Boys' Underachievement in Education

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the reasons put forth to explain why boys underachieve in school. The paper specifically looks at the following explanations: the feminising of the curriculum, the low expectations boys have of themselves, the crisis of masculinity, and the Marxist theory, which sees the education system as repressing working class children. The paper concludes with the opinion that it not gender that is the main factor for boys' underachievement, but class. An annotated bibliography is included with the paper.

From the Paper:

"In the academic year 2004/05, 62 per cent of girls achieved five or more GCSE grades A* to C, compared to only 52 per cent of boys. Many people would suggest that this sort of data represents the crisis that is 'male underachievement'. Male underachievement is the failure of boys to do as well in the education system as their female counterparts. And yet the 'crisis' only a few decades ago was that of female underachievement. So what has happened to account for this shift in achievement?"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Differential Achievement of Girls and Boys at GCSE: Some Observations from the Perspective of One School Mike Younger, Molly WarringtonBritish Journal of Sociology of Education, Vol. 17, No. 3 (1996), pp. 299-313. Routledge.
• October 2006, 'Girls outperform boys', http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1653,October 2007).
• The Other Side of the Gender Gap Molly Warrington, Michael Younger Gender and Education, Volume 12, Issue 4 December 2000 , pages 493 - 508. Routledge
• Understanding Underachievement: an investigation into the differential attainment of secondary school pupils Smith, E. British Journal of Sociology of Education, Volume 24, Number 5, November 2003 , pp. 575-586(12) Routledge,
• Willis, P (1977) 'Capitalism and the counter school culture' in M. Haralambos and M. Holborn (Eds) Sociology Themes and Perspectives. London, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd. Pp 703).

More papers on Boys' Underachievement in Education:

• Persuasive Essay # 104780 : "Boys' Education and Feminism"
• Analytical Essay # 29095 : "Underachieving Boys"
• Essay # 37185 : "Parental Involvement In Education"

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