Exam results show that girls do better than boys at both GCSE and A level, in all subjects, although boys are starting to catch up.

Sociologists are interested to find the reasons for this.

Reasons for differences in exam results between males and females

The Curriculum	The Curriculum – some sociologists believe that the curriculum favours girls, as to do well at school you have to have good verbal skills. Girls tend to be better at this than boys. Also girls tend to be better at coursework than boys and this helps them to get good results.
Parental labelling	Parental labelling – some studies suggest that parents are more likely to read to their daughters than their sons when they are young. Parents also tend to think that girls, when young, are more likely to be interested in educational things than boys. This labelling of girls could then mean they accept this and become more intelligent in school (this is called a self fulfilling prophecy – when a person accepts the label they have been given).
Changes in the job market	Changes in the job market – there are less jobs available that were traditionally done by males, e.g. manufacturing, mining etc. This may mean that boys at school have nothing to aim for and so don’t see the point in trying at school as they will only be unemployed when they leave. However, there has been an increase in the service sector, these are the type of jobs women traditional do, e.g. hairdressing, receptionists, shop work etc. This may mean that girls try hard at school as they know there are lots of jobs for them at the end.
Changes in socialisation	Changes in socialisation – in the 1970s girls thought that after school they would become mothers and wives, so they weren’t that interested in education as they felt they did not need it. However, this has changed. Girls today no longer want to get married and have children straight away, they are more interested in getting a good career. They realise they need to do well at school to achieve this.
Role models	Role models – it is argued that there are more positive role models for young girls than there are for young boys in terms of encouraging them to do well at school and get a good job.
Subcultures	Subcultures – these are groups of pupils in schools who have different norms and values to the rest of the school. Subcultures can be anti school – where pupils are rude to teachers, don’t do homework, truant and get into fights. Some sociologists argue that boys are much more likely to be in these groups and to think that education is a waste of time and that it is not ‘macho’ to do well at school. Subcultures can also be pro school – where pupils are very committed to school, they do all their work on time, or early, they are always on time for lessons and never truant. It is argued that girls are more likely to be in these subcultures than boys. This then explains the differences as the boys inI the anti school subculture will fail and the girls in the pro school subculture will do well.