Abstract
This study investigated gender differences in North American preschoolers’ biological reasoning about the concept of ‘life’. Four-year-olds (M = 4.6, SD = 3.3 months) and five-year-olds (M = 5.6, SD = 3.8 months) were asked about the function of 13 body parts, organs, and bodily processes. Results indicated that the likelihood of mentioning the importance of body parts, organs, and bodily processes for maintaining life or preventing death was predicted by age. A concept of life was more likely to occur in boys rather than girls. Although boys had a greater understanding of life they did not outperform girls in their responses to organ/ body part function. The results demonstrate that gender differences in biological reasoning emerge during the preschool years. Implications for early science education are discussed.
Highlights
The relationship between gender and science achievement has received a great deal of empirical attention especially within the North American literature, likely prompted by concern that women are underrepresented in associated science disciplines, especially at the elite level (Long, 2001; Valentine, 1998)
The findings of the present study indicated that there was an increase in correct responses to the role of body parts as a function of age in our North American sample
We found that boys were more likely than girls to conceptualize life as an important goal of body parts
Summary
The relationship between gender and science achievement has received a great deal of empirical attention especially within the North American literature, likely prompted by concern that women are underrepresented in associated science disciplines, especially at the elite level (Long, 2001; Valentine, 1998). A scant amount of research has examined gender differences at such an early age, but between the ages of four and six, a large amount of foundational knowledge about biology is established (Carey, 1985; Schroeder et al, 2007; Wellman and Gelman, 1998). As children mature, they assimilate new information into these foundational knowledge frameworks and organize the information for further learning (Carey and Spelke, 1994; Case, 1985; Piaget and Inhelder, 1969). Boys are more likely to develop greater confidence and interest in science when they receive positive reinforcement (Tenenbaum and Leaper, 2003)
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