Cross-national patterns of gender differences in mathematics: A meta-analysis.

Abstract

A gender gap in mathematics achievement persists in some nations but not in others. In light of the underrepresentation of women in careers in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering, increasing research attention is being devoted to understanding gender differences in mathematics achievement, attitudes, and affect. The gender stratification hypothesis maintains that such gender differences are closely related to cultural variations in opportunity structures for girls and women. We meta-analyzed 2 major international data sets, the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and the Programme for International Student Assessment, representing 493,495 students 14-16 years of age, to estimate the magnitude of gender differences in mathematics achievement, attitudes, and affect across 69 nations throughout the world. Consistent with the gender similarities hypothesis, all of the mean effect sizes in mathematics achievement were very small (d < 0.15); however, national effect sizes showed considerable variability (ds = -0.42 to 0.40). Despite gender similarities in achievement, boys reported more positive math attitudes and affect (ds = 0.10 to 0.33); national effect sizes ranged from d = -0.61 to 0.89. In contrast to those of previous tests of the gender stratification hypothesis, our results point to specific domains of gender equity responsible for gender gaps in math. Gender equity in school enrollment, women's share of research jobs, and women's parliamentary representation were the most powerful predictors of cross-national variability in gender gaps in math. Results are situated within the context of existing research demonstrating apparently paradoxical effects of societal gender equity and highlight the significance of increasing girls' and women's agency cross-nationally.

The effect of gender on university students’ school performance: the case of the National School of Agriculture in Meknes, Morocco

“…There are many different points of view, a fact which makes it a contested area (Kahle 2004;Penner 2008;Guo, Tsang, Ding 2010). Some of these studies have shown significant gender achievement gaps, with boys generally outperforming girls in Math and Science (O'Reilly, McNamara 2007;Penner 2008;Else-Quest, Hyde, Linn 2010) and girls excelling at literacy subjects. Others noted that these differences were not consistent.…”

Breaking the double-edged sword of effort/trying hard: Developmental equilibrium and longitudinal relations among effort, achievement, and academic self-concept.

“…Over gender. Girls typically have lower MSCs than boys (Marsh, 1989;Else-Quest, Hyde & Linn, 2010) and these gender differences have been shown to generalize broadly over different countries in large cross-national studies such as PISA (OECD, 2015;Marsh, Hau, et al, 2006) and TIMSS (Goldman & Penner, 2014). Hence, it is reasonable to ask whether relations between MSC, MACH and effort vary as a function of gender.…”

Sociocultural Factors Influencing Gender Differences in Mathematics Attitude and Achievement for Korean Students in TIMSS 2011

“…The findings of the study can serve as an input to the national initiative to reduce gender gap in mathematics achievement (Korean Institute of Curriculum andEvaluation, 2008 &. Given there are limited studies of Asian countries (Else-Quest, et al, 2010;Lee & Lee, 2011;Shin, 2012) this study can provide additional insight on gender differences in mathematics achievement.…”

“…If girls do not perceive value in mathematics education they will put less effort, and as a consequence their performances will be expected to be low (Bleeker & Jacobs, 2004). Else-Quest, et al (2010) using the TIMSS 2003 data identified also noted that gender differences in mathematics achievement were significantly correlated with gender differences in self-confidence in mathematics. For societies where boys are expected to pursue more technical careers and take more advanced mathematics courses, boys have more opportunities to develop confidence in mathematics and in return can establish a perpetual view that boys perform better in mathematics than girls (O'Connoer-Petruso and Miranda, 2004).…”

“…The analysis of TIMSS 2003 mathematics achievement data, identified that gender differences in mathematics achievement were significantly correlated with gender differences in students' valuing of mathematics (Else-Quest, et al, 2010). If girls do not perceive value in mathematics education they will put less effort, and as a consequence their performances will be expected to be low (Bleeker & Jacobs, 2004).…”