Mehr als Erwartungen und Werte: Zur Rolle von Stereotypen für dendifferenziellen Schulerfolg von Mädchen und Jungen

Abstract

This study tested whether the Eccles et al. expectancy-value model of achievement-related choices and performance (e.g., Eccles et al., 1983) could explain gender differences in both language and math achievement. Students’ ability self-concept and task values in math and German, intelligence and prior achievement, parents’ education and perception of the child’s competence in math and German were assessed in N = 520 German students (age M = 17 years). These variables were included as multiple mediators in two structural equation models specified for explaining boys’ lower grades in German and girls’ lower grades in math. Boys’ lower grades in German were not explained by the mediators. In math a suppression effect was found: After controlling for motivational, cognitive, and background variables, boys earned lower grades than girls not only in German but also in math. Future research on boys’ underachievement should therefore focus more on domain-unspecific motivational factors influencing achievement.