Gender disparities in science and engineering in Chinese universities

Gender disparities in science and engineering majors in Chinese universities have received increasing attention from researchers and educators in China in recent years. Using data from a national survey of college students who graduated in 2005, this study documents gender disparities in enrollment and academic performance in science and engineering majors, and explores gender disparities in initial employment experiences of science and engineering graduates. It finds that females lag far behind males in enrollment in science and engineering majors overall. However, females actually are more represented than males in some majors such as mathematics and chemistry though the reverse is true for other science and engineering majors. Also, in science and engineering majors, females perform better than males in both general course grades and in English competency tests. Male science and engineering graduates have a clear advantage over their female counterparts in initial employment after graduation: they have a high employment rate, a higher starting salary, and are more likely to be employed in such jobs as business management and technical specialist. The male advantage in employment rate and starting salary persists even after controlling for other factors.     

How gender fair are German schoolbooks in the twenty-first century? An analysis of language and illustrations in schoolbooks for mathematics and German

Schoolbooks convey not only school-relevant knowledge; they also influence the development of stereotypes about different social groups. Particularly during the 1970s and 1980s, many studies analysed schoolbooks and criticised the overall predominance of male persons and of traditional role allocations. Since that time, women’s and men’s occupations and social functions have changed considerably. The present research investigated gender portrayals in schoolbooks for German and mathematics that were recently published in Germany. We examined the proportions of female and male persons in pictures and texts and categorized their activities, occupational and parental roles. Going beyond previous studies, we added two criteria: the use of gender-fair language and the spatial arrangements of persons in pictures. Our results show that schoolbooks for German contained almost balanced depictions of girls and boys, whereas women were less frequently shown than men. In mathematics books, males outnumbered females in general. Across both types of books, female and male persons were engaged in many different activities, not only gender-typed ones; however, male persons were more often described via their profession than females. Use of gender-fair language has found its way into schoolbooks but is not used consistently. Books for German were more gender fair in terms of linguistic forms than books for mathematics. For spatial arrangements, we found no indication for gender biases. The results are discussed with a focus on how schoolbooks can be optimized to contribute to gender equality.     

Are males and females still portrayed stereotypically? Visual analyses of gender in two Hong Kong primary English Language textbook series†

The present study examines how gender is represented in the visuals (or illustrations) of two English Language textbook series used in most primary schools in Hong Kong. Instead of conducting frequency counts of the occurrence of male and female characters in illustrations, or the spheres of activities they engaged in as in many previous textbook studies, this study involves qualitative analyses of how visualised male and female characters are represented in the selected illustrations of the analysed textbook series, particularly but not exclusively, in terms of their hair length and clothing. The results show that representations of females were more often portrayed having long hair rather than short hair and wearing dresses rather than trousers in both line drawings and photographs. For the colour of clothing, although blue and pink are generally considered ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ colours, respectively, less than half and only a small percentage of the human males and females were portrayed wearing blue and pink, respectively. For non-human characters, again, colour is not always a reliable cue to their sex. Yet, they can be recognised as males and females by the generally accepted ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ colour and clothing items. Hence, while binary notions of gender often remained intact in their normative forms there were also other forms of representation which challenged them.     

Gender,Internal Controls,and Academic Dishonesty: Investigating Mediating and Differential Effects

While research has found that males tend to commit more academically dishonest acts than females, we know little about what accounts for the gender differential or whether the same factors can explain academic dishonesty for males and females. This study assesses how internal controls, i.e., self‐control, shame, embarrassment, and moral beliefs, account for the relationship between gender and cheating behavior. Using a sample of students from a southern university in the United States, this study explores three questions. First, do internal controls vary across males and females? Second, can internal controls account for gender differences in test cheating? Third, do internal controls differentially or similarly predict test cheating for males and females? Results show that (a) gender differences among several internal controls as well as cheating behavior, (b) internal controls reduce the gender gap but cannot completely explain why gender differences exist in cheating, and (c) two internal controls, self‐control and moral beliefs, differentially predict male and female test cheating. We discuss limitations of our findings and how research can expand the investigation of gender differences and explanations for engaging in academically dishonest acts.     

Peer effects in college academic outcomes – Gender matters!

An extensive literature exploring a range of peer influences on both academic and non-academic outcomes continues to produce contradictory evidence regarding the existence and magnitude of peer effects. Our results provide no evidence of peer effects in models where peer academic ability is measured in the aggregate. However, models that control for own-gender and other gender peer performance identify strong, positive, and statistically significant male peer influence on male students. In contrast, females are unresponsive to either male or female peer average academic rating. The results highlight the possibility that significant own gendered effects for males may be masked by insignificant effects in the aggregate.     

An empirical study into gender differences in the relationships among academic,social and psychological adjustments of university support

There are three dimensions through which to measure university support for students’ transition to university life: academic adjustment, social adjustment and psychological adjustment. Previous research studies show that there are relationships among those adjustments. However, less is known about gender differences in these relationships. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceived gender differences in perception of the relationships among these adjustments during the first year undergraduate transition period. The study is based on a survey of 114 first year undergraduate students from a Hong Kong local university. The findings show that (1) female students perceive social adjustment to have more influence on academic adjustment than male students, (2) female students perceive psychological adjustment to have more influence on academic adjustment than male students, and (3) there is no significant difference in the relationship between social and academic adjustments for female and male students.     

How does gender relate to social skills? Exploring differences in social skills mindsets,academics, and behaviors among high‐school freshmen students

Boys struggle academically and behaviorally more than girls and are more likely to have difficulty with social skills. It seems likely that boys and girls do not perceive social skills in the same light. Past research has not investigated this or its relationship to academic and behavioral performance. Using data from a cohort of 9th‐grade students (n = 323) in one high school in central Illinois, this study involves interaction analyses of student mindsets about their social skills and gender. Findings indicated that females who perceive social skills as more important had higher grade point averages (GPAs), higher attendance rates, and fewer disciplinary problems than their male counterparts. Conversely, females who perceive social skills as of lesser importance have lower GPAs, poorer attendance, and more disciplinary referrals than their male counterparts. Findings highlight pertinent gender differences in the relation between social skills mindsets and outcomes among high‐school freshmen students.     

决策树技术在移动学习性别差异研究中的应用

基于对近千名高等教育移动学习者进行大规模调查所收集到的数据,研究者使用C5.0算法分别生成男女生群体关于课件使用满意度的决策树,然后比较从中提取的不满意规则进行性别差异研究。实验结果表明:在移动学习中,女生对学习资料有更高的要求,女生对学习资料要求的个体差异高于男生,女生使用课件时更容易受外界因素干扰。     

Academic offences and e-learning: individual propensities in cheating

It has been argued that the use of Information and Communications Technologies has made academic dishonesty easier but this does not necessarily mean that it is more prevalent. The study presented here investigated the attitudes to, and extent of, self‐reported involvement in Internet supported dishonest academic practices. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that Internet experience, acceptability of cheating and assessment of risk predicted an individual student's acceptance of acts such as plagiarism as a legitimate way to achieve academic goals. There was a complex interrelationship among gender, frequency of Internet usage, and maturity of students. Academic offences tended to be more acceptable to males, but also to active Internet users, who were often female: that is females who joined the Internet culture were more prone to plagiarise than their non‐active peers. New undergraduates were more likely to err than students in later years of their degree. These results show that there are a number of interrelated factors impacting on individuals’ willingness to commit academic offences. The final discussion of this paper both recognises that Internet supported academic offences occur and briefly outlines some technical and non‐technical responses that should be considered by faculty to ameliorate this problem.     

How Partner Gender Influences Female Students’ Problem Solving in Physics Education

Research has shown that female students cannot profit as much as male students can from cooperative learning in physics, especially in mixed-gender dyads. This study has explored the influence of partner gender on female students’ learning achievement, interaction and the problem-solving process during cooperative learning. In Shanghai, a total of 50 students (26 females and 24 males), drawn from two classes of a high school, took part in the study. Students were randomly paired, and there were three research groups: mixed-gender dyads (MG), female–female dyads (FF) and male–male dyads (MM). Analysis of students’ pre- and post-test performances revealed that female students in the single-gender condition solved physics problems more effectively than did those in the mixed-gender condition, while the same was not the case for male students. We further explored the differences between female and male communication styles, and content among the three research groups. It showed that the females’ interaction content and problem-solving processes were more sensitive to partner gender than were those for males. This might explain why mixed-gender cooperation in physics disadvantages females in high schools.     

Gender bias and special education referrals

Referrals for special education determine who receives special education services. The most common referring agents are regular education teachers. Today, there is a large discrepancy between the number of females to males found in learning disabilities programs. However, studies have found the number of female and male students with learning disabilities in schools is more proportional than enrollment in special education suggests. The position of this paper is that gender bias among referring agents is a major factor in the unequal distribution of males and females in learning disabilities programs.     

Gender Differences in Multiple-Choice Tests: The Role of Differential Guessing Tendencies

The present study focused on gender differences in the tendency to omit items and to guess in multiple-choice tests. It was hypothesized that males would show greater guessing tendencies than females and that the use of formula scoring rather than the use of number of correct answers would result in a relative advantage for females. Two samples were examined: ninth graders and applicants to Israeli universities. The teenagers took a battery of five or six aptitude tests used to place them in various high schools, and the adults took a battery of five tests designed to select candidates to the various faculties of the Israeli universities. The results revealed a clear male advantage in most subtests of both batteries. Four measures of item-omission tendencies were computed for each subtest, and a consistent pattern of greater omission rates among females was revealed by all measures in most subtests of the two batteries. This pattern was observed even in the few subtests that did not show male superiority and even when permissive instructions were used. Correcting the raw scores for guessing reduced the male advantage in all cases (and in the few subtests that showed female advantage the difference increased as a result of this correction), but this effect was small. It was concluded that although gender differences in guessing tendencies are robust they account for only a small fraction of the observed gender differences in multiple-choice tests. The results were discussed, focusing on practical implications.     

大学新生英语学习策略与性别的关系

对长沙电力学院非英语专业新生的英语学习策略的调查结果的分析表明，女生与男生在策略的使用数量上有显著区别，除了母语策略和一条元认知策略外，其他所有策略女生都比男生用得多。这表明女生更积极地使用学习策略，而且与男生使用的学习策略不同，性别与学习策略使用密切相关。女生英语比男生学得好。     

九十年代女性散文的两性观分析

女性散文对两性关系的思考是女性主体建构的重要方面。上世纪90年代女性散文洞穿了男性偶像的虚妄和父权文化所建构的爱情神话的虚幻,反思女性在寻找爱情偶像的过程中自身主体性的消泯,从而在正视男性精神缺陷的基础上,回到一个又一个具体的女人与男人的日常生存中,建构一种全新的男女互为主客体的主体与主体间关系。     

Play-solicitation behavior in juvenile male and female rats

Play-solicitation and social investigatory behaviors were observed in male and female juvenile rats exposed to playful and nonplayful juvenile social stimuli. A nonplayful state was induced by treatment with scopolamine HBr. In Experiment 1, the play-solicitation behavior of males exposed to nonplayful stimuli was reliably greater than that of females; social investigation did not differ by gender. In Experiment 2, males and females were exposed to nonplayful male and female stimuli. Male subjects engaged in more soliciting than did female subjects, and male social stimuli were subjected to more soliciting than were female social stimuli. Experiment 3 compared the influence of varying social deprivation intervals on play soliciting by male juveniles. Although social investigation did not vary reliably with interval of social deprivation, play soliciting increased reliably with longer intervals of isolation. In Experiment 4, play-soliciting behavior of males exposed to nonplayful males correlated positively and reliably with play fighting behavior upon exposure to normally playful males. The results support the proposal that some specific behaviors functionally provoke interactive play fighting.     

汉语致歉策略性别差异研究

随着社会语言学的发展,言语行为的性别差异与社会文化之间的关系越来越受到研究者的关注。探讨汉语语境中致歉策略使用上的性别差异及其成因,是当今社会语言学研究中的一个重要议题。本文采用问卷调查与访谈的形式,主要基于Olshtain和Cohen的5个致歉语义公式,对汉语语境中男女致歉言语策略进行定量、定性分析后,发现两性在致歉策略的运用上存在显著差异,即：女性比男性使用较多致歉策略。语言使用上表现出来的性别差异可从男女生活的亚文化环境及面子的角度得到诠释。     

Faculty Service Loads and Gender: Are Women Taking Care of the Academic Family?

This paper investigates the amount of academic service performed by female versus male faculty. We use 2014 data from a large national survey of faculty at more than 140 institutions as well as 2012 data from an online annual performance reporting system for tenured and tenure–track faculty at two campuses of a large public, Midwestern University. We find evidence in both data sources that, on average, women faculty perform significantly more service than men, controlling for rank, race/ethnicity, and field or department. Our analyses suggest that the male–female differential is driven more by internal service—i.e., service to the university, campus, or department—than external service—i.e., service to the local, national, and international communities—although significant heterogeneity exists across field and discipline in the way gender differentials play out.     

Cognitive Style,Gender, Attitude toward Computer‐assisted Learning and Academic Achievement

This paper reports an investigation of cognitive style, gender, attitude toward using computer‐assisted learning (CAL) and academic achievement among university students. A Group Embedded Figures Test was used to assess students’ cognitive style and a questionnaire was used for the evaluation of students’ attitude toward CAL. The results revealed that students have positive attitudes toward CAL but they were not prepared to rely entirely on CAL. A 2 x 2 ANOVA was used to investigate the effect of cognitive style and gender on the attitude toward CAL. The results revealed that male students preferred using CAL significantly more than females and field dependent students were more prepared to rely entirely on CAL than field independent students. On the other hand, there was a significant difference between males and females in their achievement scores in favour of the male group. But there was no difference between field dependence and field independence groups in their achievement. The results also revealed no significant relationship between students’ attitudes toward CAL and their achievement in these courses.     

Gender differences in attitudes towards learning oral skills using technology

This paper reports a quantitative study on gender differences in attitudes when learning oral skills via technology. The study was conducted at Tafila Technical University, Jordan, with 70 female and 30 male students, to find out if female students are better and faster in learning a language than male. Specifically, it seeks to investigate differences in attitudes between females and males in terms of practicality, confidence and anxiety. The results of the study show that there were no significant differences between female and male students when comparing the pre- and post-test mean scores. Both genders establish the same levels of attitudes before and after undergoing this course, which suggests that the exposure to language learning using technology did not contribute to any significant gender inequality. The paired sample t-test results showed improved attitudes toward learning oral skills in both females and males. The study also indicates female and male improvement in the anxiety dimension showing that their initial strong apprehension toward this course was greatly reduced at the end of the course. In terms of confidence, female showed better enhanced confidence level than male at the end of the course.     

Gender differences and styles in the use of digital games

This paper reports work in progress investigating gender differences and styles in the use of digital games amongst advanced level biology students. It is an elaboration on previous work exploring the relationship between cognitive style and academic performance in Maltese students taking biology at advanced level. In this previous work the cognitive style of 581 (212 male and 369 female) advanced biology students was correlated with their academic performance in five different subjects. Pearson's correlation showed that the wholist–analytic dimension, the verbal–imagery dimension, and gender were not correlated. Regression analysis showed that none of the style dimension combinations had a significant effect on performance in any of the subjects. However, gender proved to be a stronger determinant of performance. These results were interpreted from a cognitive neuroscience perspective. Numerous studies have consistently found gender differences in language and visuospatial skills. Female superiority is seen on tests of both receptive and productive language, and on more complex tasks such as making analogies and creative writing. Males have an advantage in visuospatial reasoning, being more adept at performing disembedding and internal spatial transformations. In view of these results and the constantly reported gender difference in the use of digital games, this paper describes the initial stage of an investigation about gender‐determined propensities to digital media. Different studies claim that males dedicate more time than female students to playing digital games. A marked emphasis on the use of particular game genres by the different sexes is also reported. This reported phenomenon is investigated within the context of Maltese students taking advanced biology. Through a questionnaire, data were collected about the time students spend playing digital games, their preferred platform, and their preferred games. Data were analysed to establish gender differences in the time spent on playing digital games, the preferred platform, the most popular digital games amongst males and female students, and the preferred game genre. The results are interpreted from neurocognitve and psychosocial perspectives. Suggestions are made for possible integration of digital games in learning.