. It's a stage of growing up when you're wearing a shirt tucked into your trousers and the blue and yellow tie done up neatly. The day when you're parents take you to school and wait with you until the bell rings. Then, while your standing in the line, all the dad's and mum's are waving goodbye. You would think that you're never going to see them again the way they act and of course there's always one who is crying and flooding in tears because the little girl who had brown curly hair doesn't want to leave her mum and dad. Then all the other children start laughing and teasing her when she enters the class. But I'm not trying to say that I was perfect, as I wasn't, actually I got really frightened and scared. The night before my first day at school, I didn't get much sleep at all. I was tucked up in bed and my mum gave me a goodnight kiss. All I could think about was what it would be like at school the next day. Also that day my older sister had been trying to annoy me, she told me if I talk in class I will get in serious trouble and get a detention on my first day. But now when I think about it, she was just trying to make me feel anxious and make me worry too much. During the night I had a nightmare and woke up breathing deeply and my heart was pounding. I remember looking at my clock
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