Examine the reasons for changes in the educational attainment of males and females in recent years

One reason is that women's movement and feminism have achieved success in improving the rights and raising expectation and self esteem of women. Women are more likely to aspire to top jobs that are well paid and are therefore more motivated to be good in education.

Another reason is that sociologists have highlighted some of the disadvantages, which led to opportunity being developed for girls to improve opportunities.

The increase in the service sector jobs, considered mostly suitable for women, and the decline in predominantly male jobs, have opened up job opportunities for women so aspiring female pupils to do well in school.

Evidence also shows that girls are more motivated and harder working than boys. Mitsos and Browne also argue that by the age of 16, girl are estimated to be more mature than boys by up to 2 years therefore taking exams more seriously.

Besides arguing why girls are doing better than boys, Mitsos and Browne have also come up with a range of reasons of why boys are not achieving their full potential.

One reasons why boys are underachieving is because teachers tend to be less strict with boys and expect a lower standard of work than they do from girls. This allows boys to underachieve by failing to push them.

Another reason is that boys are more likely to be sent out of the classroom resulting in them losing their learning time. Also boys are more likely to be excluded (80% of permanently excluded pupils are boys).

Mitsos and Browne have offered interesting ideas about why girls do better than boys but have been criticised for failing to discuss or evaluate the research on which their argument is based on. Also they tend to list individual points rather than developing an overall theory.

Some sociologists see the underachievement of male pupils as nothing new. Sociologists such as Weiner, Arnot and David are sceptical about the sudden discovery of male underachievement. They argue that the media has created a misleading picture, which exaggerates the problem. Weiner et al do accept some changes have taken place. E.g. the introduction of GCSEs has led to for females to take and succeed in exams at the age of 16. What is occurring now is a backlash against the success of females. Men feel threatened by the possibility that men and women might become equal.

Weiner at al have put a strong case in arguing that concern over male underachievement might be exaggerated. There is little evidence that females are becoming much more successful than males in education.

Changes in recent years could have been brought upon by the idea that males are achieving less than they should or could do in schools. Although these problems are considered new, many of the possible reasons may not be new at all. In fact they can be seen as class related.

Shukri Ahmed

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