ABSTRACT

This is a re-examination of one of the first sociological considerations of sex differences in educational attainment (King, 1971).1 A great deal has changed in the sociology of education since then, and the original propositions can now be considered in the light of new theoretical perspectives and new empirical evidence. Then (as now) social class differences in education were an important concern, but sex differences were neglected.2 This neglect is being remedied. Just as social class differences had, and still have, problem status, so now have sex differences. For both, there are sociological problems of explaining the inequalities, and political problems in operationalising policies to correct those inequalities.