Abstract
Degree performance in England and Wales was investigated as a function of social class and gender for several disciplines of study. Three performance criteria were considered: FIRST class; GOOD, and COMPETENT. The findings are complex, and some of them conflict with widely held class and gender stereotypes. Women performed better than men at the FIRST class and/or GOOD criteria, in all professional disciplines and in biological sciences. At the FIRST and GOOD criteria women performed best relative to men in biological content areas, next best in physical and mathematical content areas and worst in humanities content areas. A similar ordering of content areas was obtained when comparing students of lower class origins with those of upper and middle class origins. At the COMPETENT criterion, women performed better than men; and students of lower social class origins performed better than students of upper and middle social class origins. There was a trend, particularly marked in the humanities, for women to perform less well at the FIRST class criterion than would have been predicted by their achievements at the GOOD criterion. The implications of these patterns for theories of group differences in excellent academic performance and for educational policy are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Archer, J. (1987, in press). “Beyond sex differences”. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society.
Bee, M. & Dolton, P. (1985). “Degree class and pass rates”. Higher Education Review 17: 45–52.
Benbow, C.P. & Stanley, J.C. (1984). “Gender and the science major”. In M.W. Steinkamp & M.L. Maehr, Advances in motivation and achievment, vol. 2. Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI Press.
Bernstein, B. (1974). Class, codes and control, vol. 1. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Bligh, D., Caves, R. & Settle, G. (1979). “‘A’ level scores and degree classifications as functions of university type and subject”. In Billig, D. (ed.) Indicators of Performance. Guilford: Society for Research into Higher Education.
Connolly, K.J. & Smith, P.K. (1986). “What makes agood degree”. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society 39: 48–51.
Deaux, K. (1985). “Sex and gender”. Annual Review of Psychology 36: 49–81.
Entwistle, N.J. & Wilson, J.D. (1977). Degrees of excellence. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Epstein, C.F. & Coser, R.L. (1981). Access to power: cross-national studies of women and elites. London: George Allen & Unwin.
Feinberg, S.E. (1980). The analysis of cross-classified categorical data. 2nd ed. London: MIT Press.
Ferry, G. (1982). “How women figure in science”. New Scientist 94: 10–13.
Foxman, D.D., Martini, R.M. & Mitchell, P. (1982). Mathematical Development: Secondary Survey Report No. 3. London: Her Majesty's Stationary Office.
Friedson, E. (1975). Profession of medicine. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Halsey, A.H., Heath, A.F. & Ridge, J.M. (1980). Origins and destinations. Oxford: Clarendon.
Hedges, L.V. and Olkin, I. (1985). Statistical methods for meta-analysis. London: Academic Press.
Hindmarch, A. & Bourner, T. (1979). “Examination results: Universities and the CNAA”. In Billig, D. (ed.) Indicators of Performance. Guildford: Society for Research into Higer Education.
Humphreys, L.G. (1984). “Women with doctorates in science and engineering”. In M.W. Steinkamp & M.L. Maehr, Advances in motivation and achievement, vol. 2. Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI Press.
Kelly, A. (1979). Girls and Science. Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell.
Kornbrot, D.E. (Sept. 1986). Women who excel in mathematics and science. Paper presented at Conference on “Why are there so few women in science and technology”. Lancashire Polytechnic.
Labov, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic patterns. Oxford: Blackwell.
Rose, S., Kamin, L.J. & Lewontin, R.C. (1984). Not in our genes. London: Penguin.
Rudd, E. (1984). “Whose children go to university”. Higher Education Review 15: 27–38.
Rudd, E. (1984). “A comparison between the results achieved by women and men studying for 1st degrees in British Universities”. Studies in Higher Education 9: 47–57.
Sears, K. (1983). “The correlation between A level grades and degree results in England and Wales”. Higher Education 12: 609–619.
UCCA (1979). Statistical Summary to the Sixteenth Report 1977–78. Cheltenham, Glos: University Central Council on Admissions.
Wallston, B.S. & O'Leary, V.E. (1981). “Sex and gender make a difference”. Review of Personality and Social Psychology 2: 9–41.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kornbrot, D.E. Degree performance as a function of discipline studied, parental occupation and gender. High Educ 16, 513–534 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00128419
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00128419