Sociology · Year 13

Active learning ideas

Differential Educational Achievement: Gender

This topic challenges students to sociologically investigate a major success story of the British education system, the improvement of girls' achievement, while also critically examining the resulting 'panic' about boys.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• AQA A-Level Sociology: Education with Theory and Methods

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Human Barometer
• 45 min · Whole Class

Internal vs. External Factors Debate

Divide the class into two teams, one arguing that internal (in-school) factors are most significant for girls' improvement, and the other arguing for external (societal) factors. Students research and prepare arguments, then engage in a structured debate, followed by a concluding vote.

Analyse the reasons for the improvement in girls' educational achievement over the last 40 years.

Facilitation Tip

Provide students with a list of key sociologists for each side to guide their initial research.

What to look for

An A-Level style essay question, such as: 'Applying material from Item A, analyse two reasons for gender differences in subject choice.' (10 marks).

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Human Barometer
• 30 min · Small Groups

Living Graph of Educational Policy

Create a large timeline across a classroom wall from the 1970s to the present. In small groups, students research key social and educational policies (e.g., Equal Pay Act 1970, Education Reform Act 1988) and place them on the timeline, explaining their potential impact on gender and achievement.

Explain why boys may be underachieving in the contemporary education system.

Facilitation Tip

Encourage groups to draw links between different policy events on the timeline to show cumulative effects.

What to look for

Students complete a concept map linking key concepts (e.g., 'crisis of masculinity') to either internal or external factors, and to either girls' achievement or boys' underachievement.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Human Barometer
• 25 min · Pairs

Analyse Subject Choice Data

Provide students with recent national statistics on A-Level or university subject choices broken down by gender. In pairs, students identify the most heavily gendered subjects and use sociological concepts (e.g., gender domains, socialisation) to explain the patterns they observe.

Evaluate the impact of gender socialisation on subject choice and career paths.

Facilitation Tip

Challenge students to consider how these choices might link to future career paths and the gender pay gap.

What to look for

Students use a 'confidence continuum' to rate their understanding of each explanation for the gender gap, identifying areas for revision.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start by presenting achievement statistics to establish the trend before students explore the reasons. Use a large T-chart to help students categorise 'Internal' and 'External' factors throughout the topic. Consistently push students to consider how gender intersects with class and ethnicity to avoid simplistic conclusions.

Upon completion, students will be able to confidently explain and evaluate the complex range of societal and in-school factors that contribute to gendered patterns of achievement and subject choice.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• All girls now do better than all boys in school.

  This is a generalisation. While on average girls outperform boys, social class is a more significant factor. For instance, middle-class boys still achieve higher results than working-class girls, and the gender gap is widest amongst pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

• Boys are failing because schools have become 'too feminine'.

  The idea of a 'feminised' curriculum is a debated sociological viewpoint, not a fact. While some argue the emphasis on coursework and verbal skills may favour girls, there is limited evidence that the presence of female teachers negatively impacts boys' learning. This view can also ignore other factors like 'laddish' subcultures and changes in the economy.

• Feminism has solved all the problems for girls in education.

  While feminism has had a huge impact on raising girls' aspirations and challenging stereotypes, inequalities persist. This is evident in gendered subject choices, experiences of sexual harassment in schools, and the fact that men still dominate the highest-paid professions despite women's educational success.

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Methods used in this brief

• Human Barometer