Working Toward Gender Equity in Math

1. How affective variables play a role in gender equity in math for girls

2. Are single gender math classes the answer?

The Data Women make up half of the U.S. workforce but represent only 24% of STEM related careers. (American Association of University Women, 2010)

NAEP reports that male students perform better on assessments than female students in grades 8 and 12 (McGraw et al., 2006).

On the 2001 SAT, males scored 42 points higher than female students in which math scores accounted for most of the difference (Groves, 2001).

Girls perform lower than boys on standardized test measures; however, girls earn higher grades in all subjects. (Streitmatter, 1997

Affective Variables

• Affective variables are feelings, attitudes and perceptions.

• Attitudes and perceptions are

crucial to studying math education for girls because they are major influences on what math courses a girl chooses when given the option to continue math or not. (Fennema, 1979)

Confidence• There is evidence that math

anxiety is slightly higher in women than in men. (Ashcraft, 2002)

• This anxiety results in lower mathematical performance in girls. Higher math anxiety and lower self-confidence does not reflect lower math abilities. (Fennema, 1979)

Stereotype Threat

• When women believe that math ability is a fixed amount rather than flexible, they are more likely to believe the stereotype that males are better at math. (The American Association of University

Women, 2010)

Barbie says, “Math class is tough.”

Stereotype ThreatA study on stereotype threat in a testing environment:

As the number of males in a classroom environment increased, math performance for females decreased. (Inzlicht & Ben-Zeev, 2000).

The authors attribute this to an “intellectually threatening

environment”.

Stereotype ThreatA study (Johns, Schmader, & Martens, 2005)

offered solutions to eliminating the negative effects of the stereotype threat:

Exposure to positive role

models

Communicating that intelligence is a malleable

trait.

Testing in same gender environments

Are single gender classrooms the solution?

Benefits to single sex classes in a co-ed public school environment:

Girls gain the socialization experiences of a co-ed school while also having the opportunity to excel in math and science in a non-stereotyping classroom setting. (Keating & Shapka, 2003, p. 953)

Research For Single Gender Math Classes

Girls perceived themselves as just as attentive in a co-ed math class but participated less and had less interaction with the teacher. (Rennie & Parker, 1997)

In a two-year experimental single gender math course in middle school, the reported “increased their confidence in their mathematics ability and their willingness to ask questions during class.” (Streitmatter, 1997)

Research Against Single Gender Math Classes

• Teachers tend to interact more with boys than girls in both praise and critical feedback. (Fennema, 1979)

• Single gender schools can cause inferior education for girls. (Fennema, 1979)

More Research is Needed

How can teachers improve a girl’s perceptions, confidence and anxiety that contribute to the success in mathematics?

Research on teacher practices and interactions within a co-ed math class may shed more light on what can be

done to increase confidence and perceptions of female students while

in the presence of male students