Gender differences in subject choice
- Created by: charl_w
- Created on: 05-04-15 12:11
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- Gender and subject choice
- Early socialisation
- Early socialisation shapes children's gender identities.
- In the family- from an early age, boys & girls are dressed differently and given different toys.
- Boys regarded as being active, girls as being passive (Fiona Norman 1988)
- At school- Eileen Bryne (1979) found teachers encourages boys to be tough and show initiative, whereas they expected girls to ne quiet and helpful
- Leisure reading & subject choice
- Murphy and Elwood (1988) found boys read hobby books and information texts so prefer science.
- Girls read stories about people and prefer people.
- Gender domains- tasks seen as either male or female territory.
- These views are shaped by children's early experiences and by expectations of adults.
- Gendered subject images
- Subjects have a 'gender image'- either seen as male or female. E.g. science mainly taught by men, textbooks use boys interests as examples. As a result, seen as a masculine subject so mainly taken by boys.
- EXAMPLE-Science mainly taught by men, textbooks use boys interests as examples. As a result, seen as a masculine subject so mainly taken by boys.j
- Peer Pressure
- Subject choice is influenced by peer pressure.
- Boys opt out of music or dance as it falls outside their gender domain. Likely to attract negative responses from peers.
- Girls likely to opt out of sports. Seen as a 'butch' or a 'lesbian'
- Gendered career opportunities.
- Employment is highly gendered. Jobs tend to be 'sex typed' as mens or womens.
- This sex typing affects boys and girls ideas about what jobs are acceptable for their sex.
- Women's jobs involve a narrow range of occupations falling into 4 categories:
- Clerical, secretarial, personal services or cleaning.
- Employment is highly gendered. Jobs tend to be 'sex typed' as mens or womens.
- Early socialisation
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