Gender has a major impact on the educational experience of individuals. Although the sexes together have increased their levels of achievement, significant changes have occurred in recent years, where girls have overtaken boys. The rapid pace at which girls' results have improved has led to a significant gap between them and boys. There are various key factors that have a strong influence on what tends to cause gender differences in achievement and I will focus on internal factors, i.e. within schools and the education system, and on external factors, i.e. at home and in society in general. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Factors within the education system and in schools are critical and play an important role in clarifying gender differences in achievement. It cannot be ignored that feminist ideas have had a very great influence on the education system and have significantly raised awareness of gender issues where schools and teachers are more sensitive to the need to prevent gender stereotypes. The acceptance that boys and girls are equally successful and eligible for the same opportunities is now only a fragment of mainstream education thinking and is definitely influencing education policy. Examples of policies include the National Curriculum introduced in 1988, which eliminated one cause of gender inequality by introducing the idea that boys and girls should study the same subjects, which was very rare or uncommon in the past; encourage girls to work harder and achieve more. This helps balance opportunities for all students and helps break down barriers from times gone by. Boaler (2002) notes changes in girls' achievement and "as a result, many feminists and others concerned with equity have developed a series of initiatives that have been successful in improving girls' achievement and even participation." continues… and stereotypical attitudes. …because girls mostly disappear. (Boaler, 2002, p.137-138). According to the Ministry of Education, official statistics on the gender of school staff “nearly three out of four teachers are women and four out of five school employees are women”. Percentage of full-time equivalent school staff by gender: November 2016 73.9 percent of FTE teachers are women. 84.6 percent of FTE teachers in nursery and primary schools are women and 62.5 percent of secondary school teachers. 91.4 percent of teaching assistants and 82.2 percent of school support staff are women. Overall, 80.2 percent of all school staff are women. The percentage of female teachers has clearly increased over time and in 2010, 72.9 percent of full-time equivalent teachers were women and this percentage has increased each year. In 2016, 73.9 percent of full-time equivalent teachers were women. As the number of female teachers in schools has increased in recent years, this creates active and optimistic role models for young girls to encourage them to have high aspirations. By placing women in roles of authority, it gives girls non-gender stereotypical goals and achievements, because becoming a teacher requires a long and prosperous education herself. This can be heavily criticized as it could be argued that the education system has been "feminized", which has caused boys to fall behind due to schools not encouraging "masculine" ways, such as competitiveness and leadership. Some sociologists believe that the changes that have taken place Changes to the school curriculum and the way students are assessed have disadvantaged boys and are even more ideal for girls. Gorard (2005) suggests that the gender achievement gap is “the product of changing the assessment system rather than a more general failure of boys”. Gender gap results have always been there, but Gorard points out that they soared the year GCSEs were introduced and the courses were major assessments for most subjects. Girls are considered to do better in their studies because they are more diligent and organized than boys. Factors that helped girls benefit from the introduction of classes include being able to meet deadlines, spend more time on their work, take care and put effort into presentation. Mitsos and Browne (1998) also reveal that girls benefit from greater maturity than boys and their ability to concentrate longer. These skills and characteristics that girls possess are the result of early gender role socialization at home, for example, girls are taught to be neat, clean up after themselves, and be more resilient than boys are encouraged to do. to be. Conversely, Elwood (2005) criticizes this and proposes that although courses have some influence, it is unlikely that they are the only factor in the gender gap in achievement. Exploring the importance of coursework and written exams, she concludes that exams have more influence on final grades than coursework. Another influential internal factor is the way teachers interact with students. These interactions vary between boys and girls, since Spender (1983) indicates that teachers spend more time interacting with boys than with girls. However, although Francis (2001) also found that boys received more attention than girls, they were nevertheless more harshly disciplined and felt harassed by teachers while having lower expectations of them. Francis pointed out that "the crisis of masculinity" diminishes boys' confidence, so they no longer have the motivation or confidence to succeed. (Francis, 2001, p.2) The way teachers interacted with the girls was much more progressive, as conversations were focused more on lesson tasks rather than discipline. Swann (1998) pointed out that there are gender differences in communication styles, where "male students tend to 'dominate' classroom discussions" (Swann, 1998, p. 148), while female Girls are more attentive and collaborative and would be better able to listen and collaborate. more interactive when working in pairs or small groups. Teachers prefer the characteristics that female students exhibit and could explain why they respond more positively to girls and boost their self-esteem. The elimination of gender stereotypes in textbooks and other learning materials in recent years has challenged stereotypes in the school curriculum and removed barriers for girls. ' realization. This pushes them by presenting them with more positive concepts of what women can be capable of, other than what was seen before, for example images of women depicted as mothers or wives.at home, etc. While there have been clear internal factors that have influenced changes in curriculum and gender success, external factors also contribute. The wider society plays a major role as the impact of feminism on the wider society today has raised awareness and brought about many changes. The feminist social movement challenged traditional and stereotypical views of the role and power of women, making them inferior to men both at home and outside, at work, in education and before the law. This movement has definitely improved women's opportunities in society as a whole. Changes within the family are also another common external factor, as there has been an increase in divorce rates and single mothers, giving girls a completely different attitude, encouraging them to take education seriously in order to ensuring a role as breadwinner in the absence of the man. . This new financial independence for women encourages them to acquire the skills required to obtain well-paid jobs. Changes in women's employment are working in their favor, including 1) the introduction of the Equal Pay Act 1970, 2) the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, 3) flexibility and growth. service sector offering part-time positions have presented many opportunities to women. “In the 30 years since the Equal Pay Act, many changes have taken place in women's economic participation and success. More women than ever are working… accessing training and jobs that previous generations would not have considered open to women. (Prosser, 2006, p.1) This inspires girls to go out into the world and gain the skills needed to be their best. It therefore became more evident that changes in family and employment led to changes in girls' ambitions. Sociological research supporting this view includes Shapere (1994) comparing the results of interviews she had conducted with girls in the 1970s and 1990s. The results of her study show major changes in participants' ambitions and in how they see themselves in the near future. In 1974, girls surveyed had low aspirations, prioritizing "love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs and careers, more or less in that order." The girls revealed that appearing smart and ambitious was considered unattractive and unfeminine. However, in the 1990s, during another interview, the ambitions had completely changed and their priorities were now in a different order. Sharpe found that girls would now prefer to be career-driven and independent rather than being at home and dependent on a husband. Despite the progress of girls compared to boys, there remains a usual presentation of “boys” and “girls” subjects. “subjects in which boys tend to opt for subjects that seem more masculine, namely mathematics and physics, while girls will be more likely to opt for languages ​​or literature. The school more or less emphasizes gender inequality in many ways, both in the curriculum and in communications between teachers and students, but also between students. When the National Curriculum was introduced, it removed the majority of students' choice to choose or drop out of subjects by making most subjects compulsory until the age of 16. However, when.