Reassessing Gender and Achievement: Questioning Contemporary Key Debates

by Francis,Becky

• ISBN13: 9780415333252
• ISBN10: 0415333253
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2005-09-27
• Publisher: ROUTLEDGE

Summary

Reassessing Gender and Achievementdraws together the findings and arguments from the vast array of material available on this topic, in order to provide a comprehensive and clear overview of the various debates about, and explanations for gender and achievement. The authors, both well known for their work in this area, will guide the reader through the maze of different theories and thinking by: * Examining the policy and context for the recent debates on boys' achievement, including the 'moral panic' * Systematically explaining the various explanations for boys' apparent under-performance, and assessing the evidence in each case * Exploring the current situation for girls, asking to what extent their achievement and experiences of school have changes * Discussing the impact of social class and ethnicity on pupils' achievement * Providing an analysis of pupils' perspectives, particularly in the context of their peer group pressures. Eschewing any 'quick-fix' solutions for raisingboys' achievement, the authors also highlight the continuing problems experienced by girls in terms of achievement and classroom interaction. Teachers, education professionals and students engaged in teacher training will welcome the authors' objective yet critical expertise on this vital issue in schools today.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	viii
1 Introduction	1	(13)
The nature of 'achievement'	2	(1)
Our own position	2	(1)
So is there a gender gap' that favours girls?	3	(3)
Does the gender gap matter?	6	(4)
Is equity in achievement possible, or desirable?	10	(1)
The structure of the book	11	(3)
2 Perspectives on gender and achievement	14	(22)
Ideological perspectives: the durability of the nature versus nurture debate	15	(4)
Theories used to explain gendered patterns in achievement	19	(17)
3 The construction of gender and achievement in education policy	36	(19)
Introduction	36	(1)
Educational policy and achievement across the Western world	37	(1)
Policy in Australia, USA and UK	38	(7)
Boys and schooling in educational discourses	45	(2)
The emergence of new discourses on 'boys' underachievement'	47	(7)
Conclusions	54	(1)
4 Evaluating 'boys' underachievement'	55	(20)
Gender and achievement in examinations	55	(17)
Boys' underachievement: the statistics	72	(3)
5 Explaining gender differences in achievement	75	(28)
Introduction	75	(1)
Explanation 1: Boys and girls are born with different interests, motivations and abilities	76	(7)
Reaching a conclusion?	82	(1)
Explanation 2: Boys and girls have different learning styles	83	(5)
Explanation 3: Schools are feminised' and this disadvantages boys	88	(8)
Statistics and the feminisation of teaching'	88	(2)
Culture and the feminisation of teaching'	90	(1)
Political usage of the term feminisation of teaching'	91	(1)
The feminisation of primary schools?	92	(2)
'Doing' masculinity in the primary school	94	(2)
Explanation 4: Assessment procedures and teaching practices are biased towards girls	96	(3)
Assessment and achievement	96	(3)
Explanation 5: Pupils' constructions of gender produce different behaviours which impact on achievement	99	(4)
6 What has happened to the girls?	103	(15)
Introduction	103	(1)
Girls' changed ambitions	104	(3)
'Achieving' girls...	107	(2)
...And 'underachieving' girls	109	(2)
The gendered nature of 'girls' achievement'	111	(4)
Classroom interaction and girls' experience of co-education	115	(3)
7 The future for boys and girls? (Re)constructions of gender and achievement	118	(18)
The problematisation of boys	118	(2)
How do boys present themselves?	120	(3)
The gender of the 'ideal pupil'	123	(4)
'Caring masculinity'	127	(1)
The persistence of misogyny	128	(3)
The new masculinity?	131	(3)
Reassessing gender and achievement	134	(2)
8 Raising achievement: what 'works in the classroom'?	136	(19)
Introduction	136	(1)
Approaches to be discouraged	137	(2)
Whole school ethos	139	(1)
Single-sex classrooms	140	(4)
Mentoring	144	(2)
Language and literacy	146	(3)
Socio-cultural approaches to raising achievement	149	(4)
Final words	153	(2)
Appendix 1	155	(10)
Appendix 2	165	(2)
Appendix 3	167	(2)
Appendix 4	169	(7)
Notes	176	(3)
References	179	(19)
Index	198