Sex differences in science museum exhibit attraction

This study examines the relative attraction of hands-on, interactive science museum exhibits for females and males. Studies have demonstrated that such exhibits can be effective learning experiences for children, with both academic and affective benefits. Other studies have shown that girls and boys do not always experience the same science-related educational opportunities and that, even when they do, they do not necessarily receive the same benefits from them. These early differences can lead to more serious educational and professional disparities later in life. As interactive museum exhibits represent a science experience that is-readily available to both girls and boys, the question arose as to whether they were being used similarly by the two groups as well as by adult women and men. It was found that both girls and boys used all types of exhibits, but that girls were more likely than boys to use puzzles and exhibits focusing on the human body; boys were more likely than girls to use computers and exhibits illustrating physical science principles. However, this was less true of children accompanied by adults (parents) than it was of unaccompanied children on school field trips who roamed the museum more freely.     

Formal reasoning performance of higher secondary school students: Theoretical and educational implications

The study investigated the structure and development of formal thought among tenth-, eleventh-, and twelfth-grade students. The subjects of the study were the total numbers of students attending the science, the economic, and the other sections of two higher secondary schools. Students' performance on a standardized Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) was used as a measure of their cognitive abilities related to control of variables, proportional, probabilistic, correlational, and combinatorial reasoning. Students attending the different sections of study had significantly different TOLT performance, older students exhibited significantly better TOLT performance than younger ones, and boys performed significantly better on TOLT than girls did. The “rate” of development was, however, different for different reasoning modes and differences in school achievement between boys and girls did not tap differences in TOLT performance. Regression analysis showed that section of study, gender, grade level, and measures of school achievement contributed significantly to the prediction of TOLT performance. Factor analysis of performance on the ten TOLT items (two items from each reasoning mode) produced a two- and three-factor solution for the sample of boys and the sample of girls, respectively. The results indicate that different theoretical perspectives should be considered when evaluating cognitive development and that learning environments conducive to cognitive growth need to be designed and implemented.     

Gender Stereotyping and Affective Attitudes Towards Science in Chinese Secondary School Students

This study explores explicit and implicit gender‐science stereotypes and affective attitudes towards science in a sample of Chinese secondary school students. The results showed that (1) gender‐science stereotyping was more and more apparent as the specialization of science subjects progresses through secondary school, becoming stronger from the 10th grade; girls were more inclined to stereotype than boys while this gender difference decreased with increasing grade; (2) girls tend to have an implicit science‐unpleasant/humanities‐pleasant association from the 8th grade, while boys showed a negative implicit attitude towards science up to the 11th grade. In self‐report, girls preferred humanities to science, while boys preferred science to humanities; (3) implicit affective attitude was closely related to implicit stereotype. In particular, implicit affective attitude has a stronger predictive power on stereotype than the other way around, the result of which may have more significance for girls.     

Ethnic and gender differences in mathematics achievement and in dispositions towards the study of mathematics

The study examined the effects of gender and ethnicity on mathematics achievement on a national test and on dispositions (attitudes, perceived parental expectations, effort, and help) towards the study of mathematics of a representative sample of Jewish and Arab eighth graders in Israel. The results indicated a large ethnic gap in achievement in favor of the Jewish students. Significant gender–ethnicity interactions emerged whereby Arab girls, compared to Arab boys, attempted more items on the test. In the Jewish sample, either the reverse held true or there were no significant differences between the sexes. Arab girls also reported receiving less help in doing mathematics homework and perceived their parents' expectations for their success in mathematics as higher than did Arab boys. Jewish girls, on the other hand, perceived their parents' expectations as lower and reported investigating more effort in coping with mathematics tasks and using more supporting tools than did Jewish boys. The results were discussed in light of cultural differences between Jews and Arabs in Israeli society and their respective learning environments.     

Psychometric properties of Science Motivation Questionnaire II-Chinese version in two waves of longitudinal data

Science motivation is an important factor that directly influences students’ science learning. Numerous studies have been undertaken to develop and validate questionnaire items for measuring students’ motivation in science learning. This study is the first longitudinal examination of the Chinese version of Science Motivation Questionnaire II (SMQ II-C) in a Chinese cultural context. Using two waves of surveys, we evaluated its internal structure validity and criterion-related validity. Results showed that at each time point, scores were internally consistent and the hypothesized five-factor model was confirmed as the best model fit for the data. Results of multigroup invariance revealed the structure of the SMQ II-C was equivalent within gender subgroups. Furthermore, the present study added longitudinal invariance evidence of the SMQ II-C by sampling two-time points. Overall, this study suggests the SMQ II-C is a robust instrument for evaluating Chinese high school students’ motivation to learn science. Furthermore, boys yielded higher scores than girls among all five subscales of science motivation and significant gender differences were observed in both waves. Implications and limitations of these results are discussed.     

Gender differences in motivation and strategy use in science: Are girls rote learners?

This study explored Ridley and Novak's (1983) hypothesis that gender differences in science achievement are due to differences in rote and meaningful learning modes. To test this hypothesis, we examined gender differences in fifth- and sixth-grade students' (N = 213) self-reports of confidence, motivation goals (task mastery, ego, and work avoidance), and learning strategies (active and superficial) in whole-class and small-group science lessons. Overall, the results revealed few gender differences. Compared with girls, boys reported greater confidence in their science abilities. Average-achieving girls reported greater use of meaningful learning strategies than did their male counterparts, whereas low-ability boys reported a stronger mastery orientation than did low-ability girls. The results further showed that students report greater confidence and mastery motivation in small-group than whole-class lessons. In contrast, students reported greater work avoidance in whole-class than small-group lessons. In general, the findings provide little support for Ridley and Novak's hypothesis that girls tend to engage in rote-level learning in science classes. Differences in self-reports of motivation and strategy-use patterns were more strongly related to the student's ability level and to the structure of learning activities (small group vs. whole class) than to gender. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN STUDENT MOTIVATION AND SELF-REGULATION IN SCIENCE LEARNING: A MULTI-GROUP STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING ANALYSIS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of students?? motivational beliefs (learning goal orientation, task value and self-efficacy) in science learning on students?? self-regulation in the science classroom. The study also examines the moderating effect of gender on the proposed relationships. Data were collected from 719 boys and 641 girls across grades 8, 9 and 10 in 5 public schools in Perth, Western Australia. Results from structural equation modeling analysis indicated that all 3 motivational constructs were strong predictors of students?? self-regulation in science learning. The multi-group analysis to examine gender differences revealed that the influence of task value on self-regulation was statistically significant for boys only. The findings present possible opportunities for educators to plan, and to put into practice, effective intervention strategies aimed at increasing students?? self-regulation in science learning. The core feature would be to target and develop students?? motivational beliefs of learning goal orientation and self-efficacy in science learning. Additionally, for boys, the intervention strategies would be to elevate boys?? perspectives of science task value.     

PERCEIVED SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND SCIENCE LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR TAIWANESE EIGHTH GRADERS: STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING WITH A COMPLEX SAMPLING CONSIDERATION

Based on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2007 study and a follow-up national survey, data for 3,901 Taiwanese grade 8 students were analyzed using structural equation modeling to confirm a social-relation-based affection-driven model (SRAM). SRAM hypothesized relationships among students’ perceived social relationships in science class and affective and cognitive learning outcomes to be examined. Furthermore, the path coefficients of SRAM for high- and low-achieving subgroups were compared. Given the 2-stage stratified clustering design for sampling, jackknife replications were conducted to estimate the sampling errors for all coefficients in SRAM. Results suggested that both perceived teacher–student relationships (PTSR) and perceived peer relationships (PPR) exert significant positive effects on students’ self-confidence in learning science (SCS) and on their positive attitude toward science (PATS). These affective learning outcomes (SCS and PATS) were found to play a significant role in mediating the perceived social relationships (PTSR and PPR) and science achievement. Further results regarding the differences in SRAM model fit between high- and low-achieving students are discussed, as are the educational and methodological implications of this study.     

Investigation of the science achievement models for low and high achieving schools and gender differences in Turkey

A science achievement model was separately investigated for students in low and high achieving schools (LAS and HAS) in Turkey. Then, gender differences based on variables that significantly contributed to each achievement model were investigated. The student-level variables that were under investigation for multiple regression analyses include attitudes toward science, epistemological beliefs, metacognition, views on science teaching, and socioeconomic status (SES). The science achievement scores of students on a nationwide exam were used to measure science achievement. Both for LAS and HAS, two schools were selected. Results were reported for 241 and 320 students in LAS and HAS, respectively. According to the results, self-concept in science, knowledge of cognition, SES, importance of science, gradual learning, and views on lab work significantly contributed to the science achievement model in LAS. On the other hand, self-concept in science, SES, gradual learning, studying, and learning science in school significantly contributed to the science achievement model in HAS. Results also revealed that girls outperformed boys on knowledge of cognition and importance of science in LAS. Moreover, girls scored higher than boys on gradual learning and studying in HAS. According to these findings, implications for science education were discussed.     

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.     

Examining the role of social relationships in the association between neuroticism and test anxiety – results from a study with German secondary school students

The current study investigates the mediating role of student–student relationships (SSRs) and teacher–student relationships (TSRs) in the association between neuroticism and test anxiety. Gender differences in these associations were examined. A total of 513 adolescent girls and boys from secondary schools in Berlin, Germany completed questionnaires on test anxiety, personality and quality of SSRs and TSRs. As expected, the results of group comparison analysis indicated that girls showed higher mean levels of test anxiety and neuroticism as compared to boys. Furthermore, negative correlations were observed between test anxiety and TSR for girls only. Structural equation modelling revealed a positive relationship between neuroticism and test anxiety, which was mediated by the SSRs, but not by the TSR. The results highlight the importance of a high quality SSR for both girls and boys, especially as this relationship was found to mediate the association between neuroticism and test anxiety in schools and therefore might contribute to lower anxiety in learning environments. Practical implications of these findings are outlined.     

The unique contribution of learning approaches to academic performance,after controlling for IQ and personality: Are there gender differences?

The present study investigated the unique contribution of learning approaches to academic performance, also taking gender differences into account. The participant sample consisted of 476 school pupils (53% girls and 47% boys) from two upper secondary schools in Sweden who completed two self-reported measures related to personality and learning approaches and one cognitive ability test. A series of hierarchical regressions were performed with participants' school subject-specific grades as the criterion variable and learning approaches as the predictor variable, after controlling for all variance related to IQ and personality. The results showed that learning approaches accounted for 6% and 16% of the variance in academic performance for girls and boys, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of possible explanations for and implications of the gender differences found.     

Sex differences in attitudes toward science among Northern Sotho speaking learners in South Africa

Abstract

Research shows that although most studies have explored the relationship between attitude and achievement in science only a few have been undertaken to reveal the nature of the relationship between affective variables and process outcomes in science. This study seeks to examine sex differences in attitude toward science among Northern Sotho speaking learners in South Africa. A random sample of 793 respondents (365 boys and 428 girls) in Grade 12 whose ages ranged from 17 to 24 years was selected from 27 schools out of 566 schools in Limpopo Province of South Africa. A questionnaire was administered to pupils during the Physical Science lessons and required almost 45 minutes to complete. The attitude scores of 365 boys and 428 girls were 3.2 (SD = 1.2) and 2.9 (SD = 1.3), respectively. A t-test indicated that the attitude score of boys was significantly higher than that of the girls (t 989 = 3.9, p<.01). Further, the correlation between sex and attitude towards science was .90 (p<.01). The coefficient of concomitance of .81 indicates that sex was associated with 81% of the variance in these attitudes. There is considerable evidence from the findings that males have more positive attitudes towards science than females.     

Science curiosity in learning environments: developing an attitudinal scale for research in schools,homes, museums,and the community

Although curiosity is considered an integral aspect of science learning, researchers have debated how to define, measure, and support its development in individuals. Prior measures of curiosity include questionnaire type scales (primarily for adults) and behavioral measures. To address the need to measure scientific curiosity, the Science Curiosity in Learning Environments (SCILE) scale was created and validated as a 12-item scale to measure scientific curiosity in youth. The scale was developed through (a) adapting the language of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II [Kashdan, T. B., Gallagher, M. W., Silvia, P. J., Winterstein, B. P., Breen, W. E., Terhar, D., & Steger, M. F. (2009). The curiosity and exploration inventory-II: Development, factor structure, and psychometrics. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(6), 987–998] for youth and (b) crafting new items based on scientific practices drawn from U.S. science standards documents. We administered a preliminary set of 30 items to 663 youth ages 8–18 in the U.S.A. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a three-factor model: stretching, embracing, and science practices. The findings indicate that the SCILE scale is a valid measure of youth’s scientific curiosity for boys and girls as well as elementary, middle school, and high school learners.     

Attitudes toward science of gifted and nongifted fifth graders

The purpose of this investigation has been to explore whether differences existed between gifted and nongifted fifth graders and between genders and related subgroups with respect to attitudes toward science. Both groups (N = 25) were matched on the demographic characteristics of school-site, race, sex, and socio-economic background. Gifted students were found to have more positive attitudes toward science than nongifted students; however, no significant differences were found. In all cases, boys (all boys, gifted boys, and nongifted boys) exhibited more positive attitudes toward science; again, no significant differences were uncovered between the boys and their counterpart group or subgroups. The item which consistently reflected the most positive rating (gifted students, all boys and gifted boys, and all girls and nongifted girls) was “usefulness of things done in science class.” Items where discrepancies surfaced included “usefulness of science when playing at home” where nongifted students and gifted girls were significantly more positive than their counterparts, and “spending more time doing science experiments” where all boys and gifted boys were significantly more positive than their counterparts.     

Getting more from getting out: increasing achievement in literacy and science through ecological fieldwork

This paper demonstrates the positive impact of learning through ecological fieldwork upon children's ability to write, and to write about science. Specifically we have carried out a relatively large-scale study (involving 379 children aged 9–11 years from 8 primary schools in North East England) comparing intervention classes (involved in fieldwork) and comparison classes (no fieldwork). Pre-intervention assessments revealed no differences between classes in mean literacy scores; post-intervention assessments revealed that significantly higher literacy scores were achieved by children who had carried out fieldwork (girls consistently outperformed boys in all classes). Intervention class children achieved higher scores in science (ecology) assessments than their comparison class peers before and after the intervention. We suggest that this may be an effect of these children thinking as scientists throughout the project. Our work confirms that a child-centred outdoor learning experience focused upon science can result in learning benefits across the wider curriculum.     

Cognitive Abilities among Twelfth‐grade Students: Implications for Science Teaching∗

The study investigated the differences related to formal reasoning abilities among students attending different sections of the upper cycle of secondary schools in Cyprus. The subjects of the study were twelfth‐grade students from 21 intact classes (227 boys and 242 girls). These classes were randomly selected among the 36 twelfth‐grade classes of four schools in a town of Cyprus. The sample of students represented the science section, the economic section and the “unified” section consisting of sections following common curricula in science and mathematics. Students’ performance on a standardized Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) was used as a measure of their cognitive abilities related to control of variables, proportional, probabilistic, correlational and combinatorial reasoning. The students of the “unified” section had lower performance than the students of both the science and the economic section on all cognitive measures, and female students had lower performance than male students on cognitive measures related to control of variables and probabilistic reasoning. Multiple regression analysis between performance on TOLT and gender, section of study, and measures of school achievement showed that gender, section of study, achievement in mathematics, and grade point average, but not achievement in science and Greek language, contributed significantly to predicting performance on TOLT. Observed differences related to measures of school achievement either among the subjects of the three sections or between male and female students did not correspond to differences related to cognitive measures. Factor analysis of performance on the ten TOLT items (two items from each reasoning mode) produced a two‐factor solution. There were also significant differences in students’ performance between items related to the same or different reasoning mode. The results of the study cast doubt on the appropriateness of the existing curricula or their implementation and indicate that different theoretical perspectives should be considered when evaluating cognitive development.     

Preschool children's interests in science

Studies of children's attitudes towards science indicate that a tendency for girls and boys to have different patterns of interest in science is established by upper primary school level. It is not know when these interest patterns develop. This paper presents the results of part of a project designed to investigate preschool children's interests in science. Individual 4–5 year-old children were asked to say what they would prefer to do from each of a series of paired drawings showing either a science and a non-science activity, or activities from two different areas of science. Girls and boys were very similar in their overall patterns of choice for science and non-science items. Within science, the average number of physical science items chosen by boys was significantly greater than the average number chosen by girls (p=.026). Girls tended to choose more biology items than did boys, but this difference was not quite significant at the .05 level (p=.054). The temporal stability of these choices was explored. Specializations: early childhood science education, biological aspects of child development.     

Bullying,moral disengagement and empathy: exploring the links among early adolescents

The present study examined possible interactive links between empathy (cognitive and affective), moral disengagement (MD) and various bullying forms using a mediation model in 301 Greek early adolescents (10–12 years old). Results indicated that both dimensions of empathy were significantly negatively correlated, whereas MD was positively correlated with bullying forms. Two mediation models were tested separately for each gender. Mediation analysis indicated that boys with low affective, but not cognitive, empathy were more likely to demonstrate morally disengaged behaviour which in turn increased self-reported bullying involvement. Moreover, boys with high MD were more likely to report cognitive and affective empathy which resulted in greater direct and indirect relational bullying. In the case of girls, low affective and cognitive empathy evoked highly morally disengaged behaviour which triggered greater involvement in several bullying forms. Finally, cognitive and affective empathy partially mediated the link between MD and all forms of bullying for girls. The findings are discussed in the light of the relevant literature and implications for practice.     

Do schools affect girls’ and boys’ reading performance differently? A multilevel study on the gendered effects of school resources and school practices

Few studies on male–female inequalities in education have elaborated on whether school characteristics affect girls’ and boys’ educational performance differently. This study investigated how school resources, being schools’ socioeconomic composition, proportion of girls, and proportion of highly educated teachers, and school practices, being schools’ application of well-rounded assessment methods, influenced girls’ and boys’ reading performance differently. We hypothesised that positive effects of school resources would be greater for boys than for girls, and that more frequent use of well-rounded assessment methods would be associated with increased girls’ and decreased boys’ reading performance. Using advanced multilevel analyses of 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data, we found that boys profited more than girls from having a large proportion of girls in school. Contrary to our expectations, girls gained more than boys from a school’s advantaged socioeconomic composition. These gendered effects of school resources were not explained by differences in school learning climate.