Who likes math where? Gender differences in eighth-graders’ attitudes around the world

Charles, Maria; Harr, Bridget; Cech, Erin A.; Hendley, Alexandra

doi:10.1080/09620214.2014.895140

Cited by 102 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…For example, expectancy-value and expectation-states theories emphasize the influence of cultural milieu, the interactional nature of interest formation and persistence, and the cumulative influence of these processes on both individual outcomes and the structures of opportunity in STEM education (Ridgeway & Correll 2004; Shepherd, 2011; Eccles 2011a, 2011b; Ridgeway 2014). Extensive analyses of cross-national data confirm the importance of cultural beliefs as predicted by these theories: gender gaps in STEM achievement, interest, and postsecondary participation are strongly associated with national-level measures of adherence to implicit male=math stereotypes (Nosek et al 2009) and gender-essentialist ideology (Charles & Bradley 2009; Charles et al 2014) as well as indicators of social and economic gender equity (Guiso et al 2008; Penner 2008; Else-Quest et al 2010). Studies indicate that macro-level cultural conditions affect gender differences in STEM interest through a variety of causal mechanisms: they are encoded in and conveyed through parents’, teachers’, and significant others’ attitudes and expectations (Fredricks & Eccles 2002; Herbert & Stipek 2005; Jacobs et al 2005; Jacobs et al 2006; Riegle-Crumb & Humphries 2012; Lavy & Sand 2015), pervasive cultural cues about scientists (Murphy et al 2007; Cheryan et al 2009; Beilock et al 2010; Stout et al 2011; Cheryan et al 2011), the dearth of positive female role models and mentors (Carrell et al 2010), and school environments and friend networks (Riegle-Crumb et al 2006; Legewie & DiPrete 2014a).…”

Section: Gender and Stem Educationmentioning

confidence: 79%

STEM Education

2015

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Improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, especially for traditionally disadvantaged groups, is widely recognized as pivotal to the U.S.’s long-term economic growth and security. In this article, we review and discuss current research on STEM education in the U.S., drawing on recent research in sociology and related fields. The reviewed literature shows that different social factors affect the two major components of STEM education attainment: (1) attainment of education in general, and (2) attainment of STEM education relative to non-STEM education conditional on educational attainment. Cognitive and social psychological characteristics matter for both major components, as do structural influences at the neighborhood, school, and broader cultural levels. However, while commonly used measures of socioeconomic status (SES) predict the attainment of general education, social psychological factors are more important influences on participation and achievement in STEM versus non-STEM education. Domestically, disparities by family SES, race, and gender persist in STEM education. Internationally, American students lag behind those in some countries with less economic resources. Explanations for group disparities within the U.S. and the mediocre international ranking of US student performance require more research, a task that is best accomplished through interdisciplinary approaches.

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Section: Gender and Stem Educationmentioning

confidence: 79%

STEM Education

2015

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“…Some studies give evidence that compared to boys, girls lack confidence in doing mathematics and view mathematics as a male domain and are anxious about mathematics (Asante, 2012;Hyde, Fennema, Ryan, Frost, & Hopp, 1990). Charles, Harr, Cech, and Hendley (2014) found that older eighth graders are more likely to have a positive ATM than their younger counterparts. Similarly, Chaman and Callingham (2013) found significant differences between students in the same class for ATM in favour of older students.…”

Section: Student Levelmentioning

confidence: 96%

How do student and classroom characteristics affect attitude toward mathematics? A multivariate multilevel analysis

Kiwanuka

Damme

Noortgate

et al. 2016

School Effectiveness and School Improvement

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This study investigated the effects of student and classroom characteristics on math self-confidence, perceived usefulness, and enjoyment of mathematics as multiple outcomes. A sample of 7th-grade students from 78 classes of 49 schools was studied. The data were collected using, among other instruments, an attitude questionnaire. The results of the multivariate multilevel analysis showed that the variance of the 3 indicators was situated mostly at the student level, and that the indicators correlated strongly at the class level. Higher prior mathematics achievement and positive parental beliefs and attitudes were significant predictors of higher scores across the 3 indicators. Each of the baseline indicators was significantly associated with its corresponding final indicator. At the classroom level, classroom assessment was significantly associated with less endorsement of all 3 indicators, higher levels of classroom modeling with greater endorsement of perceived usefulness of mathematics, and classroom questioning with greater enjoyment of mathematics. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…Mathematical and technical work is often depicted as abstract, rigid, tedious and offering few opportunities for interacting with other humans and allowing for an emphatic creativity or the expression of individual personalities into the work process (Faulkner 2007;Osborne, Simon and Collins 2003). Thus the popular perception of mathematical fields is that they are less likely than other work to be perceived as enjoyable and self-expressive (Charles et al 2014). Previous studies in the United States have demonstrated that students who value people-oriented jobs and working with other people rarely aspired to and entered male-dominated professions, including mathematics (Cech 2013;Eccles 2007;Eccles and Wang 2016).…”

Section: Stratification Theory Of Gender Essentialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender and mathematics: Pathways to mathematically intensive fields of study in Australia

Law

2018

Advances in Life Course Research

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Standards D and E of IPEd's Australian standards for editing practice, covering 'Language and illustrations' and 'Completeness and consistency'. Under these guidelines, matters of content were not edited, but were flagged for attention. The reference list was not included in the copy-edit. I take responsibility for any remaining errors of English grammar and appropriate style. The corrections and suggestions made by Elizabeth and Jon have always been useful for my thesis. Elizabeth and Jon not only corrected my grammatical errors and typos, but also gave me suggestions on how to write academic English more clearly and on the formatting of my thesis. In case I had further questions on their comments, they were willing to answer them and clarify their comments. I appreciated the high quality of their editing services.

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Who likes math where? Gender differences in eighth-graders’ attitudes around the world

Cited by 102 publications

References 52 publications

STEM Education

STEM Education

How do student and classroom characteristics affect attitude toward mathematics? A multivariate multilevel analysis

Gender and mathematics: Pathways to mathematically intensive fields of study in Australia

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