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Marketisation policies have created a competitive climate as schools may now see girls as desirable recruits because they achieve better exam results. David Jackson (1998) notes that the publication of exam league tables has meant that achieveing girls are very attractive to schools and boys are not. Roger Slee claims that boys are seen as unnattractive because they are more likely to suffer from behavioural difficulties and are four time more likely to be excluded. As a result, boys may be seen as 'liability students'.

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Challenging Stereotypes in the Curriculum

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Challenging Stereotypes in the Curriculum

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Some sociologists argue that the removal of gender stereotypes from textbooks and reading schemes have removed a barrier in raising girls' achievement. Research in the 1970s and 1980s found that women were presented as housewives and mothers and science books showed them as frightened or amazed by science. Gaby Weiner (1995) argues that since the 1980s teachers have challenged such sterotypes and that sexist images have been removed.

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Dale Spender (1983) found that teachers spend more time interacting with boys than they do girls. This is supported by Becky Francis (2001) who found that boys also get mnore attention, as they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers who tended to have lower expectations of them. Swann (1998) found gender differences in communication styles. Boys tended to dominate whole discussions, whereas girls preferre paired or group work and were better at listening and cooperating. This may explain why teachers respond more postively to girls, who they see as cooperative comparted with boys. This may then lead to a self-fulfillling prophecy

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Some sociologists have found that the ways in which pupils are assesed has advantaged girls na disadvantaged boys. Stephen Gorard (2005) found that the gender gap was fairly constant from 1975 until the late 1980s when the National Curriculum was established, bringing with it coursework as a part of nearly all subjects. Mistos and Browne (1998) support this and argue that girls are more successful in coursework because they are more conscientious and better organised. According top to them, girls spend more time on their work, take more care with the way it is presented, are better at meeting deadlines and bring the right equipment to lessons.
Mistos and Browne argue that these things have benefitted girls at GCSE and A level. They also note that girls gain from maturimg quicker than boys. Along with the GCSE has coime greater use of the oral examination, which is also said to benefit girls as they generally have better developed language skillks. Sociologists argue that these characteristics come from gender role socialistaion, where girls are encouraged to be neat, tidy and patient which gives them an advantage in assessments at schools.

AO3- Jannette Elwood (2005)  however takes an opposite view. Analysing the weighting of coursework and written exams, she concludes that exams have more influence on final grades and therefore rejects the idea of coursework being responsible for increasing the gender gap.

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In recent years there has been a rise in the number of female teachers and head teachers. Such women may act as role models for girls. In particular it could be argued that primary schools have become 'feminised' with virtiually all female staff.

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Many sociologists have argued that feminist ideas have had a major impact on the education sytem. Those who are part of it are much more aware of gender issues. The introduction of the National Curriculum in 1988 remove one source of gender inequality by making girls and boys study mostly the smae subjects. Jo Boaler (1998) sees the impact of equal opportunties as the key reason for the improvement of girls.