Reasons for Gender Differences in Education (Boys' Underachievement)

• Children are shaped into gender roles
• Oakley - Children learn the behaviour that is expected of males and females
• Elwood - Boys like to read informational texts (e.g. instruction manuals) and girls like novels and real life stories
• Delamont - Girls are seen as fragile and boys are more likely to be 'roughhoused' with
• Murphy - Boys and girls interpret tasks differently

                 - Experiment - Boys and girls were asked to draw a boat - Boys were more likely to draw battleships/pirate ships and girls were more likely to draw cruise ships and sail boats

• Social attitudes towards gender are shifting - Parenting has changed slightly
• More examples of female athletes, leaders - Peer pressure has changed, but there are still few examples of males in traditionally 'female roles'

• Manufacturing ('masculine') jobs have moved abroad - Less employment opportunities for men
• Mitsos and Browne - This has created a 'crisis of masculinity'

• True that there are less manufacturing jobs - Computers have taken over manual jobs - More outsourcing
• Few examples of men in traditionally 'female roles'

• Paetcher - Peer pressure influences subject choices
• Dewar - Girls get labelled 'lesbians' if they get involved in sports which suggests boys may get made fun of if they choose 'feminised subjects'

• Literacy is less of a girls' activity now - Girls are now encouraged to be just as active as boys, so both literacy levels drop
• More examples of female athletes, female leaders - Peer pressure has changed
• Social attitudes towards gender are shifting

• Sewell - Education does not nuture masculine traits
• Shortage of male primary school teachers - 2007 - 16% of primary school teachers were male

                                                                     - 39% of 8-11 year olds have had no male teachers

• Issues are lessened, if not removed altogether, in single-sex schools
• Many policies are in place to support education - 'Raising Boys' Achievements' program - Brings in guest speakers and provides resources  to raise aspirations in schools

• Barber - Boys like to think that they are better than they are
• Stanworth - When boys underachieve, they blame lack of effort or the teachers

• Many policies in place to support education - 'Raising boys' Achievements' program - Brings in guest speakers and provides resources to raise aspirations

• Willis
• Epstein --> W/C boys are more likely to be homophobically bullied if they do their school work

• 'Reading Champions' scheme --> Make reading competitive
• 'National Literacy Strategy' --> Tries to find books boys will like
• Cater English curriculum to boys