Sex Differences in Teachers' Evaluative Feedback and Students' Expectancies for Success in Mathematics

Heller, Kirby A.; Parsons, Jacquelynne E.

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1981.tb03143.x

Cited by 14 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…There is evidence that boys typically expect to perform better on mathematical tasks than girls (Deaux, 1976;Parsons, 1983); however, other research shows that girls may hold lower expectancies for success than boys on unfamiliar tasks or those that provide little information about personal capabilities but that no sex differences emerge for familiar tasks or when tasks convey clear information about capabilities (Heller & Parsons, 1981;Lenney, 1977;Lenney & Gold, 1982;Schunk & Lilly, 1984). Given these considerations, the lack of sex differences does not seem surprising.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer models: Influence on children's self-efficacy and achievement.

Schunk¹,

Hanson²

1985

Journal of Educational Psychology

357

253

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Abstract:According to Bandura (1977Bandura ( , 1981Bandura ( , 1982, psychological procedures change behavior in part by creating and strengthening perceived self-efficacy, which refers to judgments of one's performance capabilities in a given domain of activity. Self-efficacy can influence choice of activities, effort expended, persistence, and task accomplishments. Efficacy information is conveyed through actual performances, vicarious (observational) experiences, forms of persuasion, and physiological indexes (e.g., heart rate). Article:Modeling is hypothesized to be an important source of information about one's level of efficacy. People can learn new skills from observing others (Rosenthal & Bandura, 1978;Rosenthal & Zimmerman, 1978), and the belief that one has acquired skills can raise self-efficacy (Schunk, 1984). Modeling also is a form of social comparison. Individuals who observe others perform a task are apt to believe that they can as well (Bandura, 1981), because modeling implicitly conveys to observers that they possess the necessary capabilities to succeed (Schunk, 1984). This sense of efficacy is substantiated later as observers successfully perform the task.Despite these ideas, little research exists on how modeling affects children's self-efficacy. Zimmerman and Ringle (1981) exposed children to an adult model who unsuccessfully attempted to solve a wire puzzle problem for either a high (5 min) or low (30 s) time period and who verbalized either statements of confidence or pessimism. Children judged their self-efficacy for solving the puzzle before and after the modeling. Compared with children's self-efficacy prior to modeling, children who observed a pessimistic model persist for 5 min significantly lowered their self-efficacy judgments. Schunk (1981) provided children deficient in division skills with either cognitive modeling of division operations or didactic instruction, along with practice opportunities, over sessions. During cognitive modeling, children observed an adult model verbalize operations while solving problems, whereas didactic children studied explanatory material on their own. Children who received cognitive modeling solved more division problems correctly on the posttest, although both treatments enhanced selfefficacy equally well.The models in both of these studies were adults. It is possible that modeling would have exerted greater effects on children's self-efficacy had children observed peer models. There is evidence that similarity to models in personal attributes (e.g., sex, age) and in perceived competence (skill, ability) can increase the likelihood of observational learning (Bandura, 1971(Bandura, , 1981Perry & Furukawa, 1980). People are apt to experience higher self-efficacy for performing a task well when they observe similar others succeed at the task (Bandura, 1981;Brown & Inouye, 1978;Schunk, 1984). These considerations suggest that an adult teacher flawlessly demonstrating cognitive skill operations may not promote high self-efficacy in children; in particu...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer models: Influence on children's self-efficacy and achievement.

Schunk¹,

Hanson²

1985

Journal of Educational Psychology

357

253

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Many researchers have argued that females who discontinue their mathematical education in high school or soon after prematurely restrict their educational and career options (Heller and Parsons, 1981;Meece, Wigfield, and Eccles, 1990;Secada, 1989). Math has been identified as the critical filter that limits access to many high-status, high-income careers (Sells, 1980) through acting as a gateway to many careers and fields of study.…”

Section: Helen M G Wattmentioning

confidence: 98%

Explaining gendered math enrollments for NSW Australian secondary school students

Watt

2005

New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development

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“…This has prompted research emphases directed at understanding boys' and girls' mathematical participation, such as within the ExpectancyValue framework of Eccles and colleagues (e.g., Eccles (Parsons) et al, 1983;Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). Since Lucy Sells voiced social concerns about female ''underparticipation'' in maths courses by identifying maths as a ''critical filter'' which limits access to many high-status high-income careers (Sells, 1980), other researchers have also argued that many females prematurely restrict their educational and career options by discontinuing their mathematical training in high school or soon after (Heller & Parsons, 1981;Meece, Wigfield, & Eccles, 1990), with fewer females electing to study maths in post-secondary education (Bridgeman & Wendler, 1991;Lips, 1992). In the Australian context, the plethora of government policy documents and reports targeting girls' maths education also testifies to a general concern with girls' lower mathematical participation at school (see Leder & Forgasz, 1992, for a review of these curricular and professional development initiatives).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of motivation in gendered educational and occupational trajectories related to maths

Watt

2006

Educational Research and Evaluation

172

142

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This study examined the continued gender imbalance in mathematics participation in senior high, which has implications for adolescents' future careers. It confirms persisting greater male participation in maths-related educational and occupational choices among this sample of Australian youth. Gendered course-taking in maths, along with participation intentions for maths-related careers, were explained using the Expectancy-Value framework of Eccles and colleagues (Eccles (Parsons) et al., 1983;Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). The influences of maths-related self-perceptions, intrinsic and utility values, and perceived task difficulty were assessed using longitudinal data from a sample of 442 adolescents spanning Grades 9 through 11 in Sydney, Australia. Gendered mathsrelated self-perceptions and intrinsic values were the major influences on gendered educational participation in senior high maths, which subsequently predicted maths-related career aspirationsover and above prior mathematical achievement. Utility value showed a curvilinear relationship with maths-related occupational intentions moderated by gender, whereby girls with the highest utility values planned for highly maths-related careers, while boys with mid through high utility values planned similarly highly maths-related careers. Recommendations focus on ways to enhance participation in maths, especially for girls.

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Sex Differences in Teachers' Evaluative Feedback and Students' Expectancies for Success in Mathematics

Cited by 14 publications

References 6 publications

Peer models: Influence on children's self-efficacy and achievement.

Peer models: Influence on children's self-efficacy and achievement.

Explaining gendered math enrollments for NSW Australian secondary school students

The role of motivation in gendered educational and occupational trajectories related to maths

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