GENDER AND EDUCATION
Inequality is subject to rapid change, brought about by sociological research which identifies inequalities.
GENDER AND EDUCATION
Out of School Factors
General socialising influences can give females expectations of leaving school early for family or 'womens' jobs'. These jobs may have lower qualifications achivements.
M. Fuller (1982) used the idea of subculture to explain why black girls did better in exams. Not pro-school subculture, but one that valued education as a means to get on at work.
In School Factors
The National Curriculum and government policies have encouraged both genders to take the same subjects, but the hidden curriculum may still reinforce gender roles. Research into teacher-pupil interaction suggests:
- Females learn self-control earlier, and that hitting doesn't get what you want.
- Teachers pay more attention to boys.
- Girls are taught to smile at male teachers.
- Maths teachers perceive males as better, even when female results are higher.
Research into interactions between pupils suggests that boys kept 'boys things', like bricks, science equipment, away from girls. Language like 'slags' and 'sluts' is used by girls as well as boys. She also reports girls being intimidated.
ETHNICITY AND EDUCATION
Out of School Factors
- If social class factors were controlled, there would be much more racial equality, but as it is many lower social classes are more ethnic.
- Cultural differences have been seen as cultural deprivation and failure blamed on the 'victims'.
- Higher amounts of black single-parent families, though this could be a motivating factor for more achieving black females.
- Language counts if English is the second language. Some teachers say it's bad that there's increasing popularity of Caribbean dialects among black pupils, but there's little evidence that it affects exam performance.
In-school factors
Racism from teachers and pupils and the hidden curriculum seem obvious. Coard (1971) saw racism as the explanation for the over-representation of black children in schools for children with learning problems, but under-representation of Pakistani children.
Evaluation
Racism is not a vonsistent pattern. Indians overachieve, but other Asians underachieve. Pupils respond in different ways that help or hinder. M. Fuller described gender differences in responses. Overt racism from teachers may be rare, but low expectations may have detrimental effects.
Conclusion
Females and some ethnic groups have improved dramatically, but that doesn't mean that they get equal treatment. Performance of white working-class boys is now seen as a social problem. Women have written extensively on gender inequality in schools. Most research on ethnicity and education has been conducted by white sociologists.