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

2.3 Causes of gender inequalityA range of factors have been identified as contributing to gender inequality, both in andout of school.i. In-school factorsSome of the explanations offered refer to in-school factors such as the management andethos of the school, the content and organisation of the curriculum, assessment practices,and classroom pedagogies. Sukhnandan et al (2000), in reviewing the literature, identifytwo broad explanations for girls’ and boys’ differential performance in school. Firstly,girls and boys have different learning styles which, in turn, need different styles ofteaching; and, secondly, girls and boys seem to relate differently to schooling andlearning, with girls finding it easier to succeed.In terms of attitudes to school and learning, Sukhnandan et al (2000) describe girls asbeing, in general, better disposed to the demands of classroom activity than boys. Theyplace a high value on the presentation of their work; they spend more time trying toimprove what they produce (MacDonald et al, 1999); they care more about the opinionsof their teachers (Davies and Brember, 1995; Bray et al, 1997); they derive moreenjoyment from school life (Arnot et al, 1998).The peer group is a strong influence on boys’ attitudes to school and to learning (Barber,1994). Where the culture of the peer group is to devalue schoolwork, it is difficult forindividual boys to seek and accept the public endorsement of the school. Girls, on theother hand, do not experience a conflict of loyalties between friends and school to thesame degree (Barber, 1994; Macrae et al, 2000).In contrast, there is a considerable body of literature which indicates that girls continue tobe disadvantaged in school contexts. Echoing the EIS literature of 1989, Paechter (1998)argues that boys dominate time and space in classrooms, managing to attract tothemselves much more teacher time and much greater ‘hands-on’ access to resourcessuch as computers. Boys also dominate outdoors recreational space through activitiessuch as football, taking up a lot of space and displacing other activities (Shilling, 1991,cited in Paechter, 1998). In addition, the effects of stereotyping subjects has been seen asimpacting negatively on girls’ choices by, for example, acting against their participationin those subjects perceived to be more abstract in the school context but valued byuniversity admissions tutors (Riddell, 1992).There is also some evidence that explanations have become gendered (Paechter, 1998;Cohen, 1998). Such explanations attribute girls’ failings to factors within girlsthemselves, whereas boys’ failings have been blamed on external circumstances.Conversely, girls’ successes are seen as being due to external factors (e.g. the success ofequal opportunities policies) whereas boys’ achievements are credited to internalattributes (e.g. innate intelligence).ii. The development of gendered identitiesThe literature in this area (for example, Connell, 1982; Arnot, 1991) tends to reject thenotion that there are biological or pathological differences and also, in general, is criticalof social learning theory which postulates that gender identities are fixed by earlyprocesses of socialisation. Although there is scepticism in the literature, these theorieshave had considerable impact on the development of strategies for boys and girls. MacAn Ghaill (1994) criticises earlier strategies intended to address perceived discriminationagainst girls, e.g. changing school texts and establishing gender-fair teaching styles,which he considers well-intentioned, if naïve. He cites Arnot (1991), who argues thatsuch strategies were flawed by a simplistic portrayal of the issues and a perception ofgirls as victims. Similarly, Martino and Berrill (2003) critique New Right prescriptionsfor change to address the ‘problems’ of masculinity, particularly in schools, on the______________________________________________________________________________________Review of Strategies to 5 University of StrathclydeAddress Gender Inequalitiesand University of Glasgow