Gender differences in academic boredom and its development in secondary school

Abstract

This longitudinal study examined gender differences in academic boredom development in high-track German secondary education (N = 1428; 761 identified as male, 667 identified as female; four waves of measurement: T1-T4). Target subject domains were mathematics and German. We estimated linear latent growth curves for three forms of academic boredom, namely boredom intensity (BO-I), boredom due to under- (BO-U), and due to overchallenge (BO-O). We predicted latent growth factors by gender. Appraisal and performance mediators (i.e., academic self-concept; academic interest; previous school grades) were included. Domain-specific results indicated enhanced boredom levels for boys in both subjects at the end of our investigation period (βBO-U, mathematics = −0.25⁎⁎, βBO-I, German = −0.16⁎, βBO-O, German = −0.27⁎⁎⁎). Linear boredom slopes were largely unaffected by gender. Mediation effects showed subject-specific patterns (e.g., academic interest being more predictive of German than mathematics boredom development), which are discussed alongside implications for educational theorizing and practice.