...:
Now look at part three.
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You will hear two sociology students, Jamie and Alice, discussing texts they have been reading in order to prepare for a seminar on gender and education.
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First you have some time to look at questions 21 to 24.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24.
ALICE:
Hi Jamie, have you done a lot of reading for the seminar this week on gender and education?
JAMIE:
Hey Alice, yeah I've done quite a lot.
JAMIE:
It's all a bit confusing to be honest.
JAMIE:
Do you want to sit down and have a chat about it?
ALICE:
Yes, that would be really useful actually.
ALICE:
What's been confusing you?
JAMIE:
Well, it just seems like such a huge area.
JAMIE:
I mean, you can talk about gender and education in primary school up to university, and also there are such huge differences between countries.
JAMIE:
You know, the statistics are very different for, say, Japan when compared with a developing country.
ALICE:
Well, yes, there's so much stuff about developing countries and education, especially with regards to gender, but that's not what this will be about.
ALICE:
The seminar is about the differences in higher education enrolment for men and women.
ALICE:
Haven't you looked at the reading list?
JAMIE:
Oh, yes, I guess I just got carried away.
JAMIE:
So what have you read from the reading list?
ALICE:
Well, I started with the chapter in our set book, you know, the one written by Hall.
ALICE:
I thought that was quite an interesting overview, although it was a little short.
JAMIE:
Yes, I read that too.
JAMIE:
It didn't go into much detail, which was fine, but it was a good place to start.
JAMIE:
And it included lots of references and quotes to check.
ALICE:
I don't think we need to check all of that.
ALICE:
It would be a bit too much.
ALICE:
Anyway, after reading that chapter, I tried getting some of the other books on the list out of the library, but they were already on loan.
JAMIE:
To be honest, that always seems to be the case in our library.
JAMIE:
Sorry, it's a good job we've got access to all of these online journals and articles, or we'd never be able to get any reading done.
ALICE:
I've read a load of the articles and journals on the list.
ALICE:
There are some really eye-opening statistics there.
ALICE:
When I first started thinking about this topic, I thought it would be about trying to get more women into university, but it seems like it's men that are underrepresented.
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Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 25 to 30.
JAMIE:
Yes, tell you what, shall we share some of the main facts and figures we've read, and then we can both take some notes?
ALICE:
OK, that sounds like a plan.
ALICE:
Well, I guess the most interesting thing I read was a government paper that said the proportion of women going into higher education was 30% higher than men.
JAMIE:
Yeah, that was really shocking, wasn't it?
JAMIE:
But it's not just the numbers getting into university.
JAMIE:
I also read a report by the Higher Education Policy Institute that said when at university, men are more likely to drop out, and those who get a degree are less likely to get a high pass.
ALICE:
Yes, but we shouldn't over-generalise here.
ALICE:
Women don't dominate in every field.
ALICE:
If we took out some really women-dominated degree subjects, like teaching and nursing, then the overall gap would be much smaller.
ALICE:
And there are still more men in some subjects like engineering and science.
JAMIE:
True, but that gap is closing fast.
JAMIE:
And in all the others, there are more women in nearly every university in the country.
JAMIE:
The thing I found confusing, though, is I couldn't really identify any causes for this.
ALICE:
Well, I read one writer who suggested that men were much less likely to become teachers, and as a result, the education system was more in women's favour, meaning men lack role models.
JAMIE:
Yes, I read that in a few places.
JAMIE:
It seemed mostly anecdotal, though.
JAMIE:
I'm not too sure how much of a difference it would really make.
JAMIE:
And anyway, I read quite a bit and I couldn't find any evidence to suggest that it is significant.
ALICE:
It seems there needs to be more research in that area.
ALICE:
Another cause that I found said that one possible reason was the change in how students were assessed.
ALICE:
You know, before the 1980s, schools mostly tested students with exams, but then they shifted to mostly using coursework, which apparently suits girls better than it does boys.
JAMIE:
I guess that's true.
JAMIE:
I mean, I know that I didn't really like doing coursework.
JAMIE:
Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what the professor says in the lecture.
ALICE:
His last one was good.
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That is the end of part three.
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You now have some time to check your answers.
