Using Material from Item a and Elsewhere, Assess the Claim That Gender Differences in Educational Achievement Are Primarily the 'Result of Changes in Society'

Historically boys were top of the class. Today that is no longer the case. A recent article in The Economist discusses a 2009 study by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) that examined how 15-year-old boys and girls performed in reading, mathematics and science. They found that girls are performing better than their male classmates. This gender gap is worldwide. Girls score higher than boys on tests measuring reading ability in every country in the world (Loveless).

In the past females have achieved less well than boys at higher levels in the education system, then during the 1990', the girls over took boys at all levels in the education system. The percentage of females in the UK achieving two or more A-levels or equivalent has increased from 20% in 1990 to 42% in 2006. Over the same time period, the percentage of males achieving the same level increased from 18% to 33%. On the other hand, there still continues to be a large difference in the choice of subjects by males and females. Even with the national curriculum being restrictive in the lower levels, meaning both male and females do the same subjects, when they get to a-levels and degree level, both male and females still tend to choose different

Gender differences in achievement can be explained best by changes that have occurred in factors outside of school, known as external factors. A DfES (2007) bar chart showed that throughout the years (1985 – 2007), there has been a higher percentage of females that achieved five or more A*-C grades at GCSE. The percentage has been constantly increasing at a faster rate than the male percentage. This proves that changes in wider society have affected both genders differently, but girl’s achievement has benefited from this more.

An ever changing, yet common issue, in today's generation revolves around how society views gender. The general consensus dictates that gender, as a whole, is a spectrum, rather than a standard set for each individual male and female to follow throughout everyday life. However, there are those individuals who wish to remain reluctant in changing their view of society. Some believe it is better to allow the education system to be segregated by gender, in order to provide more resources to both girls and boys. One person in favor of this public education reform is David Brooks, a neuroscientist who published the article titled “The Gender Gap at School.” A thorough analysis of the effects of literature on men and women, biological factors

Schlosser. She carried out the study while on a post-doctoral fellowship at Princeton University, and will study the effects of gender in higher education lecture halls next. This is one of few studies of its kind to use scientific data to address the question of gender effects in school. Boys with more female peers in their classes show higher enrollment rates in both advanced math and science classes, but overall benefits were found in all grades for both sexes. Prof. Schlosser found that primary-school classrooms with a female majority showed increased academic success for both boys and girls, along with a notable improvement in subjects like science and math. In the middle schools, girls were found to have better academic achievement in English, languages and math. And in high school, the classrooms which had the best academic achievements overall were consistently those that had a higher proportion of girls enrolled. A higher percentage of girls lowers the amount of classroom disruption and fosters a better relationship between pupils and their teacher, a study of the data suggests. Teachers are less tired in classrooms with more girls, and pupils overall seem to be more satisfied when a high female-to-male ratio persists. Prof. Schlosser was inspired to the study by a “renewed interest on the effects of classroom gender composition on students’ learning, since a new amendment to America’s Title IX

There is a lot of compelling evidence to support the view that changes in the education system has resulted in differences in educational achievement between males and females. There is no denying that the statistics show girls are outperforming boys at every level in education, but the question is whether this is largely related to changes in the assessment process and the way each of the genders is educated or whether there are other factors causing the differences.

Over time there has been a change in gender success throughout education “coming into the late 1980’s girls were less likely than boys to obtain one or more A-levels and were less likely to go on to higher education however 1990 's there was a sudden reversal girl were doing better than boys and In 2006 10% more females were obtaining 2 or more A-levels than males (Trueman,2016)”. In today’s society feminist’s doubt that the topic in school want girls to achieve less like the model also considers that gender stereotyping may still be in society as boys are believed to fit better in the workforce than girls. The distinction between girls and boys are often sketched on sex and ideas of biology Dr Zuleyka mention that “Sex are the biological traits that societies use to assign people into the category of either male or female, whether it be through a focus on chromosomes, genitalia or some other physical ascription." (Zevallos), Gender does not depend on biological personality it is an idea that describes how societies determine and manage sex categories also determined by what an individual feels and does. Girls are more conscientious and mature while boys are seen as a liability student. A parent who spends less time reading to their son impact their son to achieve a lower grade. Many jobs tend to be dominated by one gender for example nursing which is seen as a female job. Girls do consistently better than boys at all levels and likely to get higher grades

However social class is not the only factor influencing educational achievement; Girls achieve higher grades than boys in Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) and GCSE’s (Mitsos and Browne, 1998), in 2010 to 2011 54.3 per cent of black pupils achieved five or more A* to C grades at GCSE compared to 58 per cent of white pupils and 61.8 per cent of Asian pupils (Attew, 2012). Therefore educational achievement is also affected by gender and ethnicity.

In many cases the classroom reinforces gender stereotypes perpetuated by society. This can be found in the materials used for instruction,

Gender is a word used to identify the differences between males and females. Educational theory and provisions over the years was defined by gender, meaning that depending on your gender your educational needs were outlined for you, as compared to modern day were all genders receive the same education in Britain. Karen Bradley notes that ‘historically, debates surrounding women’s education have focused on what has been characterised as the competing demands of the private sphere of the family.’ (K Bradley 2002) in this essay I will discuss how the gender issue in the British educational system influenced the educational theory and provisions. This will include looking gender inequality, the problems facing women, the introduction of

Why do these gender gaps exist? Researchers believe that cultural and social factors, as well as educational, and attitudinal factors contribute to this gap. Cultural beliefs that boys excel in math and science and that girls excel in the arts can be passed down through generations and adults who may not even realize it are acting on these beliefs (Sanders, 1997). “Subtle and unintended messages can create the idea among girls and boys that there are fields

However feminism maintains that women are treated in an unfair ways. Social gender roles lead to various forms of inequality and disparity between men and women, which in relation to the socio economic, political and cultural ideologies plays a negative role in girls (Asley 2014) .While some societies, defend gender differences based on their cultural norms and religious beliefs, this tends to restrict women physical and mental space.”Across social classes girls tends to have less physical mobility than boys and thus less freedom to move to larger towns or other countries to continue their education”(Lauder et all.pg 970).This norms also restrict the choice of discipline, occupation or field of study. While women, for their years of

Females are better at verbalizing and verbal tasks and use double the amount of words than males when talking. Females also learn how to read and write earlier than males and also have a superior sensory system. Females use their five senses much better and are able to remember sensory information easier and have better hearing ranges than males (Sasser). It may often seem that males do not pay attention in the classroom, but in reality it may not be a case of attention at all. Males actually might not hear the frequency or pitch of the teacher’s voice, so in turn a teacher needs to talk louder. Females may take this the wrong way and consider it yelling when in fact the teacher is just trying to get everybody’s attention (Moton). Males are able to spatially process information better. Having this advantage makes them better at multiple skills such as motor skills, mental manipulation of objects, mathematical and abstract reasoning, processing symbols and pictures, navigation, and computer processing (Sasser).

Parents also have a vital role in influencing the career path their children choose. Children look to their parents as role models and for approval, and parents attitudes and actions will influence their children. They also take into account what job their mother has as compared to their father. In many cases, children start to associate gender with particular jobs when they are very young due to their family life(Stitt, 1988). Stereotypes, like those, are brought forth to girls everyday, ranging from the traditional female jobs to males being more intelligent than females. One example is the fact that there aren’t as many women as men in jobs such as scientists and doctors. Girls often don’t question this idea because it is reinforced by so many people. These stereotypes sometimes get adopted by girls because of this constant reinforcement. Parents have the opportunity either to invalidate these stereotypes or confirm them by their actions and words. They must reassure their children that girls can participate in anything they want, including math and science activities or courses.

Gender equity in terms of education is about the socialization of men and women and the results of this process on the life outcomes of the two genders (Husen & Postlethwaite, 1994). In the United States, the education system is required to treat males and females equally. There has been much research done to compare the genders in all areas. In the past, research has found that women fall far behind men in many areas such as math, and science, but men lag behind women in certain areas as well. Over the years, many provisions have been made with the goal of equalizing the treatment of girls and boys in public education. These improvements are proven successful as women, as well as men, are advancing in areas where they tend to lag