Stereotype threat and gender differences in chemistry

Stereotype threat theory (STT) offers one explanation for achievement differences in math and science for both women and minority students. Specifically, STT posits that the perceived risk of confirming a negative stereotype about an individual’s identity group acts as a psychological burden that negatively impacts performance. This study examined the impact of stereotype threat (ST) on gender differences in chemistry achievement, self-efficacy, and test-anxiety using a four-group, quasi-experimental design. 153 introductory-level college chemistry students were randomly assigned to one of four ST conditions including an explicit ST condition, an implicit ST condition, a reverse ST condition, and a nullified condition. Results indicated that there were no gender differences by ST condition; however, overall, the men had higher self-efficacy and lower test-anxiety than the women. An analysis of open-ended questions asking students about their intent to major in chemistry, beliefs regarding barriers to their achievement on the chemistry test, and gender differences in opportunities and mental capacity to achieve in chemistry provided insight into the quantitative results. Implications of our findings for future research on ST are discussed.     

论性别差异及其教育策略

性别差异指男女两性在心理学方面的不同特点。男女两性不仅存在着生理方面的差异,在心理发展的许多方面也同样客观地存在着一些差异,尤其在性格和行为方式及情感表达等方面差异较为明显。性别差异的形成在更大程度上取决于社会文化因素而非生理因素,必须采取有效的教育措施,使个体的发展既具有男女之共性,也具有男女之个性;既要摆脱性别角色标志的束缚,又不失性别本色。     

语言性别差异和语言性别歧视

男性和女性在语言使用方面是有差异的,本文以支配论、差异论为理论依据,探讨了男女在语言使用上的性别差异特征,并指出不能夸大这些差异,极端地将其统统与语言性别歧视对等起来。     

Student self-concept and effort: gender and grade differences

Students’ self-concept and effort in schoolwork are known to have significant influences on essential academic outcomes, but self-concept and effort may decline as students grow up. Students from 16 schools in Sydney (N?=?2200) were asked to rate on two self-concept components (competency and affect) and effort in schoolwork. Based on measures established in confirmatory factor analysis, a 5 (grade: 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th) × 2 (gender: boys, girls) × 3 (measure: competency, affect, effort) repeated-measures ANOVA found that: (a) for all variables, scores were lower for higher grade levels; (b) boys were lower in affect and effort; (c) particularly for effort, gender differences favouring girls in primary became negligible in higher secondary; and (d) differences between primary and secondary tended to be greater for girls. Educators and curriculum designers need to consider the self-concept and effort of boys in the primary and girls in the secondary.     

小议音乐情感中的男女差异

音乐情感是在音乐活动中一种具体的心理体验,而根据音乐所表现出来的愉快、忧伤、兴奋等状态属于音乐情绪,是音乐情感的外在形式.对音乐作品的诠粹需要音乐活动者的情感表达.男女性在音乐情感表现中体现出不同的差异性,本文就此内容进行研究.     

Student reactions to courseware: gender differences

The primary aim of the study was to investigate student reactions to the use of courseware as a learning tool in the classroom, particularly the effect of gender. The study involved young school students in a systematic and documented courseware review process. Students as a whole were enthusiastic about using courseware as a tool for learning in the classroom, with a large majority of students endorsing both its motivational appeal and its educational value. Despite this overall positive attitude, however, the data showed important differences between the reactions of male and female students to courseware, male students being more confident about using computers as a learning tool than female. The major implication for educational practice is that teachers, while trying to instil a confident attitude in all their students towards using courseware, should be aware of the particular need to build confidence among female students.     

Surveying gender differences in Canadian school literacy

Student survey results from Canada's first, national, large-scale assessment of school literacy are analysed for explanations of gender differences in reading and writing skills found in this and other recent Canadian large-scale assessments. Using findings from the 1994 Council of Ministers of Education, Canada School Achievement Indicators Programme, we explore English-Canadian adolescents' literacy preferences, attitudes and practices. Five models derived from recent literacy education and related educational research are posited as potential explanations for female superiority in literacy test results: 'division of family labour', 'character-personification', 'classroom interaction', 'assessment bias' and 'identification with genre'. The assumptions underlying these models are examined in light of the Council of Ministers of Education's study.     

School Subject Preferences: Age and gender differences revisited

As a follow-up to data collected in the early 1990s, rankings of school subject preferences were obtained from 144 girls and 218 boys aged 11-12 years, and 269 girls and 300 boys aged 15-16 years. The overall rankings showed evidence of the persistence of gender differences in preferences for a number of curricular areas. However, changes were also apparent. Practical subjects appeared further up the rankings than previously, particularly for the younger students. This finding may reflect a change in the status of such subjects relative to the more academic subjects. More inter-school variability between the subject preference orders was evident among the older than the younger students, suggesting a greater sensitivity to school-related factors among this age group.     

Primary school bullying and the issue of gender differences

This paper summarises research conducted into the issue of gender differences within primary school bullying. The study focused on the extent and nature of gender differences and teachers' perceptions and experiences of these differences. Primarily, the research shows that anti-bullying strategies need to be more focussed on girl's experiences of bullying. Within the study, the teachers' identification of boys bullying appeared to be in line with both well-documented gender differences and those reported by the pupils in the study. However, the teachers' appear to be less able to identify girls' involvement in bullying.     

Confidence and gender differences on the Mental Rotations Test

The present study examined the relation between self-reported confidence ratings, performance on the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), and guessing behavior on the MRT. Eighty undergraduate students (40 males, 40 females) completed the MRT while rating their confidence in the accuracy of their answers for each item. As expected, gender differences in favor of men were obtained. Results also indicated a positive correlation between confidence ratings and scores on the MRT, as well as negative correlations between confidence ratings and MRT outcomes presumed to reflect propensity to guess. More elaborate analyses using a measure of accuracy of predictions (the Brier score) indicated that men have a more accurate perception of their performance on the MRT than women do. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the interpretation of gender differences and guessing behavior on the MRT.     

Reading disability defined as a discrepancy between listening and reading comprehension: a longitudinal study of stability, gender differences, and prevalence

The purpose of this study was to determine whether defining reading disability by a discrepancy between group-administered tests of listening and reading comprehension would produce result similar in terms of stability, gender ratio, and prevalence to IQ-achievement test discrepancy definitions. The total population of a small school district (N = 1,008) was followed from prekindergarten through Grade 7-8 for 13 years. As is often seen in epidemiological studies using IQ and individually administered reading tests to define reading disability, stability in the classification of reading disability was low. Among the participants with a consistent reading disability, the male-to-female ratio was 3.2:1, compared with 1.3:1 for the 5.1% of the sample who were nondiscrepant poor readers in both lower and upper grades. A mean 2.7% of the population was classified as reading disabled over the eight-grade span, and only 1.7% demonstrated a consistent reading disability in both the lower and the upper grades. An increase in the ratio of nondiscrepant to discrepant poor readers after Grade 5 was due mainly to late-emerging poor readers. It was concluded that defining reading comprehension disability in terms of a discrepancy between listening and reading comprehension provides a fairly accurate estimate of the stability, gender ratio, and prevalence of the disorder.     

Chapter 6 Cross-cultural gender differences in mathematics education

The chapter examined data from the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS), for Population A (range of age 12 to 13) and for Population B (range of age 17 to 19). Multivariate analyses of variance revealed that achievement differences among countries were much greater than gender differences. The findings are discussed in light of responses to questions about learning experiences, parental and teacher support, perception of the place of mathematics in the pursuit of higher education, and other factors that are considered influential in mathematics achievement.     

A study of gender differences among school psychologists

Full and intern members of ten state school psychology associations were surveyed regarding demographics, salaries, experience, yearly evaluations completed, contractual arrangements, and professional credentials and affiliations (N = 1,527). Results indicate higher proportions of women are increasingly entering the field. With years of experience considered, there were significant gender differences in yearly (p < .05), daily (p < .01), and hourly (p < .05) salary. There were no gender differences in the number of days worked yearly, number of hours worked daily, number of yearly evaluations completed, or the number of assigned schools. Gender differences were noted in professional credentials and professional affiliations. Implications of the emerging gender trend for service delivery are discussed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Item type and gender differences on the Mental Rotations Test

This study investigated gender differences on the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) as a function of item and response types. Accordingly, 86 male and 109 female undergraduate students completed the MRT without time limits. Responses were coded as reflecting two correct (CC), one correct and one wrong (CW), two wrong (WW), one correct and one blank (CB), one wrong and one blank (WB), or two blank (BB) answers and were analyzed as a function of distractor type (structural or mirror) and occlusion (occluded, non-occluded). The results showed a men advantage on CC, whereas women obtained more BB, CB, and WB outcomes than men did. Gender differences in favor of men were larger for occluded than for non-occluded items on CC. This gender by occlusion interaction was also found for CW and WB. Implications of the results for possible explanation of gender differences on the MRT are discussed.     

Homework self-regulation: Grade,gender, and achievement-level differences

The study examined differences in students' reported homework value, motivation, and metacognitive strategy use during homework completion among two grades, gender, and three achievement levels. Differences among six homework self-regulation constructs (utility value, intrinsic value, effort, persistence, planning, and self-checking) were also examined. Participants were 330 seventh and 407 eleventh graders from a metropolitan city in China. Chinese students' reported self-regulated learning during homework declined from middle to high school. Whereas students rated utility value and effort high, intrinsic value and self-checking were rated low. Male and female students did not differ in homework self-regulation. Achievement-level differences in homework self-regulation were found in seventh graders, but not in eleventh graders. The pattern of Chinese students' reported homework value, motivation, and metacognitive strategy use were discussed, and instructional implications were offered.     

Parental perceptions of gender differences in child technology use and cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a major health concern for today's youth and a pervasive stressor for adolescents and their families. This study offers qualitative insights into how parents perceive their children's technology use and engagement in cyberbullying based on gender. Eight focus groups were conducted with 48 parents of adolescents ages 10–17. Findings indicated parents perceived their children overuse technology and lack awareness of what cyberbullying is. Specific to gender, parents suggested their daughters use technology for social connection, and parents were more concerned about their daughter's technology use than their son's, which they believed was related to specific interests. In response to cyberbullying scenarios, parents encouraged females but not males to socialize with peers. This is the first qualitative study to obtain an in-depth understanding of the ways in which parents perceive and socialize their children in regard to technology use and cyberbullying scenarios. These results may help school systems, school psychologists, researchers, and parents gain awareness of the gender-stereotypical socialization process that unfolds in parental monitoring of technology use and cyberbullying situations. We conclude by offering suggestions for how school systems and personnel might intervene.     

Mathematics education in Lebanon: gender differences in attitudes and achievement

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in students’ mathematics achievement and in their attitudes toward mathematics. Another purpose was to examine mathematics teachers’ beliefs and their perceptions of their male and female students’ ability. The sample consisted of 692 students (353 girls, 339 boys) between the ages of 12 and 16 years, enrolled in grades 7–9 at four private schools in Lebanon. Data were collected using the Attitudes Toward Mathematics (ATM) scale (Aiken in Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 5, 67–71, 1974), school records, and interviews with teachers. Results showed no significant gender differences in either achievement or attitudes toward mathematics, thus dispelling the common belief that female students in traditional cultures do not perform well in mathematics and dislike the field. A main effect for grade level was found with ninth graders significantly outperforming their younger counterparts. Also, teachers viewed mathematics as a male domain and attributed boys’ success to ability and girls’ success to effort. They also interacted with boys more frequently regardless of the nature of the exchange. Implications for future research and for instructional practice are overviewed.     

Immigrant background and gender differences in primary students' motivations toward studying

In the study, based on a representative sample of 26,670 Italian fifth-grade students, the authors examine the academic motivational profiles of immigrant and native students, as well as of boys and girls. To reliably estimate mean differences, the measurement invariance of a short version of the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire was first established across the groups. Boys reported less autonomous motives for studying than girls while first-generation immigrant pupils showed higher levels of intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, and external regulation for studying than natives did. Also, second-generation immigrants had higher levels of academic motivation than natives did, although they were less motivated and reported less autonomous reasons for studying than first generations. While confirming the immigrant paradox in a country with a rapidly increasing level of immigrant students, findings show that second-generation immigrants not only report a lower quantity of motivation than first-generations, but also appear to have a different quality of motivation.