1. Gender and Educational Attainment Why did girls underachieve in the past?

2. Reasons for underachievement in girls  Diferential Access  School curricula used to be divided along gender lines, with girls directed into home economics and other “feminine” subjects.  Boys would be directed into more “masculine” subjects such as woodwork  Can you relate this to the “Hidden Curriculum”?  How would feminists view the way subjects were divided?

3. Patriarchal Ideology  To retain male power in society, women were directed into domesticity.  Many Victorians believed that it was unnatural for women to compete with men.  This attitude persisted until the raising of feminist consciousness in the 1970’s.  J W B Douglas, researching in the 1960’s found that families still gave financial priority to their sons’ education

4. Socialisation of Girls and Boys  In 1974, the feminist Ann Oakley examined the social construction of gender roles in Western societies  She concluded that feminine behaviour was not innate but is a result of primary socialisation  When girls are only given dolls and soft toys to play with, this “CANALISES” them into accepting domestic and caring roles

5. Socialisation of Girls and Boys  Oakley states that because boys are given construction kits and chemistry sets this gives them the opportunity to practice spatial and scientific reasoning.  This gives boys an advantage in schoolwork and better preparation for subjects such as Maths and Science

6. Socialisation of boys and girls  Oakley also noticed the “manipulation” of children’s self-concepts through the way that parents dressed their children and paid more attention to girls’ appearance.  Children were made continually aware of gender differences through phrases such as “good girl” and “brave boy”.  These differences are reinforced through media stereotyping and sexist practices at nursery and school

7. Activity  Look at the handout “Gendered learning outside and inside school”  What are the implications of Murphy and Elwood’s data and Oakley’s research on subject choice at school and educational attainment?  Write a short evaluation of this research (no more than one side)