Session Information
ERG SES G 04, Social Aspects of Education
Paper Session
Contribution
An educational attainment gender gap was found in different European countries (Breen, Luijkx, Müller, & Pollak, 2010; OECD, 2011), including the Belgian region Flanders (Derks & Vermeersch, 2001). Gender disparity includes inequalities in educational participation of students as well as in academic achievement (Jha & Kelleher, 2006). While primary gender related educational studies focused on gender inequality concerning the lower participation of girls, since the 90’s the focus has shifted to boys due to the schooling catch up of girls on the one hand (Derks & Vermeersch, 2001) and the educational underachievement of boys compared to girls on the other hand. Boys show, for example, higher rates of drop out, they repeat a grade more often and are more represented in special education (Buchmann, DiPrete, & McDaniel, 2008; Dang Kim & Pelleriaux, 2006; Derks & Vermeersch, 2001).
In researching this educational gender gap, little attention has been given to gender ideology, “the level of support for a division of paid work and family responsibilities” (Davis & Greenstein, 2009, p. 88), as possible underlying mechanism. A traditional ideology supports a gendered division of family labor, regarding women as homemakers and caregivers and men as wage earners. An egalitarian ideology includes a more equal view on participation in labor and domesticities (Davis & Pearce, 2007; Legge & Misra, 2007).
Research suggests that this gender ideology is an important factor in explaining behavior in general, such as employment (Cunningham, 2008), marriage and childbearing (Kaufman, 2005) and gendered behavior more specifically (Davis & Greenstein 2009; Vespa, 2009). Furthermore, research demonstrates that gender ideology influences educational expectations (Davis & Greenstein, 2009; Davis & Pearce, 2007; McDaniel, 2010). These educational expectations, in turn, affect educational attainment (Davis & Pearce, 2007; Feliciano & Rumbaut, 2005; Jacob & Wilder, 2010).
Thus, gaining insight in gender ideology might help to understand differences in educational expectancies and attainment between boys and girls. This paper starts from a parental view, based on the insight that the home environment and more peculiar parents, influences students’ gender ideology (Carlson & Knoester, 2011; Davis & Greenstein, 2009; Goldberg, Kelly, Matthews, Kang, Li, & Sumaroka, 2012; Kulik, 2002). The following research questions are put forward: (1) How is parental gender ideology related to parental gender, educational level, occupational status and country of birth? (2) How is parental gender ideology related to educational expectations and desires towards their children? (3) Are parental educational expectations and desires gender specific?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Breen, R., Luijkx, R., Müller, W., & Pollak, R. (2010). Long-term Trends in Educational Inequality in Europe: Class Inequalities and Gender Differences. European Sociological Review, 26(1), 31-48. Buchmann, C., DiPrete, T.A., & McDaniel, A. (2008). Gender Inequalities in Education. Annual review of sociology, 34, 319-337. Carlson, D.L., & Knoester, C. (2011). Family Structure and the Intergenerational Transmission of Gender Ideology. Journal of Family Issues, 32(6), 709-734. Dang Kim, T., & Pelleriaux, K. (2006). Equity in Education Thematic Review: Country Analytical Report. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/belgium/39028715.pdf Davis, S.N, & Greenstein, T.N. (2009). Gender Ideology: Components, Predictors, and Consequences. Annual Review of Sociology, 35, 87-105. Davis, S.N, & Pearce, L.D. (2007). Adolescents’ work-family gender ideologies and educational expectations. Sociological Perspectives, 50(2), 249-271. Derks, A., & Vermeersch, H. (2001). Gender en schools presteren: Een multilevel-analyse naar de oorzaken van de grotere schoolachterstand van jongens in het Vlaams secundair onderwijs. Retrieved from http://www.iiav.nl/epublications/2001/gender_schools_presteren.pdf? Feliciano, C., & Rumbaut, R.G. (2005). Gendered paths: Educational and occupational expectations and outcomes among adult children of immigrants. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 28(6), 1087-1118. Jacob, B.A., & Wilder, T. (2010). Educational Expectations and Attainment. In Whither Opportunity? Rising Inequality and the Uncertain Life Chances of Low-Income Children, edited by Greg J. Duncan and Richard J. Murnane. New York, NY: Russell Sage Press. Jha, J., & Kelleher, F. (2006). Boys’ Underachievement in Education: An Exploration in Selected Commonwealth Countries. London: Commonwealth Secretariat/Commonwealth of Learning. Kaufman, G. (2005). Do Gender Role Attitudes Matter? Family Formation and Dissolution Among Traditional and Egalitarian Men and Women. In Readings in Family Theory, edited by Thomas R. Chibucos, Randall W. Leite and David L. Weis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Kulik, L. (2000). Intrafamiliar Congruence in Gender-Role Ideology: Husband-Wife Versus Parents-Offspring. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 31(1), 91-106. Kulik, L. (2002). Like-Sex Versus Opposite-Sex Effects in Transmission of Gender Role Ideology From Parents to Adolescents in Israel. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31(6), 451–457. Legge, J.S., & Misra, J. (2007). Examining the Concept of Gender Role Ideology: Women in Traditional Jewish Worship. Contemporary Jewry, 19(1), 95-119. McDaniel, A. (2010). Cross-National Gender Gaps in Educational Expectations: The Influence of National-Level Gender Ideology and Educational Systems. Comparative Education Review, 54(1), 27-50. OECD. (2001). Report on the Gender Initiative: Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/education/48111145.pdf
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