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1.
Gendered patterns in mathematics and science interest emerge in early childhood, develop over time, and ultimately reflect advanced course selection in secondary education. During the crucial time adolescents become aware of their strengths and interests and specialize accordingly, they get the opportunity to participate in out-of-school learning programs such as mathematics and science competitions. This raises the question whether mathematics and science competitions contribute to gender equity by equally promoting female and male interests. In this article, we present a systematic review on gender differences and the mechanisms explaining success and failure in mathematics and science competitions. On an international level, we found large gender differences regarding participation in all Olympiads with the exception of the biology Olympiad. In fairs and national Olympiads, overall participation rates were not gendered as such, but females preferred biology topics whereas males preferred physics related topics. Male and female achievement in fairs was comparable, but males clearly outperformed female participants at the Olympiads, with the smallest differences in the biology Olympiad. Variables and theoretical frameworks explaining participation and achievement and the role of gender in mathematics and science competitions are discussed. We suggest that gender stereotypes, through their influence on self-concept and interest, play an important role in the mechanisms resulting in low female participation rates in and beyond mathematics and science competitions (especially in physics and chemistry). The mechanisms we found explaining female representation during a national selection competition might be considered as reflecting those in female mathematics or science careers and could thus serve as food for thought on countering the gender gap in mathematics and science.  相似文献   

2.
Stereotype threat (ST), which involves confirming a negative stereotype about one's group, is a factor thought to contribute to the gender gap in science achievement and participation. This study involved a quasi-experiment in which 312 US high school physics students were randomly assigned, via their classroom cluster, to one of three ST conditions. The conditions included an explicit ST condition, an implicit ST condition, and a nullified condition. Results indicated that males in all three conditions performed similarly on a set of physics problems. Females in the nullified condition outperformed females in the explicit ST condition and females in the implicit and explicit conditions performed similarly. Males performed better than females in the implicit and explicit ST conditions, but male and female performance on the physics problems was not significantly different in the nullified condition. The implications of these findings for physics instruction and future research on gender differences in physics and ST in science are discussed.  相似文献   

3.
In the past three decades in high-income countries, female students have outperformed male students in most indicators of educational attainment. However, the underrepresentation of girls and women in science courses and careers, especially in physics, computer sciences, and engineering, remains persistent. What is often neglected by the vast existing literature is the role that schools, as social institutions, play in maintaining or eliminating such gender gaps. This explorative case study research compares two high schools in Israel: one Hebrew-speaking state school that serves mostly middleclass students and exhibits a typical gender gap in physics and computer science; the other, an Arabic-speaking state school located in a Bedouin town that serves mostly students from a lower socioeconomic background. In the Arabic-speaking school over 50% of the students in the advanced physics and computer science classes are females. The study aims to explain this seemingly counterintuitive gender pattern with respect to participation in physics and computer science. A comparison of school policies regarding sorting and choice reveals that the two schools employ very different policies that might explain the different patterns of participation. The Hebrew-speaking school prioritizes self-fulfillment and “free-choice,” while in the Arabic-speaking school, staff are much more active in sorting and assigning students to different curricular programs. The qualitative analysis suggests that in the case of the Arabic-speaking school the intersection between traditional and collectivist society and neoliberal pressures in the form of raising achievement benchmarks contributes to the reversal of the gender gap in physics and computer science courses.  相似文献   

4.
A meta-analysis covering the literature between 1970 and 1991 was conducted using an approach similar to that suggested by Glass, McGaw, and Smith (1981) and Hedges, Shymansky, and Woodworth (1989). This analysis examined gender differences in student attitudes toward science, and correlations between attitudes toward science and achievement in science. Thirty-one effect sizes and seven correlations representing the testing of 6,753 subjects were found in 18 studies. The mean of the unweighted effect sizes was .20 (SD = .50) and the mean of the weighted effect size was .16 (SD = .50), indicating that boys have more positive attitudes toward science than girls. The mean correlation between attitude and achievement was .50 for boys and .55 for girls, suggesting that the correlations are comparable. Results of the analysis of gender differences in attitude as a function of science type indicate that boys show a more positive attitude toward science than girls in all types of science. The correlation between attitude and achievement for boys and girls as a function of science type indicates that for biology and physics the correlation is positive for both, but stronger for girls than for boys. Gender differences and correlations between attitude and achievement by gender as a function of publication date show no pattern. The results for the analysis of gender differences as a function of the selectivity of the sample indicate that general level students reflect a greater positive attitude for boys, whereas the high-performance students indicate a greater positive attitude for girls. The correlation between attitude and achievement as a function of selectivity indicates that in all cases a positive attitude results in higher achievement. This is particularly true for low-performance girls. The implications of these finding are discussed and further research suggested.  相似文献   

5.
This study seeks to develop a better understanding of the underrepresentation of women in science and engineering by analyzing the gender gaps (a) in the interest in pursuing a science degree and (b) on science achievement. We use national-level college admissions data to examine gender differences and to explore the association between these outcomes and the attendance to single-sex or co-educational schools. The Chilean college admissions system provides a unique context to study these gender differences, since applicants who wish to pursue an undergraduate degree in science or engineering are required to take a high-stakes standardized science achievement test as part of the admission battery. This test has three subjects: biology, physics, and chemistry, and applicants must choose to be tested in only one of them. Significant gender differences exist for the examinees in their choice of subject and achievement on (the tests). Gender gaps favoring males are observed in the three forms. Both interest and achievement in science are associated with the sex composition of the school attended.  相似文献   

6.
Gender-matched role models are often proposed as a mechanism to increase identification with science among girls, with the ultimate aim of broadening participation in science. While there is a great deal of evidence suggesting that role models can be effective, there is mixed support in the literature for the importance of gender matching. We used the Eccles Expectancy Value model as a framework to explore how female science role models impact a suite of factors that might predict future career choice among elementary students. We predicted that impacts of female scientist role models would be more pronounced among girls than among boys, as such role models have the potential to normalise what is often perceived as a gender-deviant role. Using a mixed-methods approach, we found that ideas about scientists, self-concept towards science, and level of science participation changed equally across both genders, contrary to our prediction. Our results suggest that engaging in authentic science and viewing the female scientist as personable were keys to changes among students, rather than gender matching between the role model and student. These results imply that scientists in the schools programmes should focus on preparing the visiting scientists in these areas.  相似文献   

7.

In the first part of this paper, studies are reviewed which suggest that gender differences in science achievement can be explained entirely in terms of social factors, and which also suggest that these differences could be eliminated, or even reversed, by changing the social environment. For the studies examined, it is suggested that research workers may not have taken sufficient account of confounding variables in their work, and that the apparent changes in gender differential reported may be explained in terms of these confounding variables.

In the second part of the paper, studies are reviewed which seek explanation of gender differences in science achievement in terms of unequal treatment of boys and girls by science teachers in the classroom. It is concluded that the quality of the research work which has been undertaken is disappointing, and that the research evidence provided by these studies for the differential treatment of boys and girls by science teachers is far from convincing.

It is concluded that real gender differences in science achievement do exist, and that they cannot be explained fully in terms of the social environment. It is suggested that both biological and sociological theoretical perspectives on gender differences in science achievement are inadequate, and that further progress in understanding gender differences in science achievement will require a new theoretical synthesis. It is suggested that sociobiology may provide the required new theoretical synthesis by allowing for the recognition of both biological and environmental influences on science achievement.  相似文献   

8.
Australia's continuing participation in international science studies such as TIMSS provides a useful lens through which to monitor achievement in science over time. Gender differences in science were not evident in the early years of TIMSS but appear to be growing. This article examines gender differences in science achievement in early secondary schooling in Australia using data from the TIMSS 2003 study. The aim is to explore the cultural, social, structural and institutional factors that may differentially influence science achievement, with the aim of identifying which are more important for males and for females.  相似文献   

9.

Perceptions of differences in the participation and achievement of girls and boys in school science and mathematics have given rise to considerable curriculum research and professional development. This research, and the practices arising from it, has aimed at increasing the participation of girls in ‘non‐traditional’ school subjects, with the ultimate goal of enhancing girls’ post‐school options. Mathematics and science have been seen as critical in this respect, particularly the higher levels of mathematics and the physical sciences.

This research and professional development have contributed to our understanding of the issues and have no doubt affected the post‐school options of some girls. However, there is also dissatisfaction at the lack of significant change that has flowed from this work. A more critical analysis is now emerging, leading to a deeper questioning of the assumptions that underlie research and development in the field. Ironically, at the same time there are reports that funding for research into aspects of gender issues is now taking an even lower profile than in recent years (Tisdall 1992).

This paper has emerged from debates relating to gender issues from the perspective of two teachers, one of science and the other of mathematics. The debates were precipitated by a move from work as school teachers to work in higher education, where there is an explicitly stated responsibility for research as well as teaching. The change in our labour served to highlight personal questions about the legitimation of different accounts of education in research, science and mathematics education and gender issues. It was in the process of grappling with the apparent plethora of research methods that we began to look at the epistemological assumptions of research into gender issues in science and mathematics education.

For us then, there are three major interrelated and overlapping areas of concern. One is related to the epistemological assumptions that pervade science and mathematics in schools. The second also concerns epistemological assumptions, those relating to educational research, particularly into gender issues. The third raises the ontological question of the conceptualization of gender within the research. We needed a conceptual framework to enable us to critique the normalization of the debates and uncover the problematics within each of these three concerns. At the same time, the framework had to allow an examination of the interrelatedness and continuities between them. It was the normalization and apparent consensus surrounding these issues that was disturbing for us. This we recognized as a depoliticization of social institutions which are essentially political. It was against this background, and in acknowledgement of some feminist critiques (Fraser 1989), that we use a framework developed by Habermas (1972), which recognizes the political dynamic of epistemological positions, and allows us to make explicit the politics of educational research.

Our starting point, in this paper, is Habermas's work. We outline the three ‘knowledge‐constitutive’ interests of this schema, and describe their implications for education. We then explore the dominant perspective within science and mathematics education. Having described this context, we examine the gender research with particular attention to the conceptualization of gender. With reference to Habermas's framework the epistemological and ontological assumptions of this research are explored, and the possibilities and limitations are discussed. This is used to examine the epistemological basis of different research methodologies.

We contend that there is a relationship between the scientific paradigm, the organization of education and the framing of research. Further this relationship has constituted the field of research about gender and science and mathematics and limited its potential for explanation.  相似文献   

10.
Researchers have reported persuasive evidence that students?? perceptions of their classroom learning environment account for significant variance in cognitive and affective outcomes (e.g. intrinsic motivation, self-concept, liking for particular subjects and students?? intention to drop out). The study reported in this paper investigated the relationship between students?? perceptions of classroom learning environment and motivational achievement goal orientations towards biology and physics, as well as the influence of gender. Participants (N?=?1538) were high school science students from the north-eastern region of Thailand. Our results suggest that motivational goals are linked to differences in students?? perceptions of learning environment and levels of biology and physics classroom anxiety. We found that females adopted significantly higher levels of mastery and performance approach goals towards biology, while males adopted significantly higher levels of mastery and performance approach goals towards physics. Males adopted significantly higher levels of performance avoidance goals towards both biology and physics. Positive associations emerged between gender and the adoption of specific performance goals, perceived degree of competition in biology and physics classrooms, and levels of biology and physics classroom anxiety. These results suggest that motivational goal orientations and perceptions of learning environment are gender-dependent and domain-specific for the two science content areas.  相似文献   

11.
Abstract

Universities across the globe are attempting to change assessment practice to address challenges in student engagement and achievement. Integral to this objective are strategies to develop academics’ assessment practice. These frequently focus on attendance at formal Continuous Professional Development events and/or implementation of institutional blueprints. This editorial article uses a case study from the Open University (UK) to explore an alternative ‘communities of practice’ approach to the improvement of assessment arguing that academics’ professional expertise is best deepened through participation in authentic activities of teaching and scholarship. The discussion identifies what is involved in such an approach including the role of an enabling principles-based framework, the constraints on implementation and the implications for HE leaders.  相似文献   

12.
The problem of the underrepresentation of girls in science in Australian schools is often attributed to their poor performance. Yet the role of both the home and the school in affecting female science achievement is rarely examined empirically. The comprehensiveness of the Second International Science Study database provided an excellent opportunity to investigate the presence of gender differences in science achievement. Although previous studies of gender differences in science achievement have relied on methodology that has not adequately accounted for the school effects, this study used the design effect and hierarchical linear modeling (multilevel analysis) to explore whether there were significant gender differences. The relative contribution of schools to student achievement was examined, and school-level differences were found to contribute significantly toward explaining variations in student performance. Although statistically significant sex differences were found in physics achievement for 10-year-old, 14-year-old, and year-12 students, school effects were much more powerful in explaining student differences (9–19%) when compared with gender (3%).  相似文献   

13.
Data from 30 studies of the magnitude of gender differences in science achievement previously examined in two separate reviews were synthesized using modern methods for meta-analysis. Two meta-analysis methodologies were used: analyses of effect sizes (standardized mean differences) and vote-counting estimation procedures. Analyses revealed that magnitudes of gender differences in science achievement varied according to the subject matter under study. Males showed significant advantages in studies of biology, general science, and physics, but significant differences were not found for studies of mixed science content, and geology and earth sciences, or in a single study of chemistry. However, in all cases the numbers of effects examining each subject-matter area were quite small (seven or less). Also, studies which had focused on gender differences evidenced larger gender differences than other studies. Other possible predictors of the magnitudes of gender differences, such as grade level of the subjects and test length, did not account for significant amounts of variation among these study outcomes. Consequently, they also did not provide as strong an explanation of the patterns of gender differences as did subject matter and focus on gender.  相似文献   

14.
Abstract

In previous research, participation in science studies in senior secondary school has been related to both background characteristics of students and to earlier achievements and interests. This paper reports an investigation of participation in combinations of subjects in senior secondary schools in Australia which embody different science orientations. It shows that different combinations of factors shape participation in physical science’ and ‘biological and other science’ types of course. Both are favoured by investigative interest but participation in a physical science course type is strongly associated with high levels of earlier school achievement in numeracy and gender whereas participation in a biological and other science course type is more strongly associated with social background and curriculum influences. In addition the paper suggests that the low participation by females in physical science courses should be interpreted in terms of an interactive influence of gender, earlier achievement and socio‐economic background.  相似文献   

15.
The achievement gap between science classrooms and historic inequalities   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
In the past politics deprived many African children (in particular) in South Africa the opportunity of achieving quality education. This was most especially true in subjects such as mathematics and science. In this research the science teacher-level data from Third International Mathematics and Science Study 1999 (TIMSS’99) were analysed with a view to evaluating the politicized gap between what are viewed as well-functioning and provisioned classrooms (predominantly housing White teachers and White or mixed classes in urban areas) and not well-functioning and poorly provisioned classrooms (largely African teachers and African pupils in peri-urban and rural areas). The data are explored in this article to ascertain and gain insight into similarities and differences in classroom conditions, teacher actions and the relationship between these and pupils’ achievement in science in South African classrooms. Significant differences in achievement were found between classrooms headed by teachers with different racial profiles, where the pupils’ average class science score taught by White teachers was about 300 points more (on a scale with an international mean score of 500 points) than children taught in classrooms by African teachers. Furthermore, the average class science score in rural areas was about 130 points below classes in urban areas. These blatant inequalities contribute to what is believed to be an increasing gap in achievement in science. Whilst these results are not altogether unexpected, there were some interesting results in terms of possible explanatory factors for the gaps in achievement which have ramifications for policymakers.  相似文献   

16.
It is anticipated that by the year 2000 Canadian women will make up approximately 50% of the Canadian labour force. Despite this seemingly positive trend toward equitable gender-based participation in the labour force, females are extremely under represented in the scientific and technological fields (Statistics Canada, 1993). Females who are excluded or exclude themselves from the study of mathematics and science, limit career options and advancement opportunities in areas that drive and dominate social and economic trends. The underutilization of females in careers dependent upon science and mathematics expertise extends beyond the issue of individual actualization of potential, and has important consequences for society; significantly, as a threat to the economic prosperity of the nation. The key questions associated with this problem are: What are the factors which delimit and enhance female participation and achievement in the sciences? What can counsellors, educators and parents do to change this trend? Previous research has explored several dimensions, however, the greatest emphasis has been given to the particular barriers girls and women face. Relatively limited work has been given to factors associated with female success in the sciences. This paper reviews our current understanding of the problem, and describes a current research study that attempts to address some of the problems associated with previous theory and research in this area.  相似文献   

17.
Girls are underrepresented in mathematical and science Olympiads, global informal learning activities which often serve as stepping stones for admission to top universities and future STEM careers. The present article aims to investigate the role of implicit gender‐science stereotypes on representation and achievement among participants of the German Chemistry Olympiad using a cross‐sectional online study (N = 445, mean age 16.5 years, 51% female) entailing the Implicit Association Test and two motivational scales. This study was the first of its kind to use moderated mediation analysis to examine the effects of gender‐science stereotypes on participation and achievement, mediated by the expectancy and value beliefs self‐concept and topic interest. We found that in the female group, gender‐science stereotypes negatively predicted the participants' willingness to continue in the competition. This relationship was mediated through topic interest. In addition, we found self‐concept predictive for further participation among female participants, as well as for competition score among both gender groups. Furthermore, topic interest positively predicted male participants' willingness to continue with the competition. The results underline the negative association of implicit gender stereotypes with female participation in the German Chemistry Olympiad. Organizations such as the German Chemistry Olympiad should therefore critically reflect on existing gender biases within their own structure. In doing so they can create an environment that has the potential to heighten self‐concept and interest for all participants equally. Our findings add to existing expectancy‐value research in the context of gender differences in mathematics and science, supporting potential strategies toward gender equity.  相似文献   

18.
The gender gap continues to exist in physics education. The author examines the gender-related differences in the relations and strengths among personal epistemologies, motivation, and achievement in physics among Turkish high school students. Established questionnaires were used to identify students’ personal epistemologies, motivations and achievement in physics. A total of 567 ninth-grade students from three high schools in Mugla Province in Turkey participated in the study. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used to determine the gender differences in the relations and strengths among personal epistemology, motivation, and achievement in physics. Results from the structural equation modeling showed that students’ personal epistemologies directly predicted their motivation and indirectly their achievement in physics. Multigroup structural equation modeling analysis showed that the strength of the relations between personal epistemology and motivation varied for female and male students. Implications for future directions are discussed.  相似文献   

19.
This study explores the impacts of selected early science experiences in kindergarten (frequency and duration of teachers' teaching of science, availability of sand/water table and science areas, and children's participation in cooking and science equipment activities) on children's science achievement in kindergarten and third grade using data for 8,642 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Kindergarten cohort (ECLS‐K). A theoretical model that depicts the relationships between the study variables was developed and tested using structural equation modeling. Results demonstrated that availability of science materials in kindergarten classrooms facilitated teachers' teaching of science and children's participation in science activities. Likewise, the frequency and the duration of kindergarten science teaching was a significant predictor of children's science activities but not of the children's end of kindergarten science achievement scores. Children's engagement with science activities that involved using science equipment also was not a significant predictor of their end of kindergarten science achievement. However, children's participation in cooking activities was. Children's prior knowledge, motivation, socio‐economic status, and gender were all statistically significant predictors of their science achievement at the end of kindergarten and end of third grade. Results of this study indicate that early science experiences provided in kindergarten are not strong predictors of children's immediate and later science achievement. Findings of the study suggest that the limited time and nature of science instruction might be related to the limited effect of the science experiences. Implications for teacher education programs and educational policy development are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 217–235, 2011  相似文献   

20.
In this paper, underlying principles for guiding participation in human science research are outlined. These research principles were originally utilized as a guiding framework for the author's phenomenological study of the change to a new world‐view identified as the paradigm shift (Dudley, 1987). Using this study as an example, the paper focuses on the integration of participatory concepts in research. The concept of participation as ethics discussed in this paper includes the following dimensions: integrity congruence among problem, paradigm, and method; process‐orientation a commitment to research as a shared journey of discovery; empathetic relationships an ethic of mutuality; and empowerment in community a view of knowledge as communal achievement. Finally, a participatory ethic is discussed in terms of its congruence with values that are at the heart of the new social science paradigm.  相似文献   

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