Gender Segregation In Educational Choice - Contributory Factors and Subsequent Implications for Women

Substantial interest has been shown in recent years in the importance of 'gender equity within the educational system. Since the early 1990's the Irish Educational System has been the focus of much attention and scrutiny. Various government publications were developed , and in 1995 a White Paper on education was published . The debates which took place leading up to the publication of this document were fundamentally concerned with equality issues within the education system. The White Paper was entitled 'Chartering Our Education Future' and one of the main issues discussed in this paper is the context of gender equity. 'The education system for the future should have a philosophy that embraces all students female and male, on a basis of equality'. (Chartering Our Education Future 1995, cited in Drudy 1997, p. 2). This statement is of extreme importance to my own research. Initially I sought to examine whether gender segregation in educational choice was active within the schools. I was concerned with looking at some of the contributing factors, if it did exist, in particular in the light of young women entering the labour market. I discovered that my task was in fact quite a challenging one due to the numerous combinations of factors that influence one's subject choice. One of the shortcomings of my study is the 'omission' of class, which is another significant concept in the analysis of gender segregation in educational choice. I was of the opinion that this area could quite easily constitute a study in itself. Gender and class are two significant variables with regard to the provision of subjects in schools. Secondary schools tend to provide more 'academic' subjects and they generally have the 'largest middle class cohort. Vocational schools on the other hand, usually cater for a large proportion of children from working class families, and there is more of a focus on technical subjects