Gender, Self-Concept and Math Performance (original) (raw)
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Sex Roles, 2000
Gender differences in mathematics and verbal self-concept, performance expectations, intrinsic motivation, and goal orientation were examined in 4 samples of Norwegian students. A total of 907 students in 6th grade (n = 277), 9th grade (n = 239), 11th grade (n = 264), and adult students enrolled in first year of senior high school (n = 127) participated in the study. Findings indicated that gender differences continue to exist. Male students had higher selfconcept, performance expectations, intrinsic motivation, and self-enhancing ego orientation in mathematics than did female students, whereas female students had higher intrinsic motivation for learning language than did male students. Older students had higher verbal than mathematics self-concept regardless of gender.
Sex differences in mathematical achievement: Grades, national test, and self-confidence
Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 2016
Academic achievement, which is inherently an indicator of progress in the curriculum, can also be viewed as an indirect measure of cognitive development, social adaptation, and motivational climate characteristics. In addition to its direct application, academic achievement is used as a mediating factor in the study of various phenomena, from the etiology of learning disabilities to social inequality. Analysis of sex differences in mathematical achievement is considered particularly important for exploring academic achievement, since creating an adequate educational environment with equal opportunities for boys and girls serves as a prerequisite for improving the overall mathematical and technical literacy that is crucial for modern society, creates balanced professional opportunities, and destroys traditional stereotypes about the roles of men and women in society. The objective of our research was to analyze sex differences in mathematical achievement among high school students and to compare various methods for diagnosing academic performance, such as school grades, test scores, and self-concept. The results were obtained through two population studies whose samples are representative of the Russian population in the relevant age group. Study 1 looked at sex differences in math grades among twins (n = 1,234 pairs) and singletons (n = 2,227) attending high school. The sample of Study 2 comprised all twins who took the Unified State Examination in 2010-2012. The research analyzed sex differences in USE math scores across the entire sample and within the extreme subgroups. It also explored differences between boys and girls in opposite-sex dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. The key results were as follows. No difference in mathematical achievement was observed between twins and singletons. Sex differences were found in all measures of mathematical achievement. Girls had higher school grades in math than boys, while boys outperformed girls in USE math scores. Boys were more variable and there were more Sex differences in mathematical achievement: Grades, national test, and self-confidence 5 boys at the right tail of the distribution. Girls with a positive math self-concept did better than boys on math tests. In groups of opposite-sex DZ twins, differences between the USE math scores of girls and boys were not significant. The results obtained are presumed to correspond more closely to assumptions about the roles of non-cognitive factors of variation in mathematical ability than the mathematical ability theory.
Self-concept and the Gender Differences in Mathematics
2014
Self and its correlates have always been of prime importance in classrooms. Learners in the classrooms develop and build an image of themselves, which suggest them their ability to perform in a particular academic domain (here in Mathematics). This review paper points towards the importance of study of self-concept and the gender differences in Mathematics, since it is a fundamental core subject in school curricula. The focus of the review is on tracing the findings of several studies and presents a thematic analysis of the related research evidence. Some of the studies suggest that significant differences exist between boys and girls when self-concept is studied in academic performance, particularly in subject Mathematics. However contradictory results have also been underlined. The main purpose of this review is to map the past studies on self-concept and gender issues in Mathematics. The review also attempts to highlight the research gaps in the relevant knowledge.
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 2020
Using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015 assessment of fourth-grade students in 32 countries, a series of mean comparisons and regression analyses were conducted to determine (1) the gender gap in students’ self-concept in mathematics; (2) to what extent student achievement, student gender, and parental characteristics (early numeracy activities, attitudes, expectations, and education) are related to students’ self-concept; and (3) to what extent the effect of achievement and parental characteristics on mathematics self-concept differs between male and female students. Results from this study indicate that gender differences in students’ self-concept in mathematics are significant in most countries, usually in favour of boys as early as in fourth grade. The differences largely remain the same when the data analysis controls for effects of student achievement and parental involvement.
The aim of the research was to examine the role that personality variables, mathematics anxiety, stereotypes about mathematics as a male domain and the perception of mathematics teachers' role and behaviour have in explaining students' mathematics self-concept, over and above the information about their mathematics success. The participants were 8 th grade students from 36 primary schools from Zagreb and the Zagreb County (N=511). The analysis of the contribution of the above-mentioned predictors was conducted on male and female samples separately. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed the contributions of individual variables and the overall contribution to the explanation of boys' (R=0.63) and girls' (R=0.72) mathematics self-concept. Mathematics success was the strongest determinant of mathematics self-concept for both gender groups. Personality, i.e. conscientiousness was the gender-specific determinant that only contributed to the explanation of girls' mathematics self-concept. The opposite was true for stereotypes about mathematics. Mathematics anxiety and the perception of teachers' role and behaviour were gender-universal determinants. The findings can serve to inform evidence-based planning and implementation of both gender universal and specific interventions for the enhancement of mathematics self-concept.
Girls attend less education in mathematics than boys when the subject becomes an elective in upper secondary schools and above. One explanation for this might be gender differences in mathematical self-concept, which are the focus of the present study. Data from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) were used to examine whether young adults’ mathematical self-concept is dependent on gender. The Norwegian results were compared to findings in Canada, Italy, Switzerland, and USA. The ALL-data presented indicate that in all of these countries, females in general are less likely than males to state that they are good with numbers and calculations. The gender differences in mathematical self-concept were largest within Switzerland and Norway. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that gender influenced mathematical self-concept, even when controlled for numeracy skills. To our knowledge, this is the first time representative cross-country samples are used to explore the relati...
Educational Studies in Mathematics, 1995
This study examined the relationship of selected cognitive and affective variables to mathematics achievement for a random sample of 60 students as they progressed through 6th, 8th,10th and 12th grades. A consistent gender difference was found for stereotyping mathematics as a male domain. No consistent significant gender difference between means was found for spatial skills, verbal skill or mathematics achievement. Confidence, verbal skill and spatial visualization were each consistently positively correlated with mathematics achievement for both males and females. No gender difference was found for these correlations. However, spatial skills alone were found to be consistent significant predictors of mathematics achievement for females each year of the study, but not for males. Verbal skill was a consistent significant predictor of mathematics achievement for males, but not for females. The results of this study could lead to a reevaluation of the hypothesis that spatial skills help boys achieve in mathematics.
The aim of the research was to examine the role that personality variables, mathematics anxiety, stereotypes about mathematics as a male domain and the perception of mathematics teachers' role and behaviour have in explaining students' mathematics self-concept, over and above the information about their mathematics success. The participants were 8 th grade students from 36 primary schools from Zagreb and the Zagreb County (N=511). The analysis of the contribution of the above-mentioned predictors was conducted on male and female samples separately. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed the contributions of individual variables and the overall contribution to the explanation of boys' (R=0.63) and girls' (R=0.72) mathematics self-concept. Mathematics success was the strongest determinant of mathematics self-concept for both gender groups. Personality, i.e. conscientiousness was the gender-specific determinant that only contributed to the explanation of girls' mathematics self-concept. The opposite was true for stereotypes about mathematics. Mathematics anxiety and the perception of teachers' role and behaviour were gender-universal determinants. The findings can serve to inform evidence-based planning and implementation of both gender universal and specific interventions for the enhancement of mathematics self-concept.