According to feminist sociologists the reasons for differences in educational achievement between males and females was due to Gender language in education, Gendered roles, Gender stereotypes, History and Subject choice.
Females have historically been marginalized in education. Even when education was made compulsory back in 1763, females were (regardless of class or status) still left out, being given only the opportunity to learn how to read and then were sent off to schools where they had to learn how to sow, etc. Males on the other hand were encouraged to finish their education as far as the family income allowed it. .
Feminist sociologists began looking at why, despite the fact that females- when allowed to go to school- often performed better than males at school, they were still left out. They explained it thus. Through Gender language in education they found the wider society reflected and how school textbooks often used language to enforce the ideas of males and females. Teachers" of use terms like "he", "him", "his", and "men" when referring to a person or people reinforced gender language. This is a downgrading use of language to females which makes them seem. Through Gendered roles they learned how school text books tend to represent males and females in traditional gender roles, eg. women as mothers and housewives. This is especially noticeable with reading schemes from the 1960s and 1970s. Through Gender stereotypes males get representation as the more adventurous and physically strong sex. They are also seen as having more opportunities than females. Females seem more caring and are seen as more interested in domestic matters. They are also seen as followers and males are seen as leaders.
Feminists also argue that females are hidden from history. They belive that history has been the history of males. In terms of the curriculum, females tend to be in the "background" or "missing" rather than in the foreground.
