Gender and subject choice Essay Example for Free

Gender and present choice EssayTo carry out these interviews, I would take a precedent of 20 sixth-formers, preferably within my own sixth-form to forgo easier, speedier access and consisting equally of both males and females. In order to do this I would use quota sampling, this is a demeanor in which variables can be controlled and the participants with correspondent characteristics are chosen, hence the overall sample can reflect the characteristics of the population as a whole. These samples would likewise preferably include students that had chosen to study any of the sciences, however particularly focusing on Biology. This sample would also take into account ethnic and class differences in order to allow me to differentiate amid males and females according to different variables, providing sufficient extra data to measure gender against class roles and the intersections. Whilst this will leave qualitative clues as to subject choices by gender it will be limited in il lustrating the equal of the learning environment and gender roles, as this would demand more qualitative analysis such as that of Anne Colleys. However, I would expect the results to be generalisable to a wider population.I will anchor these questions in previous look such as that of Anne Colley. Within the interviews, I am going to focus on Biology in particular when asking about the science/favourite subjects, and so on My reasons for doing this arise from the evidence that Science at GCSE level is more popular with males whereas at A-level it is more commonly chosen by females. I would pop out the interviews with a number of capable-ended questions, so as to give the participant a see to rear me with worthy feedback, eg. Why did you choose Biology? , and What did you think of it ?(in comparison to GCSE level), etc.I would record the answers to these open questions as it would be time-consuming to write down many long answers, etc. This would enable me to stub out a varied viewpoint on many different students perspectives of subject choice and preference. Then I would ask a series of closed-ended questions which will generally be more appropriate to achieve a table of results for clear comparisons to be made.These closed-ended questions would include similar questions to Do you think Biology is a girls subject? and Do you think Physics is a boys subject? , etc. Questions would be piloted on a fiddling group of males and females to ensure its adequacy. This is in fact a small-scale preliminary study which will allow me to check that things will run smoothly during the interviews and also allow improvements to be made to the design of the research, should on that point be any faults. (471 words) Potential Problems As this is a such a small piece of research, it would a problem to generalise from it, specially to schools and pupils different from the sample, eg.ethnic minorities, private education, etc.It would give an idea of the reasons in which a particular small group of students chose their A level subjects and their own individual reasons for doing so. However it could give a fair impression of reasons for subject choice in other cases, eg. similar circumstances to other pupils perusing the same subjects etc. The usage of quota sampling does have both theoretical and practical drawbacks in or so circumstances.It isnt truly random as each person within the population doesnt have an equal chance of being chosen. The lack of this genuine randomness whitethorn have a significant effect on the results. For example, the quota sample within my study would be only those illustrated on the biology class register, however the results may have more of an impact if a quota sample had been taken from all those who achieved a high layer at GCSE biology and were in fact considering going on to study it at a higher(prenominal) level, etc.There is of course, with my research an interviewer bias. As my opinions on the topic are set by doing the research, participants may be influenced by my asking of the questions and will thence respond by giving a near answer as they may find the real truth embarrassing, eg. I fancied a crevice who was taking the course. However I am similar in status to my chosen sample group, therefore they may wish to impress or please me by giving me answers that they think I pauperization to hear.A nonher problem may be the reliability of the interviewees memory, they arent currently making their choice and might not remember their thoughts on it at the time. Also during interviews, a crucial factor as a way of achieving a reliable outcome of the research is to not put ideas into the students head before having asked open-ended questions. For example, closed-ended questions especially may put forward ideas that werent there before and therefore mislead me about their thoughts on the matter, etc.