Gender and Educational Attainment

Patriarchy

The central background concept in the study of gender and educational attainment is that of patriarchy. It is claimed that society is dominated economically and politically by men. Feminists sometimes argue that despite the apparent liberation of women, women are still oppressed in modern society by men.

It is often claimed that there is a link between patriarchy and capitalism. Patriarchy can be seen as a consequence of capitalism. Capitalism perpetuates itself through male domination of women.

Differences in socialisation and educational experience between boys & girls

It is generally agreed that boys and girls are treated differently both prior to schooling and within the educational environment and that this is the principle cause of differences in choices and attainment between girls and boys.

1		Girls and boys are encouraged to play with different toys from an early age.
2		Studies of reading schemes consistently show gender stereotyping: (a) The 1970s study by Lobban of 179 stories in 66 reading schemes had 19% heroines compared to 40% heroes; (b) A 1992 study by Lesley Best of 132 pre-school reading books showed 26% heroines and 71% heroes.
3		Sue Sharpe argues that girls are encouraged to see their future largely in terms of marriage rather than work.
4		Licht & Dweck found that at primary school level girls have less self-esteem than boys despite superior performance. Self-esteem was measured by (a) the expectation of encountering difficulty with a new subject; (b) the tendency to blame failure on one's own inadequacies and success on luck.
5		Licht & Dweck also found that boys received more constructive criticism in the class than girls.
6		Study by Michelle Stanworth on classroom experiences within a college of further education found that: (a) teachers were more likely to forget a girl's name than a boy's name; (b) academically successful girls were expected to become personal assistants to men; (c) boys were given significantly more attention in classes even where girls are in the majority.