Gender Gap Linked to Differential Socialization for High-Achieving Senior Mathematics Students

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1998

Publication Title

The Journal of Educational Research

Abstract

Gender equity, especially in technical areas involving mathematics, is the focus of much current research. There are three explanations offered for gender inequities: biological causes, greater variability among male students, and cultural causes. High-achieving 11th-grade mathematics students (330 boys, 213 girls) who participated in the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY) were studied. Campbell's differential socialization paradigm was used as a theoretical framework. The results uncovered a 10.8% gender gap favoring the boys. The path models for both sexes indicated that educated mothers have strong indirect effects on their children's mathematics achievement. Furthermore, the students' self-imposed pressure and persistence had important direct effects on their achievement. The mathematics self-concept had important direct effects on the boys' mathematics achievement, but it had little effect on the girls' achievement. Several macro-inequities and micro-inequities were uncovered. Findings indicate that socialization causes are responsible for these inequities.

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