Gender and science achievement: A case study

Upon completion of a science unit on heat and temperature, the students in a Canadian 9th grade science class wrote two different achievement tests. On a unit test which required students to answer questions that were based on facts students had studied, grades obtained by girls and boys were not significantly different. Conversely, on a post‐test, which required that students apply their knowledge to novel situations, boys achievement was significantly greater than that of the girls, particularly on higher level questions. Classroom observations revealed that few girls contributed to class discussions, whereas most of the boys participated in discussions. It is suggested that the more active class participation by boys may have contributed to their making greater gains in the understanding of heat and temperature concepts.     

Classroom dialogue and science achievement

Conclusion This study indicates the responsibility that rests with the teacher in an activity-oriented classroom as far as providing the structural support necessary for effective learning (Note 4). The teacher is acting as a “surrogate textbook”. Using their own organization of knowledge-albiet wrong or incomplete-teachers provide the structure that is lacking. As the results indicate, some teachers can do this better than others. A challenge for teachers and teacher educators is to devise ways to improving the structure and sequencing of classroom dialogue. The TSA Technique could help here in two ways. It allows a sophisticated analysis of dialogue, indicating specific areas of weakness which could then be remedied by appropriate training. A similar approach has been used successfully with text material to rewrite and restructure deficient segments (Clarke; 1973). It could also be used to produce ideal “templates” of various models of teaching (e.g. Brady; 1985) for use as a guide for lesson planning.     

Teaching behaviour and science achievement

Summary This study is of interest for a number of reasons. The first relates to the measures used to assess teacher behaviour and the comprehensive procedures followed to establish reliability. The second is associated with the large sample size which represents nearly the entire population. The third is concerned with the overall lack of relationship between teacher behaviours and growth in science achievement that is apparent from this secondary analysis. Although the first two of these features are relatively uncommon to research studies in the field of teacher effectiveness using observers, the last is far from unique. The lack of relationships between observed low inference teacher behaviour and student gain in achievement on cognitive outcomes has been noted frequently in reviews of the literature (one of the latest being, Rosenshine, 1978). It is, of course, possible to discuss the overall lack of relationship between teacher and student behaviour and science achievement gain as a consequence of unreliabilities of measurement of the independent and dependent variables. It is possible to take a more optimistic view and observe that the data reported here were collected in Canberra in 1969. The prevalence of streaming would have resulted in certain teaching behaviour being more highly correlated with both pre-test and post-test scores than would be found if streaming had not been present. In addition, the homogeneity of teaching behaviour imposed by an inspectorial system would have reduced the variance in the independent variables. Hopefully, a replication today would be more likely to identify effective teaching behaviour. However, one thing appears evident. Any investigation that does not exceed the one reported above in establishing the reliability and stability of its measures, or in the extent and scope of the study, is not likely to produce findings of greater strength than have been presented in this paper.     

The myth of equality in science classrooms

An analysis of the 1976-1977 NAEP survey of science attitudes showed that, by age nine, females, although expressing similar or greater desires to participate in science activities, had consistently fewer experiences in science than boys of the same age. Science activities surveyed included use of common experimental materials and instruments, observation of scientific phenomena, and field trips. At ages 13 and 17, girls again reported fewer classroom and extracurricular science activities than boys. Their responses indicated narrow perceptions of science and of the usefulness of scientific research. In addition, they displayed generally negative attitudes toward science classes and careers. Suggestions to eliminate the inequalities found are offered.     

Gender achievement and social,political and economic equality: a European perspective

Differences in gender equality based on social, political and economic factors is cited, by some writers, as a contributory factor in the differentially greater achievement of boys in STEM subjects through the concept of gender stratification. Gender differences, especially in mathematics, have been linked directly to gender parity in wider society. Such a link is predicted by gender stratification via both the gender similarities and gender stratification hypotheses. However analysis by others appearsto support the hypothesis that the gender gap is smaller, in mathematics, when the society has a higher equality index. However, more recently, evidence, based on PISA outcomes from 2000 to 2009, reports that there is little or no correlation between the gender gap and wider equality. This paper takes up this analysis using PISA data from the 2012 round, for both science and mathematics, and the Global Gender Gap Index in a European context. The results cast doubts on any link between national gender equality and achievement in science or mathematics.     

The relationship between attitudes toward science and science achievement

This study investigated the relationship between elementary pupils' attitudes toward science and their science achievement. Residualized gain scores were used to analyze the data. By using residualized gain scores, the effects of individual differences can be minimized. In addition to controlling for these differences, residualized gain scores do not possess the measurement errors that are normally associated with simple change scores. The subjects of this study were 583 intermediate elementary pupils. The average class size was 21. A pretest-posttest design was used. To insure consistency in the teaching of the lesson, each teacher was given an identical detailed science lesson that included all the instructions and materials needed for the activity. The pupils were pre- and posttested. The pupils' science achievement was assessed by a test, the “Hough Pupil Process Test.” It consisted of multiple choice and fill-in questions. The attitude instrument, the “Hough Attitude Inventory,” was given to the elementary pupils involved in this study. It was field tested and found to discern attitudes. The instrument consisted of six statements to which the subjects responded by circling either yes, I don't know, or no. The analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between the pupils' residualized gain scores on the “Hough Pupil Process Test” and their residualized gain scores on the “Hough Attitude Inventory” (r = 0.45).     

School science education for citizenship: Strategies for teaching about the epistemology of science

One consequence of the advancing globalization and technological dependence of society is that people outside professional science are finding that issues of concern to them have a science dimension. I consider how school science education can support engagement with scientific information. I contend that teaching about the epistemology of science is central to achieving this educational goal. I identify epistemic learning aims appropriate to school science education. These are derived from a survey of case studies of how individuals interact with science outside formal education. I consider different ways in which these learning aims might be achieved in schools. Teaching approaches based on modifications of existing practice are identified. Addressing the full range of epistemic learning aims is likely to require teaching approaches rarely used in current science teaching.     

School tenure and student achievement

While much empirical research concerns job tenure, this paper introduces the concept of school tenure and further examines whether and how school tenure impacts student outcomes using a rich set of cohort data from England’s secondary schools. Using the number of times a student switched schools during the academic year as an instrument to measure school tenure to fully account for endogeneity issues, the resulting two-stage least squares estimates suggest that the effects of school tenure are positive and heterogeneous across students. While advantaged students are more likely to gain when their own school tenure is longer, disadvantaged students benefit if their peers have longer tenure. This significant heterogeneous effect suggests that school tenure may not simply act as the inverse of school mobility but may represent a potential determinant of student achievement and an effective school-specific measure for policymakers and practitioners. The relevant implications are accordingly discussed.     

Gender,science choice and achievement: a Maltese perspective

Drawing on a number of studies, this paper explores gender differentials in the choice of science subjects at secondary school level, factors influencing choice, differences in achievement and recruitment to science courses at a higher level in the particular educational context of the Maltese Islands. In this context all secondary schools are single‐sex, the state system is highly centralized, selection and streaming are widely practised, a high proportion of students (25%) attend private schools, and physics is compulsory. The results show that: more girls than boys study physics and biology at the lower secondary level (ages 11‐16); more boys study chemistry; achievement at this level is on a par in biology and chemistry; girls achieve slightly lower in physics. At the upper secondary level (ages 16‐18), almost equal numbers of boys and girls study biology and chemistry but boys predominate in physics. Girls avoid the option of physics and mathematics, a popular choice with boys. Consequently, at tertiary level very few girls opt for courses in engineering and prefer to subscribe to courses relating to medicine.     

School size and student achievement: a longitudinal analysis

Numerous initiatives by private philanthropies and the US government have supported school size reduction policies as an educational reform intended to improve student outcomes. Empirical evidence to support these claims, however, is underdeveloped. In this article, we draw on information from a longitudinal dataset provided by the Northwest Evaluation Association covering more than 1 million students in 4 US states. Employing a student fixed effects strategy, we estimate how a student’s achievement changes as (s)he moves between schools of different sizes. We find evidence that students’ academic achievement in math and reading declines as school size increases. The negative effects of large schools appear to matter most in higher grades, which is also when schools tend to be the largest.     

Relationship between affective determinants and achievement in science for seventeen-year-olds

Data collected in the 1976-1977 NAEP survey of seventeen-year-olds was used to reanalyze the hypothesis that there are affective determinates of science achievement. Factor and item analysis procedures were used to examine affective and cognitive items from Booklet 4. Eight affective scales and one cognitive achievement scale were identified. Using stepwise multiple regression procedures, the four affective scales of Motivation, Anxiety, Student Choice, and Teacher Support were found to account for the majority of the correlation between the affective determinants and achievement.     

Neo-piagetian predictors of achievement in physical science

This article examines the predictive value of the cognitive variables of developmental level, mental capacity, cognitive style, short-term storage space, and numerical inductive reasoning for student achievement in college science. Achievement was analyzed for each of the categories of pure recall, computational, complex items, and total score of a midterm exam as well as for the composite score on a final exam. The sample for this study consisted of a class of 32 nonscience majors enrolled in Physical Science I at the University of Southern Mississippi. The results showed that developmental level was the single best predictor of achievement. Short-term storage space and mental capacity were significant predictors of achievement for computational and complex items, but, as expected from theoretical considerations, not for pure recall items. The degree of field dependence did not well predict performance on pure recall or computational items. The results also indicate that mental capacity and field dependence do not contribute significantly to the variance if developmental level is held constant. The pattern of the predictive power of numerical inductive reasoning parallels, in magnitude, that of mental capacity. The results of this study and its implications indicate that the construct of short-term storage space has great potential to guide classroom practice and the development of instructional materials. A strategy is outlined that would guide curriculum planners and classroom teachers in the development of materials which would allow students to develop complex problem-solving behaviors.     

Attitudes and achievement of Bruneian science students

The aim of this study was to evaluate attitudes towards and achievement in science of Form 3 students studying in single-sex and coeducational schools in Brunei. The results demonstrated significant differences in attitudes towards and achievement in science of male and female students in single-sex schools and students in coeducational schools. These differences were at moderate level. In single-sex schools, the girls achieved moderately better in science than the boys despite their attitudes were only marginally better than the boys. However, there were no gender differences in attitudes towards and achievement in science of students in coeducational schools. The attitudes towards and achievement in science of girls in single-sex schools were moderately better than those of girls in coeducational schools. Whereas the attitudes towards and achievement in science of boys in single-sex schools were only marginally better than the boys in coeducational schools. However, further research to investigate (a) if these differences are repeated at other levels as well as in other subjects, and (b) the extent to which school type contributed towards these differences is recommended.     

A meta-analysis of the relationship between science achievement and science attitude: Kindergarten through college

A meta-analysis of research results for correlation between science achievement and attitude was conducted. Forty-three studies were utilized and 15 variables were coded for each correlation found in each study, yielding 280 coefficients. Overall relationship is moderate (0.16), with differences between elementary, junior high, senior high, and college subjects. Causal ordering results support achievement causing attitude in grades three to eight and mixed results thereafter. Sex differences exist through high school. Other effects are mixed across grade level.     

Examining the yields of growth feedback from science teachers and students' intrinsic valuing of science: Implications for student- and school-level science achievement

Students' science knowledge and skills are considered critical to growing the intellectual capital on which societies rely to innovate and prosper. However, recent research has documented notable declines in students' intrinsic valuing of science and science achievement in Australia and other western countries. As a result, there have been calls to investigate factors at both the student- and school-level that can improve intrinsic valuing of and achievement in science. Growth feedback from science teachers to students has been identified as one such factor. Growth feedback, which specifically targets individual student growth and improvement, is considered an effective form of teacher feedback. Because recent research has demonstrated the benefits of effective teacher feedback on intrinsic valuing of science and the positive link between intrinsic valuing of science and science achievement, the present investigation examined (at both the student- and school-level) the extent to which growth feedback in science predicts intrinsic valuing of science and the extent to which intrinsic valuing predicts science achievement and mediates the relationship between growth feedback and achievement. This study examined this hypothesized process with the 2015 Australian PISA sample (N = 14,530 students in N = 758 schools) via a multilevel structural equation model. Findings indicated that at both the student- and school-level, growth feedback significantly predicted intrinsic valuing, and intrinsic valuing significantly predicted achievement; growth feedback also had significant indirect effects of achievement via intrinsic valuing. Taken together, our findings indicate that there are personal and whole-school yields for science achievement from the experiences of growth feedback in and intrinsic valuing of science.