Sue Sharpe - Just Like a Girl - Character analysis in A Level and IB Sociology


	Key Ideas	Evaluation
	Early gender stereotyping means girls attach less value to education; schools push girls towards feminine subjects, however this trend is changing. Girls priorities were unlikely to encourage them to attach great importance to their education, they wanted love, marriage, children, job and career (in that order). If girls saw future this way it doesn’t give any incentive to achieve high educational standards. Girls priorities have changes; almost a complete reversal of what she found in the 1970’s-shows the changing of girls mindsets. Now greater priority for a career over love and marriage etc. Girls now have higher attainment than boys at school and there is greater stress on gender equality, so girls have more educational opportunities.	If girls have higher attainment than boys now, why are they not head/CEO’s of large companies-these roles are generally taken by men. Wilkinson agrees with Sue Sharpe’s findings stating that young women have experienced a ‘gender quake’ in their attitudes and expectations. Down to the influence of the media filtered down through the education system.
	Key Terms	Methods
	Gender Stereotyping Determinism	Studying working class girls in London, research done through a series of interviews and questionnaires. First studied girls education in the early 1970’s. Sharpe repeated her study in 1994 to assess any changes.

Early gender stereotyping means girls attach less value to education; schools push girls towards feminine subjects, however this trend is changing.
Girls priorities were unlikely to encourage them to attach great importance to their education, they wanted love, marriage, children, job and career (in that order).
If girls saw future this way it doesn’t give any incentive to achieve high educational standards.
Girls priorities have changes; almost a complete reversal of what she found in the 1970’s-shows the changing of girls mindsets.
Now greater priority for a career over love and marriage etc.
Girls now have higher attainment than boys at school and there is greater stress on gender equality, so girls have more educational opportunities.

If girls have higher attainment than boys now, why are they not head/CEO’s of large companies-these roles are generally taken by men.
Wilkinson agrees with Sue Sharpe’s findings stating that young women have experienced a ‘gender quake’ in their attitudes and expectations.
Down to the influence of the media filtered down through the education system.

Studying working class girls in London, research done through a series of interviews and questionnaires.
First studied girls education in the early 1970’s.
Sharpe repeated her study in 1994 to assess any changes.

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