Liz Clark
How can sociologists explain the improvement in the educational performance of girls?
It is widely argued that gender influences achievement. Sociologists have noticed a difference in the level of achievement in boys and girls under sixteen. Studies show boys do not perform as well as girls in standard subjects in school, girls are now overtaking boys at a higher-level standard. Sociologists noticed this when they saw A' level results and GCSE results, however Post-16 girls tend to drop out of science and technology despite doing better than boys at GCSE. Boys’ early literacy skills are markedly lower than girls. Although sociologists agree that there is a definite 'gender gap' between males and female under sixteen, it is not just a simple case of 'boys doing badly, girls doing well'. The relationship between gender and achievement is much more complex; problems have arose within the area of 'the gender gap', it is not the same in all subjects - boys perform slightly better in GCSE maths than girls. It can not be applied to all levels of education, particularly university where the dropout rate is higher amongst girls; social class and gender affect it.
A variety of reasons have been suggested for the difference between male and females in relation to achievement. Sociologists have attempted to explain firstly why females out perform males in most subjects under the age of sixteen and secondly why females are less likely to enter higher education (post 16 education) despite the fact that female school leavers tend to be better qualified than male ones. It has been suggested that females out perform males because of the following facts, educational policies to help girls over the past twenty years has seen attempts to improve the academic performance of girls. Coursework favours girls - course work in many subjects has helped to improve the academic standards of many girls. Girls have higher career aspirations; there is now a greater range of role models in society than in earlier years. In the 1970s Sue Sharpe wrote a book called “Just like a girl” in which she writes that most women then wanted to get married and have children. They did not see the point in staying on at school. There were very few jobs for women in the earlier years – only office jobs, nursing, teaching etc. However in today’s’ society womens’ attitudes towards education have changed. More girls now want to attend college and university. There are a wider range of careers for women these days – fire fighters, business, design etc. The idea of marriage has become less popular. As there are more job opportunities for girls these days, they need qualifications therefore they need to work harder. There are poorer employment prospects for men in regard to the changes in the traditional male manual work. Male overconfidence in their own abilities causes unrealistic high expectations. Anti-school culture makes boys vulnerable to acting out the 'men behaving badly' role, which in turn places little emphasis on education. Boys are more likely to not do their homework and go out with their friends, than girls. Boys find it more difficult to stay in and do their work as they might be worried that their friends will think that they are not ‘cool’. Girls tend to be more mature. Male literacy problems- it is a fact that boys read and write less than girls. Boys are more interested in their computer games where as girls are more likely to read books. This will help them with their school work. Labelling- teachers are more likely to label boys negatively and create a self-fulfilling prophecy of educational failure. Teachers more likely to think boys are more disruptive than girls therefore do not give them as much help. Therefore they are more likely to fail the subject.
