Gendered Science Practice at Secondary School and its Effects on Science Motivations

Abstract

This study explores the effects of gendered inquiry-based learning (IBL) practices on other science learning experiences and motivations including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) career aspirations. For this, PISA 2015 data representing the Finnish 15-year-old student population has been selected and analyzed by multiple group structural equation modeling. According to the results, while girls and boys perceived a similar frequency of conducting IBL at school as a student, boys were more aware that students were allowed to conduct high autonomous IBL activities such as designing their own experiments. Also, boys expressed that they got more feedback from their teachers, and it was moderately related to the IBL engagement. Moreover, the result showed that while boys perceived more IBL experiences, the efficacy of the IBL activities was higher for girls since the relationship between IBL and science motivations was stronger for girls compared to boys. Lastly, this study found that a teacher was more prone to undervalue girls’ science performance than boys during IBL. Based on the findings, this study argues that school IBL practices could be a good source for examining gender equity in science education. Also, the findings recommend gender-inclusive science practices at school in order to increase girls’ interest in STEM careers and to enhance the effects of IBL on students’ science achievement.