Gender and Educational Attainment - 1048 Words

There are significant differences between the genders in terms of the educational success of girls and of boys. In the 1960s, boys achieved results that were on average 5% better than girls. Until the mid 1980s, boys out-performed girls at all levels of the education system, with the exception of 11+. Most educational writers read this as being proof that girls were generally less intelligent than boys and that boys were late developers . There was little serious challenge to this type of thinking until the 1960s and 1970s when feminists pointed out that the better school performance of boys was not the result of the superiority of male intelligence, but that the educational experiences of boys and girls were very different.†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, Hartman points out that the attention that is paid to gender differences in achievement is large when compared to the way much larger differences in attainment between the social classes are ignored. Traditionally high achieving females have come from middle-class backgrounds. Riddell (1992) found that middle-class girls shared the achievement values of the school and sought the approval of teachers. Working-class girls saw their futures in terms of the local job market combined with motherhood and domesticity. However, Sharpe (1994) found working-class girls attitudes had changed dramatically in the past 20 years with careers, travel and independence now increasingly valued. Such attitudes reflect what Wilkinson (1994) refers to as the genderquake whereby young females are increasingly striving for a fulfilling career with good earning potential. Thus young women are more confident, assertive and ambitious; striving for gender equality. There has been a huge growth in the numbers of women working, with successful career women operating as positive role models. In 2005, figures show nearly double the number of women entering high status careers such as medicine and the law. Working mothers are providing positive role models for their daughters. Fuller (1984) found in her study of black girls in Brent, that girls were motivated not to end up in dead-end jobs like their mothers. Working class unqualified women still tend to beShow MoreRelatedIn What Ways Do Social Class, Gender and Ethnicity Intersect with Educational Attainment and Participation? Provide Some Examples to Illustrate.1895 Words   |  8 PagesSociology Essay In what ways do social class, gender and ethnicity intersect with educational attainment and participation? Provide some examples to illustrate. Nearly thirteen years into the new millennium and so many of the gaps most noticeable within the education system in the twentieth century have been closed. 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