Effect of gender, self-efficacy, and interest on perception of the learning environment and outcomes in calculus-based introductory physics courses

Yangqiuting Li,Chandralekha Singh

doi:10.1103/physrevphyseducres.17.010143

Abstract

Current learning environments in introductory calculus-based physics influence all students' physics-related motivational belief in a negative way and are more detrimental for female students than male students.

Highlights

We studied students’ physics motivational beliefs in a calculus-based introductory physics course
Including peer interaction, perceived recognition, and sense of belonging—predicts students’ physics self-efficacy, interest, and identity at the end of the course by controlling for their gender as well as their self-efficacy and interest at the beginning of the course. We found that both male and female students’ selfefficacy and interest dropped from pre to post but female students’ dropped even more than male students’ (Table III)
The gender differences in students’ perception of learning environment may partially explain the finding that the gender differences in students’ self-efficacy and interest increased by the end of the course. These results show that the current learning environment influenced students’ motivational belief in a negative way and was even more detrimental to female students’ feelings

Summary

Introduction

AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKSeveral prior studies have focused on underrepresented groups such as women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, majors and careers [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. Prior research suggests that individuals’ career enrollment and achievement in STEM can be influenced by their domain specific motivational beliefs such as self-efficacy, interest, and identity [1,2,3,11,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36]. For students from underrepresented groups, these motivational characteristics might be undermined due to lack of encouragement, negative stereotypes, and inadequate prior preparation, leading to withdrawal from STEM fields [37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47].

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Results

Conclusion