Page last Edited: 25/08/2010

Gender, Subject Choice and  Examination Results:

1. Gender, GCSE  Subject Choice and Results in 2008/09 and 2009/10
2. Gender, GCE Advanced Level Subject Choice and  Results in 2007/08 and 2009/10
3. Gender and Further and Higher Education: Long Term and Recent Trends

The following data illustrate that gender differences in subject choice are smaller at GCSE Level than at GCE Advanced Level and at Higher Education Levels. In this document I shall describe some of the main gender differences in subject choice which exist at various levels of the UK education system and then discuss some possible explanations for these patterns of subject choice in a subsequent document.    

1. Gender, GCSE  Subject Choice and Results in 2008/09 and 2009/10.

• English , Mathematics and Sciences are compulsory GCSE subjects although not all students who enrol for these subjects will necessarily be entered for the GCSE examinations . Boys are slightly more likely that girls to attempt these examinations although there are larger gender differences [in favour of boys] in entry rates for individual science subjects.
• In summary boys are more likely than girls to attempt Single Sciences, Design and Technology [where there are also significant stereotypical gender differences in option choices], Information Technology, Business Studies, Geography  and PE.
• In summary girls are more likely than boys  to attempt Home Economics, Social Studies, Art and Design, English Literature, Drama, Media/Film/TV Studies and RE.

• Click here and click on EXCEL Additional Tables 8-17 for  information for academic year 2008/9.

• Click here for a publication from Joint Qualifications Council containing provisional data on gender differences in subject choices [scroll down to page 9 for a useful diagram] and examination pass rates in 2010. Click here for fuller Joint Qualifications Council data as provided in the Guardian's Data Blog.
• The girls' A*-C pass rates exceeds that of boys  almost every subject although the  gender differences in pass rates vary significantly from subject to subject . For example girls have typically outperformed  boys in recent years by 7-15% in  English,  Design and Technology,  Modern Foreign Languages, Art and Design and  English Literature but only by narrow margins in  Mathematics,  Core Sciences and Chemistry
•  However in 2010 males outperformed females narrowly in Mathematics, Physics and Biology. It has been suggested that the ending of GCSE Mathematics coursework for the 20009 and 2010 cohorts helps to explain why males outperformed females in GCSE Mathematics in 2009 and 2010  whereas females had narrowly outperformed males in 2008 prior to the abolition of course work. However this conclusion has attracted some criticism.
• It is considered significant that Science entries increased significantly in 2010 and that Modern Languages entries fell. Click here for Guardian coverage of this and other stories related to the 2010 GCSE Examination results.
• Click here for BBC coverage of the 2010 GCSE Examinations which illustrates   also that  girls are now more likely to gain A* and A grades in most but not all  GCSE subjects.
• Girls, for several years have been more likely than boys to gain 5 or more GCSE A*-C  grades. This so-called "gender gap" in educational attainment has arisen primarily because girls have maintained their traditional higher attainment levels in Arts and Humanities subjects but also reduced [and in some years overturned] the traditional attainment gaps in favour of boys in Mathematics and Science subjects. However there are claims that the abolition of course work in several GCSE subjects may reduce the gender gap significantly although this is controversial.

 

2. Gender and  Subject Choice : GCE Advanced Level

GCE Advanced Level 2007/2008 and 2009/10; 10 most Popular Subjects in order of Popularity for Females and Males 2007/2008 and 2009/10

Females 07/08	Females 09/10	Males07/08	Males09/10
English	English	Mathematics	Mathematics
Psychology	Psychology	General Studies	English
General Studies	Art and Design	English	Biology
Biology	Biology	History	Physics
Art and Design	General Studies	Biology	History
Mathematics	Mathematics	Physics	Chemistry
History	History	Chemistry	General Studies
Sociology	Sociology	Business Studies	Business Studies
Chemistry	Chemistry	Geography	Geography
Media/Film/TV Studies	Media/Film/TV Studies	P.E.	Economics

 

Between 2007/08 and 2009/10 patterns of subject choice remained fairly constant: the main changes were that General Studies became less popular among both females and males; that Biology became more popular for males; and that Economics replaced PE as the 10th most popular choice for males. Also both Media/Film/TV studies and Psychology attracted more male entrants than PE in 2009/2010.

However we should also consider the relative popularity of subjects among female and male students irrespective of the total numbers of students opting for the different subjects. For example Performing/Expressive Arts and Computing do not appear in the above table because they are chosen by relatively limited numbers of students but  85.5%  and 14.5% of Performing/Expressive Arts students are female and male respectively and 91.1% and 8.9% of Computing Students are male and female respectively.

• Viewed in this way the following 13 subjects are most likely to contain female students: Performing/Expressive Arts [85.5%F: 14.5%M], Sociology, Psychology, Art and Design Subjects,  Communication Studies, English, French, Religious Studies, Drama, Spanish, Critical Thinking , Law., German [59.7%F: 40.3%M]

• Similarly the following 12 subjects are most likely to contain male students: Computing [91.1% M: 8.9% F], Physics, Science Subjects, Mathematics, Economics, Sport/PE, ICT, Music, Mathematics, Business Studies, Political Studies and Technology subjects[56.3% M: 43.7%F].

• The following subjects contain a fairly equal mixture of female and male students: Geography[54.1%M: 45.9%F}, Chemistry, History, General Studies, Media/TV /Film Studies, Classical Subjects, Other Modern Languages,  Biology [56.4% F:43.6%M.] 

Meanwhile the BBC has provided some useful data on the 2009/2010 Advanced Level examination results  and the Guardian provide both a full spreadsheet of results and some very useful summary interactive graphics.  You may also click here, here and here for EXCEL Diagrams derived from the Guardian Spreadsheet which provide illustrations of the three bullet points mentioned above. It would be a very useful exercise for you to look carefully at the various items on the BBC and Guardian sites and to write your summary in the box provided.

Assignment   BBC Coverage of 2010 Advanced Level Examination Results: Some Main Points   Guardian Coverage of 2010 Advanced Level Examination results : Some Main Points

  3. Gender and Further and Higher Education

• Long Term  Trends in Gender Differences in Enrolment In Further and Higher Education

 

Table 3.7                   Students in further and higher education:1 by type of course and sex       United Kingdom                 Thousands    Men      Women   1970/71 1980/81 1990/91 2007/08   1970/71 1980/81 1990/91 2007/08 Further education                      Full-time 116 154 219 520   95 196 261 534    Part-time 891 697 768 984   630 624 986 1,432                   All further education 1,007 851 986 1,503   725 820 1,247 1,966                   Higher education                      Undergraduate                         Full-time 241 277 345 574   173 196 319 717       Part-time 127 176 148 255   19 71 106 422    Postgraduate                         Full-time 33 41 50 124   10 21 34 125       Part-time 15 32 46 109   3 13 33 150                   All higher education2 416 526 588 1,063   205 301 491 1,414 1 Home and overseas students attending further education or higher education institutions. See Appendix, Part 3: Stages of education. 2 Figures for 2007/08 include a small number of higher education students for whom details are not available by level.  Source: Department for Children, Schools and Families; Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; Welsh Assembly Government; Scottish Government; Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning

What do these data show?

 

• Gender Differences in Subject Choice: Higher Education 2006/07  and 2007/08

 [Students [1] In Higher Education by subject and sex 2006/07 and 2007/08: United Kingdom {Percentages] [1Full-time and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate and home and overseas students in higher education institutions only. See Appendix: Part 3 Stages of Education: Source . [2] Subject data are classified using the Joint Academic Coding System: See Appendix Part 3 Joint Academic Coding System. Source Higher Education Statistics Agency] [From Social Trends 2009 and 2010: Crown Copyright] . 

	Men 06/07	Men 07/08	Women06/07	Women 07/08	All  06/07	All 07/08
Business and administrative studies	15.8	16.1	11.2	11.5	13.1	13.5
Subjects allied to medicine	5.5	5.4	18.2	17.7	12.7	12.5
Education	5.4	4.9	12.0	11.7	9.2	8.8
Social Studies	7.5	7.5	9.3	9.5	8.5	8.6
Biological Sciences	5.9	5.9	7.7	7.8	7.0	7.0
Creative art and design	6.2	6.3	7.2	7.3	6,8	6.9
Engineering and technology	11.7	11.8	1.7	1,7	5.9	6.0
Languages	4.5	4.5	7.0	6.9	5.9	5.9
Computer science	8.3	7.8	1.7	1.4.	4.5	4.1
Historical and philosophical studies	4.6	4.5	4.2	4.0	4.4	4.2
Law	3.7	3.7	4.0	4.0	3.6	3.9
Physical sciences	4.8	4.9	2.6	2.6	3.6	3.6
Medicine and dentistry	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Architecture, building and planning	4.1	4.4	1.4	1.5	2.6	2.7
Mass communications and documentation	2.0	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.0	2.1
Mathematical sciences	2.1	2.1	0.9	1.0	1.4	1.5
Agriculture and related subjects	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.8
Veterinary science	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2
Combined	4.5	4.6	5.3	5.5	5.0	5.1
All subject areas [=100%] [thousands]	1,010	988,	1,352	1,318	2,363	2,306

• I hope that you will find the above data useful and that you will be able to summarise it into a format suitable for examination purposes. In a following document I look at some of the explanations which have been given for Gender Differences in Subject Choice.