Gender Differences In Mathematics Research Articles

Teachers' beliefs and gender differences in mathematics: a review

Summary In this paper the literature related to gender issues and teachers' beliefs regarding mathematics education is reviewed. The first part concerns teacher gender, including those aspects not directly dealing with teacher beliefs. Some studies related to teachers' beliefs considering gender as a variable are also reported. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research. To assist readers in visualizing how the several parts of the research literature in this field relate to one another, a model of research regarding gender issues in relation to teachers' beliefs has been developed. Collectively the body of literature available to date suggests that, first, despite lack of conclusive evidence, teachers have different beliefs about male and female students. They tend to stereotype mathematics as a male domain; this has been reflected in teachers' tendency to overrate male students' mathematics capability, have higher expectations for male students and more positive attitudes about male students. Secondly, no substantial gender differences have been noticed in teachers' beliefs, even though some nuances appear. This leads us to believe that there are small, subtle, interactive and cumulative links between teachers' beliefs and gender differences in mathematics education.

Confidence in Mathematics and its Consequences: Gender differences among Israeli Jewish and Arab youth

Gender differences in mathematics learning in the high school serve as a basis for achievement in mathematical disciplines in higher education, as well as in social mobility in Western society. The main findings reported here are that, in the Jewish sector in Israel, even when the level of mathematics is held constant, so that the perceived degree of achievement in mathematics of boys and girls is similar, girls are nevertheless found to report a lower degree of self-confidence in mathematics than boys on a number of different measures. Paradoxically, the educational system in the Arab sector, despite its gender conservatism relative to the general Jewish sector, has succeeded in generating amongst its female students a high degree of perceived achievement and self-confidence in mathematics, which in turn increases their willingness to consider mathematically-based studies and professions in the future.

Gender Differences in Mathematics and Science on a High School Proficiency Exam: The Role of Response Format

Scores from mathematics and science sections of pilot forms of the Michigan High School Proficiency Test (HSPT) were examined for evidence of an interaction between gender and response format (multiple choice or constructed response). When students of all ability levels were considered, the interaction was small in science and nonexistent in mathematics. When only the highest ability students were considered, male students scored higher on the multiple-choice section, whereas female students either scored higher on the constructed-response section or the degree to which the male students scored higher was less on the constructed-response section. Correlations between the formats were high and did not vary by gender. Standard errors of measurement were similar across gender.

A Longitudinal Study of Gender Differences in Young Children’s Mathematical Thinking

One area in which gender differences in mathematics have been studied minimally deals with strategies used to solve mathematical problems. The limited evidence available suggests that there may be some gender differences in problem-solving strategies. Differences have been found in grades 1-3, with girls tending to use observable strategies (such as counting) and boys tending to use mental strategies (Carr & Jessup, 1997). Gallagher and DeLisi (1994) studied high-ability secondary school students and reported that while there were no overall differences in the number of selected SAT items answered

New Perspectives on Gender Differences in Mathematics: A Reprise

New Perspectives on Gender Differences in Mathematics: A Reprise

New Perspectives on Gender Differences in Mathematics: A Reprise

New Perspectives on Gender Differences in Mathematics: A Reprise

High School Mathematics Course-Taking by Gender and Ethnicity

The 1990 NAEP transcript data were used to study the number of Carnegie units (CUs) earned by students in seven categories of mathematics courses plus a miscellaneous category. On average, students earned 3.11 CUs, slightly more than the minimum of 3 suggested in A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). Fifty-four percent of the CUs were earned in the standard high school sequence (Algebra 1 and 2 and geometry), and 20% were earned in preformal courses (e.g., General Math 1 and 2). Overall, gender and ethnic differences in the total number of mathematics CUs were small, but ethnic differences relative to the type of math course represented by the course categories were large. Gender differences in mathematics course-taking are discussed in light of differences in college attendance patterns and achievement variability. Implications of ethnic differences for school and curriculum reform are discussed.

High School Mathematics Course-Taking by Gender and Ethnicity

The 1990 NAEP transcript data were used to study the number of Carnegie units (CUs) earned by students in seven categories of mathematics courses plus a miscellaneous category. On average, students earned 3.11 CUs, slightly more than the minimum of 3 suggested in A Nation at Risk ( National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983 ). Fifty-four percent of the CUs were earned in the standard high school sequence (Algebra 1 and 2 and geometry), and 20% were earned in preformal courses (e.g., General Math 1 and 2). Overall, gender and ethnic differences in the total number of mathematics CUs were small, but ethnic differences relative to the type of math course represented by the course categories were large. Gender differences in mathematics course-taking are discussed in light of differences in college attendance patterns and achievement variability. Implications of ethnic differences for school and curriculum reform are discussed.

Gender differences in mathematics among jewish and Arab youth in Israel

Research articles concerned with any aspect of mathematics education will be considered. Manuscripts are submitted to a blind referee process before being accepted for publication. Authors should provide 4 typewritten or printed (preferably laser printed) copies of the manuscript which should be double spaced and have wide margins. To ensure anonymity, all direct references to the author and the author's institution should be removed from the manuscript, and a separate page included which contains these details.

Mediators of gender differences in mathematics college entrance test scores: a comparison of spatial skills with internalized beliefs and anxieties.

This study was designed to investigate whether spatial skill, math anxiety, and math self-confidence functioned as mediators of a significant gender difference in the Mathematics Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-M) among the top third of a college-bound sample. Using path analytic techniques, the decomposition of the significant gender-SAT-M correlation into direct and indirect effects indicated that there were no direct effects of gender on SAT-M. Mental rotation and math self-confidence showed indirect effects, mediating the gender-SAT-M relationship; math anxiety did not. Of these indirect effects, 36% was mediated by math self-confidence; 64% by mental rotation. For both these variables, most of the mediational effects of the gender-SAT-M relationship did not occur by way of the causal pathway leading through geometry grades. Thus, the mediational effects cannot simply be attributed to the presence of geometry items on the SAT-M or to math self-confidence acquired during prior geometry coursework.

Gender and Mathematical Problem Solving.

The relationship between gender and mathematical problem-solving among high ability students depends on the attributes of the problem solving questions. This was evident in the present study of 12-year-olds. The children were from predominately White families. Eighty-three males and 76 females were tested in both the fall and the spring on the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales and on the Canadian Test of Basic Skills (CTBS). In the Spring, students were also tested on the GAUSS. Both the CTBS and the GAUSS measure mathematical problem solving. Among high ability students, there were gender differences on the problem-solving scale of the CTBS but not on the GAUSS, even though the GAUSS was independently rated as the more abstract and difficult of the two tests. The present study describes the implications of this for the question of the origin of gender differences in mathematics, and also looked at the relationship between attitudes toward mathematics and mathematical problem-solving performance.

Mediators of gender differences in mathematics college entrance test scores: A comparison of spatial skills with internalized beliefs and anxieties.

Mediators of gender differences in mathematics college entrance test scores: A comparison of spatial skills with internalized beliefs and anxieties.

Mathematics classrooms, gender and affect

Gender differences in mathematics learning outcomes persist and several explanatory models incorporate affective variables. Current understandings of how children learn mathematics seem inconsistent with traditional mathematics instruction. The literature reveals that little is known about the relationship between classroom factors and students’ beliefs about themselves as learners of mathematics. The study reported here explored this relationship at two levels: a large scale survey and in-depth studies of two classrooms. Classroom factors which might influence beliefs were identified, and provided partial explanations for some of the gender differences noted. There were clear implications for the teaching of mathematics.

Gender Differences in Mathematics and the Sciences: Can Attributional Retraining Improve the Performance of Gifted Females?

There are probably no subject areas in which the problem of reducing gender differences is as urgent as in mathematics and the hard sciences. In this article, we provide a topical overview of the participation rates of girls and women in schools and universities, with an emphasis on the situation in Germany. We then discuss several attempts to explain these differences and show that until recently not enough attention has been paid to the girls' and women's self-related cognitions in these domains. They underestimate their own talents in mathematics and the sciences and, from a motivational perspective, attribute their successes and failures in such a way as to further inhibit motivation. Attributional retraining techniques could provide a solution to the problems of lowered motivation and performance. These retraining techniques have proved successful in clinical and laboratory settings, but they have not been tried in natural settings like schools and universities. Following an overview of the most important attributional retraining techniques, we describe two studies carried out with German high school students in mathematics and with female university students in statistics. Using an attributional retraining technique we developed, both studies report extremely promising results. Finally, on the basis of these studies, suggestions for further research are made.

Do gender differences in spatial skills mediate gender differences in mathematics among high-ability students?

AbstractBased on Geary's theory, intelligence may determine which males utilize innate spatial knowledge to inform their mathematical solutions. This may explain why math gender differences occur mainly with higher abilities. In support, we found that mental rotation ability served as a mediator of gender differences on the math Scholastic Assessment Test for two high-ability samples. Our research suggests, however, that environment and biology interact to influence mental rotation abilities.

How important is spatial ability to mathematics?

AbstractThis commentary focuses on one of the many issues raised in Geary's target article: the importance of gender differences in spatial ability to gender differences in mathematics. I argue that the evidence for the central role of spatial ability in mathematical ability, or in gender differences in it, is tenuous at best.

Gender Differences in Mathematics: Trends in Performance

Longitudinal entry and performance data for the Australian Mathematics Competition, which in 1992 attracted over 500,000 entries from secondary school students, are presented in this paper. Male and female patterns are of particular interest. Examination of data over the 10-yr. period from 1983 to 1992 showed that the number of females in the postcompulsory years of education electing to enter the competition increasingly approaches entry figures for males. Performance differences between females and males are also decreasing for most of the categories of questions found in the paper. However, the opposite effect was observed in questions categorized as algebraic. The implications of the findings are discussed.

The influence of spatial ability on gender differences in mathematics college entrance test scores across diverse samples.

The influence of spatial ability on gender differences in mathematics college entrance test scores across diverse samples.

The influence of spatial ability on gender differences in mathematics college entrance test scores across diverse samples.

The relationship between mental rotation ability and gender differences in Scholastic Aptitude Test-Math (SAT-M) across diverse samples was investigated. Talented preadolescents, college students, and high- and low-ability college-bound youths, totaling 760, were administered the Vandenberg Mental Rotation Test. Gender comparisons showed male outperforming female students in both mental rotation and SAT-M for all 3 high-ability groups but not for the low-ability group. For all female samples, mental rotation predicted math aptitude even when SAT-Verbal was entered first into the regression. For male samples, the relationship varied as a function of sample. When mental rotation ability was statistically adjusted for, the significant gender difference in SAT-M was eliminated for the college sample and the high-ability college-bound students. This suggests that spatial ability may be responsible in part for mediating gender differences in math aptitude among these groups.

Gender differences in mathematics and verbal achievement, self‐perception and motivation

This study examined gender differences in mathematics and verbal self‐concept, self‐perceived skills, and motivation and whether such differences were larger than could be explained by differences in achievement. Subjects were 356 sixth grade and 353 ninth grade Norwegian students. Data were analysed by analysis of variance and covariance. There were no differences between the sexes in mathematics achievement, whereas boys had higher mathematics self‐concept and self‐perceived mathematics skill than girls. Girls had higher verbal achievement than boys, but there were no significant differences in verbal self‐concept or self‐perceived verbal skills. Also, boys had higher mathematics motivation and lower verbal motivation than girls. None of the gender differences in self‐perceptions of ability or motivation could be explained by differences in achievement. However, the difference in mathematics motivation was no larger than could be explained by differences in self‐perceived abilities, whereas the difference in verbal motivation could not be explained by differences in self‐perceived abilities. The results are discussed in terms of sex stereotypes.