GSE/RES: Who Likes Math? International Trends Among Eighth-Grade Girls and Boys

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

Intellectual Merit: This project investigates the attitudinal and cultural factors that support gender segregation of scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) fields. Survey data from 59 countries at four time points will be used to address the following questions: How have eighth grade boys' and girls' attitudes toward mathematics changed between 1995 and 2007? How do these attitudes vary across countries? And how is the gender composition of engineering degree programs affected by adolescents? attitudes toward mathematics? Gender equality is sometimes found in unexpected places. This is nowhere more evident than in the gender composition of STEM, specifically women's strong representation in these fields in many reputably gender-traditional developing and transitional societies. The higher levels of gender segregation in advanced industrial labor markets and educational systems is partly attributable to structural features, including their large service sectors and highly diversified curricula. But evidence is growing that modern forms of gender segregation also reflect conscious choices by girls and women to avoid mathematically-intensive physical science and engineering fields in favor of pursuits that are regarded as more human centered. Using descriptive trend analyses and multivariate, multilevel modeling, this research will investigate (1) international trends in adolescents' attitudes toward mathematics, (2) the conditions under which girls and boys develop more positive attitudes toward mathematics, and (3) the process by which gender-differentiated attitudes are translated into sex-segregation of engineering degree programs. Three attitudinal dimensions will be considered: affinity toward mathematics, valuation of mathematical skills, and self-confidence in mathematics. Attitudinal data are taken from four waves of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS). Central research hypotheses are that girls' attitudes toward mathematics will be less positive and more gender-differentiated in advanced industrial countries, and that attitudes toward mathematics will better predict women's share of engineering degrees in advanced industrial than in transitional or developing countries. These hypotheses derive from theoretical arguments about the declining salience of existential security and the rise of cultural mandates for self-expression in affluent societies. Broader Impacts: Persistent shortage of STEM workers is a growing problem that threatens to undermine national development and economic competitiveness around the globe. Tapping the vast pool of potential female scientists and engineers has become a top priority of employers and a key policy goal of diverse national governments and international organizations. But most efforts to recruit women to these activities in industrial societies have been unsuccessful because little has been done to undermine stereotypes that lead girls to see themselves as unsuited for such work. Besides benefits to society as a whole, this research aims to serve women by identifying cultural and attitudinal obstacles to their participation in fields characterized by better payoff to educational investment and greater opportunities for advancement than typical female-dominated fields. The strong male-labeling of mathematically-intensive work limits perceived options of future generations of girls and deprives all citizens of women's potential human capital contributions. By comparing attitudes and outcomes across a broad range of contexts, this research can help identify the appropriate locus for policy efforts aimed at integrating STEM fields.