Review of Strategies to Address Gender Inequalities in Scottish ...

CHAPTER ONE THE STUDYRecent research into gender inequalities in schools (see the Literature Review, pp13 ff.)has tended to focus on the underachievement of boys, particularly in the early years ofsecondary school. Prior to that, researchers were more concerned to understand girls’lack of involvement and underachievement in specific curricular areas, such as thesciences.In 1996, the Equal Opportunities Commission published Education Reform and GenderEquality in Schools (Arnot et al, 1996). This was followed by a series of studies aimed atgaining greater understanding of the issues, the identification of contributory factors andthe evaluation of strategies to address inequalities such as access, achievement andopportunities. The findings indicated that, amongst other things, the maleunderachievement phenomenon was not necessarily a class-related matter (Power et al,1998). Other commentators have argued that gender identities intersect with other formsof identity and, in particular, with ‘race’ and class identities; creating a complex situationwhere some social and ethnic groups are multiply disadvantaged in school settings(Archer and Yamashita, 2003; Jackson, 2002; Reay, 2002). The complex ways in whichthey interact make it difficult to identify strategies that will address inequalities, and todetermine which are effective in so doing.This report presents the findings of a study designed to review the research into genderrelatedinequalities in schools. It also determines the extent to which Scottish schoolshave adopted strategies to address these, and how effective they have been.The study was funded by the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) andinvolved researchers from both the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow. It wasdesigned in three overlapping phases. The first consisted of a substantial review of theliterature; the second involved a survey of the provision for tackling gender-related issuesin local authority policy; and the third consisted of a series of case studies of Scottishschools where gender-related strategies were in use. The first phase provided aframework against which strategies could be analysed, while the third provided evidenceof their impact.The specific aims of the study were to:• develop an understanding of the extent and causes of gender inequalities,particularly in attainment, school experiences and expectations in Scotlandcompared to elsewhere;• document the current practices used by Scottish educational authorities andschools (publicly-funded primary and secondary schools) to address genderinequalities;• identify the effect of these practices on gender attainment, self-esteem,perceptions of gender roles, subject choices, career aspirations, access tovocational training and so on, identifying ‘which girls’ and ‘which boys’ areaffected; and• highlight examples of good practice in addressing gender inequality issuesthrough case studies (including publicly-funded schools at primary andsecondary levels).The methods used involved the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data, aswell as exploring the existing knowledge base through the review of the literature. Theaim was to obtain both an overview of the national position and to get at the experiences,aspirations and perceptions of pupils, teachers and representatives of educational policy-______________________________________________________________________________________Review of Strategies to 1 University of StrathclydeAddress Gender Inequalitiesand University of Glasgow