LOOK WHO'S ACHIEVING NOW!

Boys vs Girls

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In the beginning...

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Research and statistics show that there has been a shift in power in regards to the dominant sex in education. Pre-world war two the boys were a clear step ahead of the girls with consistently higher grades and progression into further and higher education was more prominant with boys than girls. Post world war two saw these statistics begin to alter, girls grades were rising, opinions were changing and by the 1980's girls began taking the upper hand in educational achievement and progression.

What ignited this catalyst of change?
According to Bilton, T. Bonnett, K. Jones, P. Lawson, T. Skinner, D. Stanworth, M. Webster, A. (2002) the expectations of girls ability in education were lower than with boys and it was generally expected that boys would perform better and achieve higher grades. It wasn't until after 1970 that feminists began to highlight the fact that there was gender bias in education (pp 276). The concern was that girls performed well during the primary years of school and even out performed boys but then during secondary education everything changed, there was evidence of girls grades diminishing and boys grades growing. This was also highlighted by the number of boys who continued in the education system compared to girls (Browne, K. 2015).

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/aug/21/gcse-results-2014-biggest-gap-11-boys-and-girls-a-c-pass-rate  (Arnett, G. 2014) [Online] (Accessed 13/03/16). Click this link for an interesting article discussing educational differences in gender from 1989-2014.

Perceptions

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It would seem that perceptions from teachers and societal expectations holds a strong correlation towards the different achievment levels between the genders. As men were the more dominant sex in the workforce this contributed to the belief that boys needed a higher and more focused level of education (Macionis, J. J. 2011) (pp 302). This has been reflected in educational research which shows that boys are given more attention in educational establishments unfortunatley this has undermined the confidence of girls and has in the past contributed to girls underachieving (Browne, K. 2015). The stereotypical expectations which are placed on boys and girls is believed to shape their self-concept this means they will begin to behave in a way in which they believe they should to fit those expectations. This can mean that even when both sexes are achieving the same grades their self belief is distorted as it doesn't match the expectation which is portrayed through teaching. Because of the teachers perceptions and expectations this can cause greater gender difference (Schoon, I. Eccles, J. S. 2014).

Expectations can Change!
With the rise of feminism women no longer expect to leave school uneducated and end up staying at home to bring up a family. The rise in equal opportunities has empowered women to want to do well at school and to become high achievers (Macionis, J. J. 2011) (pp 302). 

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As women are intergrating into traditionally male orientated enviroments there is a feeling that this could be adding to the crisis that men are identifing with. They feel imasculinated which can lead to lack of motivation this could be one of the reasons that boys are not performing as well as they used to (Browne, K. 2015)  (pp 70). As men and boys are trying to establish where they belong in society it is thought that the 'laddish culture' could be promoting the 'too cool for school' image which in turn is having a negative impact on their grades (Walsh, M., Stephens, P. and Moore, S. 2000). 

Subjects Matter
There are still divisions in subject choices and it is general noted through research that girls are still choosing and performing better in certain subjects. These tend to be humanities, arts and language and there is evidence that women make up less than 50% of Mathematical sciences, physical science and business/administrative studies (Leathwood, C. and Read, B. 2008). Although in English language at O level and GCSE level women have been maintaining consistently higher grades since the 1950's (Femee, J. 2007). There is an interesting book which shows and discusses these differences in subject choices in more detail and suggests reason for these differences, just follow the link:-  https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lOxEBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA54&dq=gender+difference+in+education+uk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6-_zC8bDLAhWLWhQKHVXeAdQQ6AEILzAC#v=onepage&q=gender%20difference%20in%20education%20uk&f=false.

 What happens next?

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It is evident that the theories regarding gender division are varied and many point towards social construction as a major contibutor to gender differences within the education system. It would also seem that as women are gaining credibility and acknowledgement men are losing clear definition of their identity. The road to equality and inclusion of both sexes within education is clearly building but it is also equally clear that there is a long way to go before the word 'equal' can be used with true meaning.