ABSTRACT
All of us are affected in some way by issues of social class, ethnicity and gender. In this chapter we look specifically at the influence of gender on the achievement of pupils in our education system to raise the implications for inclusive ways of working. We consider how, for much of the twentieth century, research concentrated on the inequality of opportunity for girls and the social changes that have attempted to rectify this. We then look at the current debates surrounding the now apparently poor achievement of boys and the culture of underperformance accompanying this. We conclude by suggesting that any examination of the self-perception, motivation and achievement of children and young people needs to include a consideration of social class and ethnicity as well as gender. It is only by being aware of such factors that policies promoting social inclusion can have any hope of success. All teachers need to understand these significant forces in pupils’ lives in order to make their practice more effective.
