Gender identity and subject choice

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Gender identity and subject choice
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Gender and subject choice

• In previous lessons we have looked at gender
  differences in education.
• This lesson is to revise and review the idea that
  girls still tend to pick traditionally female
  subjects and boys still tend to pick
  traditionally male subjects.
• This lesson will also look at how gender
  identities are reinforced in school in various
  ways.
• So why does it matter?
• Some sociologists would argue that certain
  subjects have a higher status than other
  subjects.
• Feminists in particular would argue that the
  female subjects that girls still tend to
  choose, lead to jobs which have a low status and
  often low pay as well.

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Subject choice

• The National Curriculum introduced the idea that
  many subjects were to be made compulsory.
  However, where there is some choice either pre or
  post 16, girls and boys tend to follow different
  paths in terms of the subjects they choose.
• National curriculum options Stables and Wikeley
  (1996) found that when there is a choice, girls
  opt for food technology, whereas boys tend to
  choose graphics and resistant materials.
• As and A Levels There tends to be a big
  differences between subject choice at this stage.
  Boys opt for maths and physics whereas girls opt
  for literature, languages and the social sciences
  (3/4 or more of A Level Sociology students tend
  to be girls) These differences are also reflected
  at degree level.
• Vocational courses Vocational courses prepare
  students for particular careers. There appears to
  be a big separation, most hairdressing courses
  are chosen by girls and most construction courses
  are chosen by boys.

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Reasons for differences in subject choice

• So why do males and females tend to choose
  different subjects? We will now have a look at
  possible reasons.
• Innate ability (ability you are born with)
• Peer pressure (pressure to do certain things from
  your peer group)
• Primary socialisation ( Learning of norms and
  values in the home)
• Hidden curriculum (informal things you learn in
  school)
• Gendered career opportunities ( work is quite
  gendered, mans work and womans work.

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Reasons

• Innate Ability
• It has been argued that there are subject choice
  differences between the sexes because of natural
  differences. Boys are supposed to have better
  visual-spatial ability (attracting them to
  sports, technology etc), Girls are supposed to
  have better verbal ability (attracting them to
  language based subjects).
• Criticism Sociologists dont believe these
  differences are natural, but due to nurture
  processes like socialisation.
• Peer Pressure
• Subject choice can be influenced by your peer
  group (people you hang around with). Other people
  may put pressure on you as to what subject to
  take. For example boys tend to opt out of
  subjects like dance for fear of ridicule.
• Carrie Paetcher (1998) found that sport was
  seen as part of the male gender domain, so girls
  who participate in it have to cope with the
  assumption that it is a male subject. This will
  lead some girls to opt out of it.

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Reasons continued

• Primary socialisation
• Sociologists often point to the differences in
  the ways boys and girls are socialised. They are
  treated differently, engage in different
  activities and wear different clothes. This will
  influence their later attitudes towards subject
  choice.
• Murphy and Elwood(1998) showed how boys and girls
  have different tastes in reading. Boys tend to
  choose factual books, whereas girls tend to
  choose fiction. This may explain why boys tend to
  pick science subjects and girls are more
  attracted to English.
• Browne and Ross (1991) argue that childrens
  beliefs about gender domains ( the tasks and
  activities that boys and girls see as male or
  female territory, thus being relevant to them)
  are shaped by their early experiences.

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Reasons continued

• Hidden curriculum
• These are the informal things you learn in
  school. This can include textbook images, how the
  school is organised, teachers attitudes and some
  of the interactions in classrooms.
• Lobban (1976) She looked at reading schemes and
  out of 225 stories she found that only 2 showed
  women in roles other than domestic tasks.
• Kelly (1980) Looked at science textbooks and
  found they concentrated on images of male
  scientists, at the expense of females.
• These studies could explain why girls dont tend
  to pick certain subjects.
• Gendered career opportunities
• Work is highly gendered. Jobs tend to be mens
  work or womens work. Women tend to be
  concentrated in a narrow range of occupations,
  whereas men are concentrated in a wider range of
  occupations.
• This affects girls and boys ideas about what kind
  of job they will be able to get and which ones
  are acceptable. Thus influencing their subject
  choice. For example if boys get the message that
  nursery nurses are women, than they may opt out
  of taking childcare.