The Gender Gap in Education
Discuss the concept of ‘the gender gap’ and its adequacy in representing gendered differences in school level attainment.
The gender gap is “the discrepancy in opportunities, status, attitudes, etc., between men and women” (Oxford dictionary, 2012) which still exists in the ever equalizing world in which we live in today. The gender gap appears in several areas in society such as in politics, employment and education although gender inequalities have the biggest impact on education policies (Marsh, 2009). Though in the anti-sexist or girl centered approach has the education of the boys been neglected.
It can be seen that these sexist scars are the attitudes from the past where men would make the money to support the family and women would take care of the children and the home. Going back to the 1800s women were not even recognised as first class citizens thus limiting them to work not only outside of their family homes but in the economic market. It was only during World War I and World War II that women began to work in men’s positions to fill vacancies left by those who had gone to war; with the development of household technology dissolving positions in the domestic industry women had more time, opportunities as well as a wider range of jobs to find work. It was said that 'the war revolutionised the industrial position of women - it found them serfs and left them free' (Fawcett, 1918).
Education also began to change as “at the beginning of the twentieth century, less than a quarter of all British girls aged between twelve and eighteen attended any kind of school, but by 1920 the number receiving a secondary education had risen from 20,000 in 1897 to 185,000” (Anon, n.d). The sex discrimination act of 1975 meant more equal access for different genders. Discrimination in entrance to schools was dismissed and the appointment of multi gendered teachers introduced. By 1994, Wilkinson described the change as the ‘genderquake’ due to the momentous shift in
The gender gap is “the discrepancy in opportunities, status, attitudes, etc., between men and women” (Oxford dictionary, 2012) which still exists in the ever equalizing world in which we live in today. The gender gap appears in several areas in society such as in politics, employment and education although gender inequalities have the biggest impact on education policies (Marsh, 2009). Though in the anti-sexist or girl centered approach has the education of the boys been neglected.
It can be seen that these sexist scars are the attitudes from the past where men would make the money to support the family and women would take care of the children and the home. Going back to the 1800s women were not even recognised as first class citizens thus limiting them to work not only outside of their family homes but in the economic market. It was only during World War I and World War II that women began to work in men’s positions to fill vacancies left by those who had gone to war; with the development of household technology dissolving positions in the domestic industry women had more time, opportunities as well as a wider range of jobs to find work. It was said that 'the war revolutionised the industrial position of women - it found them serfs and left them free' (Fawcett, 1918).
Education also began to change as “at the beginning of the twentieth century, less than a quarter of all British girls aged between twelve and eighteen attended any kind of school, but by 1920 the number receiving a secondary education had risen from 20,000 in 1897 to 185,000” (Anon, n.d). The sex discrimination act of 1975 meant more equal access for different genders. Discrimination in entrance to schools was dismissed and the appointment of multi gendered teachers introduced. By 1994, Wilkinson described the change as the ‘genderquake’ due to the momentous shift in
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