1. Gender identity and subject choice

2. Gender and subject choice
In previous lessons we have looked at gender differences in education.
This lesson is to revise and review the idea that girls still tend to pick traditionally ‘female’ subjects and boys still tend to pick traditionally ‘male’ subjects.
This lesson will also look at how gender identities are reinforced in school in various ways.
So why does it matter?
Some sociologists would argue that certain subjects have a higher status than other subjects.
Feminists in particular would argue that the ‘female’ subjects that girls still tend to choose, lead to jobs which have a low status and often low pay as well.

3. Subject choice
The National Curriculum introduced the idea that many subjects were to be made compulsory. However, where there is some choice either pre or post 16, girls and boys tend to follow different paths in terms of the subjects they choose.
National curriculum options – Stables and Wikeley (1996) found that when there is a choice, girls opt for food technology, whereas boys tend to choose graphics and resistant materials.
As and A Levels – There tends to be a big differences between subject choice at this stage. Boys opt for maths and physics whereas girls opt for literature, languages and the social sciences (3/4 or more of A Level Sociology students tend to be girls) These differences are also reflected at degree level.
Vocational courses – Vocational courses prepare students for particular careers. There appears to be a big separation, most hairdressing courses are chosen by girls and most construction courses are chosen by boys.

4. Reasons for differences in subject choice
So why do males and females tend to choose different subjects? We will now have a look at possible reasons.
Innate ability (ability you are born with)
Peer pressure (pressure to do certain things from your peer group)
Primary socialisation ( Learning of norms and values in the home)
Hidden curriculum (informal things you learn in school)
Gendered career opportunities ( work is quite gendered, ‘mans’ work and ‘woman’s’ work.

5. Reasons Innate Ability –
It has been argued that there are subject choice differences between the sexes because of natural differences. Boys are supposed to have better ‘visual-spatial’ ability (attracting them to sports, technology etc), Girls are supposed to have better ‘verbal’ ability (attracting them to language based subjects).
Criticism – Sociologists don’t believe these differences are natural, but due to nurture processes like socialisation.
Peer Pressure –
Subject choice can be influenced by your peer group (people you hang around with). Other people may put pressure on you as to what subject to take. For example boys tend to opt out of subjects like dance for fear of ridicule.
Carrie Paetcher (1998) – found that sport was seen as part of the male gender domain, so girls who participate in it have to cope with the assumption that it is a male subject. This will lead some girls to opt out of it.

6. Reasons continued… Primary socialisation
Sociologists often point to the differences in the ways boys and girls are socialised. They are treated differently, engage in different activities and wear different clothes. This will influence their later attitudes towards subject choice.
Murphy and Elwood(1998) showed how boys and girls have different tastes in reading. Boys tend to choose factual books, whereas girls tend to choose fiction. This may explain why boys tend to pick science subjects and girls are more attracted to English.
Browne and Ross (1991) argue that children’s beliefs about ‘gender domains’ ( the tasks and activities that boys and girls see as male or female territory, thus being relevant to them) are shaped by their early experiences.

7. Reasons continued… Hidden curriculum
These are the informal things you learn in school. This can include textbook images, how the school is organised, teachers attitudes and some of the interactions in classrooms.
Lobban (1976) – She looked at reading schemes and out of 225 stories she found that only 2 showed women in roles other than domestic tasks.
Kelly (1980) – Looked at science textbooks and found they concentrated on images of male scientists, at the expense of females.
These studies could explain why girls don’t tend to pick certain subjects.
Gendered career opportunities
Work is highly gendered. Jobs tend to be ‘men’s’ work or ‘women’s’ work. Women tend to be concentrated in a narrow range of occupations, whereas men are concentrated in a wider range of occupations.
This affects girls and boys ideas about what kind of job they will be able to get and which ones are acceptable. Thus influencing their subject choice. For example if boys get the message that nursery nurses are women, than they may opt out of taking childcare.