Oppositional Masculinity: Gender and Inequalities in School Performance

• In Event: 523 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 07. Gender Gaps: Session II

Abstract

Although sociologists of education have devoted substantial time to the study of gender and schooling across traditional metrics, comparatively less attention has been paid to considerations of both masculinity and psychological measures of student views. This paper attempts to remedy this using an oppositional culture framework that is typically applied to the study of racial disparities in education. With data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey (NELS), I employ Ainsworth-Darnell and Downey’s (1998) framework for analyzing oppositional culture, and apply it to gender differences in education. My findings note that while males tend to exhibit more oppositional attitudes, their importance for educational achievement is less clear. Gender differences in skills, habits, and styles predict the female advantage in school performance, but the same cannot be said for concrete attitudes.

Author

• Daniel Rudel, Indiana University