Abstract
The present study examines a group of secondary teachers’ and parents’ appraisals of gender gaps in secondary students’ self-assessment of competence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and non-STEM domains. Eight focus groups with 39 parents and 34 secondary teachers were conducted for this purpose. In light of the observed gender gaps in students’ performance and self-perception of ability in the different subject areas, the participants were particularly surprised by girls’ underestimation of their abilities in STEM subjects, compared with boys’ tendency to overestimate their abilities in STEM. Most participants agreed on the need for measures to combat these inaccuracies and discussed possible causes. Some participants associated these gender disparities in students’ self-assessment of ability with gender gaps in their choices of subject areas and occupations. The role played by school, teachers, families, and other socialization agents in reinforcing gender stereotypes about academic competence was also discussed in most of the focus groups. Interestingly, some teachers questioned why gender attainments obtained in schools do not serve as an example when it comes to neutralizing the sexism and gender inequality messages offered by the media and society. Likewise, technology teachers proposed changes in school practices to close gender gaps in certain areas (i.e., boys’ appropriation of the playground, or the reproduction of gender roles in the classroom). Few parents acknowledged their unconscious reproduction of gender roles and stereotypes in raising their children.
Highlights
A recent meta-analysis of studies carried out between 1914 and 2011 in more than 30 countries (70% of the sample comprised students from the United States) concluded that girls have systematically achieved higher academic performance than boys for nearly a century (Voyer and Voyer, 2014)
The female advantage in school performance in math and science seems not to become apparent until junior or middle school (Voyer and Voyer, 2014). According to this meta-analysis, the widest gender differences were reported for language courses and the narrowest gap was recorded for math and science
We focused on students at this academic level because it is a crucial point in the Spanish educational system, at which students opt for one or another branch of further education
Summary
A recent meta-analysis of studies carried out between 1914 and 2011 in more than 30 countries (70% of the sample comprised students from the United States) concluded that girls have systematically achieved higher academic performance than boys for nearly a century (Voyer and Voyer, 2014). The female advantage in school performance in math and science seems not to become apparent until junior or middle school (Voyer and Voyer, 2014). According to this meta-analysis, the widest gender differences were reported for language courses and the narrowest gap was recorded for math and science. These differences increased from elementary to middle school but declined across post-secondary compulsory school (Voyer and Voyer, 2014). According to Voyer and Voyer (2014), women’s better performance over that of their male counterparts throughout compulsory schooling in most countries has received little attention as a global phenomenon
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