Gender is an important effect, as it shows that girls are more motivated than boys. This shows that girls are doing better in educational attainment. By being motivated you are most likely to achieve good grades, due to wanting to learn and being focused in life. Girls are generally more focused in class and are more able to multitask. Whereas, boys are more concerned about the reputation they are given by their peers. Another reason is down to behaviour. Girls perform better as they mature faster than boys; therefore they are willing to get an education.
Secondly, changes in women’s roles show that education is a main aspect in education. Reason being, the traditional role of a woman was to b a housewife and a mother. However, this role has changed, as nowadays women have the right to work. Although they still play the role of a housewife. This change in the women’s role has increased women’s motivation to get a better education.
Thirdly, I will be talking about equal opportunities and the effects of it. Girls are achieving higher grades than boys even though they both study the same subjects due to the national curriculum. This makes both genders equal but shows girls achieve better than boys!
However, there are other reasons for differences in educational attainment. With one reason being ethnicity. Your cultural background affects how well you do, as different cultures do better than others. For example, you will find that many Asian children are usually very successful when it comes to achieving well. Children from ethnic groups also face language difficulties. This will make them pick up slower than others due to not understanding. They also have to face racism; this will leave them feeling like they are not good enough and will put their motivation down.
Another reason is your social class. Many upper/middle class children do better at school than working class children. This is due to upper/middle class children receiving better education at a private school. They are provided with better facilities by their family such as computers and a working desk. At school, they are often given personal help, separately from other individuals. Whereas, working class children live a different life to the other social classes. They have a poor lack of facilities and may also have lack of space depending on the environment they live in.
In conclusion, whilst there is evidence to show that gender is one of the important factors in doing well, this is not the only factor. As it shows that ethnicity and social class are also very important as it effects educational attainment as much as gender does.