Gender Equity in Mathematics: Beliefs of Students,Parents, and Teachers

The attitudes about mathematics held by girls and boys participating in a regional mathematics contest, their parents, teachers, and mathematics coaches were investigated. Quantitative data regarding mathematics as a male domain, perception of importance of mathematics, confidence in learning mathematics, effectance motivation, and usefulness of mathematics were obtained. It was found that the traditional gender‐based differences in the beliefs regarding mathematics persist even in these mathematically talented students. Furthermore, parents' responses to the questions regarding the role of mathematics revealed that mothers, more than fathers, focused on the computational aspects of mathematics, while fathers more than mothers mentioned the role of mathematics in science or as a language. Boys, fathers, and certain mathematics teachers admitted to a low level of gender stereotyping, as evidenced by their scores on the Mathematics as a Male Domain subscale. However, the girls, mothers, and mathematics coaches did not endorse this stereotyping. Unsolicited responses of girls and mothers, in fact, emphatically denied that gender stereotyping exists. These findings are discussed in terms of the need to resolve the essential conflicts between students', parents', and teachers' deeply held beliefs regarding the nature of mathematics, gender differences in mathematical abilities, and the desire for equity within mathematics education.     

Using Metaphors to Unpack Student Beliefs About Mathematics

This paper reports on an exploratory study of the mathematical beliefs of a group of ninth and tenth grade students at a large, college preparatory, private school in the Southeastern United States. These beliefs were revealed using contemporary metaphor theory. A thematic analysis of the students' metaphors for mathematics indicated that students had well developed and complex views about mathematics including math as: an Interconnected Structure, a Hierarchical Structure, a Journey of Discovery, an Uncertain Journey, and a Tool. Another prevalent theme revealed by the metaphors was that students believe perseverance is needed for success in mathematics. The data also suggest an impact of gender and tracking on students beliefs about mathematics. Creating metaphors for mathematics provided a catalyst for student reflection, class discussion, and qualitative data, which could aid program evaluation. Several areas for future research were identified through this exploratory study.     

A Comparison of TIMSS Items Using Cognitive Domains

The results of international assessments such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) are often reported as rankings of nations. Focusing solely on national rank can result in invalid inferences about the relative quality of educational systems that can, in turn, lead to negative consequences for teachers and students. This study seeks an alternative data analysis method that allows for improved inferences about international performance on the TIMSS. In this study, four classroom teachers categorized a sample of TIMSS items by the cognitive domains of knowing and applying using the definitions provided by the TIMSS 2011 Assessment Frameworks. Items of different cognitive domains were analyzed separately. This disaggregation allowed for more valid inferences to be made about student performance. Results showed almost no significant difference between the performance of U.S. students and the students of five other nations. Additionally, no differences were observed in U.S. students' performance on knowing items and applying items, although students from some sample nations performed significantly better on knowing items. These results suggest that policy makers, educators, and citizens should be cautious when interpreting the results of TIMSS rank tables.     

Predictors of Science Fair Participation Using the Theory of Planned Behavior

The purpose of this study was to use The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to examine factors that predict junior high and secondary students' attitude toward participating in a district science fair competition (attitude toward behavior), beliefs about who would approve or disapprove of participation in a science fair (subjective norm), and perceptions of control about participating in the science fair (perceived behavioral control). Factors used to predict these included gender, type of school (public or private), grade level, GPA, participation in a gifted class, participation in a research course, requirement to complete a science fair project, and level of anxiety about completing a science fair project. Three hundred three participants completed a standard TPB questionnaire and the State-Trait Anxiety Indicator. Multiple regression models revealed that subjective norm and participation in a gifted class were predictors of attitude toward the behavior. Attitude toward the behavior, the science fair project counting toward a grade in science class, the parent's level of education, and the science fair entry being required predicted subjective norm. A discriminant function analysis found that type of school (public or private), parents' level of education, participation in a research program at school, grade level, and trait anxiety were the strongest predictors of perceived behavioral control. It was concluded that science fair entry appears to be involuntary, in conflict with NSTA's Position Statement on Science Fairs. Typically junior high students (whose parents have a higher level of education) attending private schools are required to enter science fairs, and the entry counts toward a grade in science class.     

Gender differences in the mathematics achievements of German primary school students: results from a German large-scale study

In Germany, national standards for mathematics for the end of primary school were established in 2004. In the present study, data were collected to evaluate these standards, and were used to compare the mathematical skills of girls and boys. Many studies have shown that gender differences are strongest at the highest levels of education. The findings from primary school are less consistent. Thus, in our study we analyzed achievement differences in a sample of approximately 10,000 third and fourth graders, representative of the German elementary school population. Gender-specific competencies were compared in the different content domains, both for the general mathematical competence, and for the cognitive levels of the tasks. Overall, boys outperformed girls, but substantial variation was found between the content domains and general mathematical achievement. Differences were higher in grade three than in grade four. The proportion of boys in the classroom did not appear to affect the individual level of performance. Analysis of the items on which boys or girls clearly outperformed each other reproduced a pattern of specific item characteristics predicting gender bias consistent with those reported in previous studies in other countries.     

Preservice Teachers of High School Mathematics: Success,Failure, and Persistence in the Face of Mathematical Challenges

The goal of this study was to identify variables related to success and resilience in an undergraduate, high school mathematics teacher education program. Over a five‐year period, we tracked the academic performance and achievement motivation goals of multiple cohorts of students. Students who successfully completed their degrees had higher grade point average (GPAs) upon entering the program, earned higher grades in their first college mathematics course, and failed fewer courses than students who left the program or university. Learning and performance motivational goals did not predict success in the program. Performance goals decreased over time. Nearly half the successful students repeated one or more mathematics courses. Ten students completed their degrees, obtained a teaching license, and are teaching despite the need for multiple repetitions of the same mathematics courses. These persistent students did not differ from their peers in motivational goals. Our results suggest that although students with higher GPAs and initial mathematics grades were more likely to complete the program, students who experienced challenges in mathematics courses were able to succeed. We discuss the implications of these results for recruiting, advising, and retention of students in mathematics education programs.     

Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Mathematics Among Third- and Fifth-Grade Students: A Descriptive Study

A survey on attitudes toward mathematics of third- and fifth-grade students enrolled in a large urban school district was conducted in the spring of 1994 as part of a review of the mathematics program. Student responses to survey items were analyzed with respect to gender and grade level. Although girls and boys were equally likely to indicate that they like mathematics, in both Grades 3 and 5, boys were more likely than girls to report being good at mathematics. This result has often been reported for older students but has rarely been explored in younger children. Some gender and grade differences were observed in students' attitudes towards the specific strands of mathematics. Both girls and boys in Grade 5 were more likely than students in Grade 3 to believe that mathematics was relevant to their lives. Virtually all children thought that both girls and boys needed to study mathematics. No gender or grade differences in students' beliefs regarding the process of learning mathematics were observed. The results support the need for further research to identify variables that influence the development of student perceptions and attitudes toward mathematics during elementary school.     

An In‐depth Analysis of Achievement Gaps Between Seventh and Eighth Grades in the TIMSS Database

Middle school data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) are analyzed in this article to compare achievement difference between seventh and eighth grades. The statistical computing involves a selective subtraction of item scores in more than 40 countries. The research findings indicate that not all TIMSS items have resulted in a higher mean score at the upper grade level. Item features are discussed to characterize part of the released TIMSS instrument that generates a higher average score at the lower grade. This empirical study may help enrich understanding of the TIMSS benchmark among mathematics and science educators.     

Kinks in the STEM Pipeline: Tracking STEM Graduation Rates Using Science and Mathematics Performance

In an effort to maintain the global competitiveness of the United States, ensuring a strong Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce is essential. The purpose of this study was to identify high school courses that serve as predictors of success in college level gatekeeper courses, which in turn led to the successful completion of STEM degrees. Using a purposive sample of 893 students who had declared a STEM major between the fall of 2006 and the spring of 2008, data were collected on students' high school grades, college grades, national test scores, grade point average, gender, and ethnicity. Using analysis of variance, correlations, multiple discriminant function analysis, and multiple regression models we found that high school calculus, physics, and chemistry (respectively) were predictors of success in STEM gatekeeper college courses. Then using those courses, we constructed a predictive model of STEM degree completion. The implications of this study highlight and reinforce the importance of providing rigorous mathematics and science courses at the high school level, as well as provide some evidence of a potential mediated model of the relationship between high school performance, college performance, and graduating with a STEM degree.     

Math clubs and their potentials: making mathematics fun and exciting. A case study of a math club

The purpose of this study is to describe the results obtained from a survey whose goal was to examine the combination of variables that have contributed to the success of a middle school math club. This is a case of a middle school in which the students are extremely successful in mathematics, and where the majority of the students voluntarily attend its math club. The results of the study show that the students have positive attitudes about mathematics and the club, and that some of the reasons that influenced them to attend the club were those of being with friends and eating donuts at the club. The results were similar for students of both genders and all grades. In addition, since positive attitudes are associated with higher levels of math achievement, such clubs have the potential to encourage students to enrol in additional mathematics classes while in high school, as well as pursuing mathematics related careers.     

Gender Gap Trends on Mathematics Exams Position Girls and Young Women for STEM Careers

Nine years of results on 4.2 million of Indiana's Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP) mathematics (math) exams (grades 3–10) taken after the implementation of No Child Left Behind have been used to determine gender gaps and their associated trends. Sociocultural factors were investigated by comparing math gender gaps and gap trends for (a) state public schools, (b) state nonpublic schools, (c) a low‐performing metropolitan school, and (d) a high‐performing suburban school. To control for changing sociocultural factors, multiregression analyses were conducted to predict grade‐level (3–10) gender gaps and math scale scores using socioeconomic and ethnicity variables. The underrepresentation of females in earning advanced STEM degrees was investigated by determining the gender of the highest performer on the ISTEP math exams in grades 3–10 for each of state's 292 school corporations. Boys' percentages were higher across all grades by about a 2:1 ratio, similar to high‐end results on Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) math exams. Simulations of distributions for d = .27 and variance ratio = 1.13 fitted 2013 college‐bound SAT math empirical data. Results of the analyses of the state's ISTEP math exam data and the 2013 SAT math scores of college‐bound seniors support the arguments that girls and young women possess the abilities to pursue STEM careers that require advanced mathematical skills.     

Student Competence in Understanding the Matter Concept and Its Implications for Science Curriculum Standards

Using the US national sample from the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), this study examined students' competence levels in understanding the matter concept at grades 3, 4, 7, 8 and high school graduation, and compared them to the expectations in the US national science education standards. It was found that third‐grade students were developing understanding on mixtures, and fourth‐grade students were developing understanding on separating mixtures; seventh‐ and eighth‐grade students were only at the beginning level of differentiating chemical properties from physical properties; they were not ready for the particulate model of chemical change. High school physical science specialization students were still at the developing level of understanding kinetic and atomic models of chemical and physical changes; they may not be able to master those theories. The findings suggest that the Benchmarks for Science Literacy and Atlas for Science Literacy may have overestimated the competences of elementary, middle school, and high school students.     

The Road to Reform: A Grounded Theory Study of Parents' and Teachers' Influence on Elementary School Science and Mathematics

Though elementary teacher educators introduce new, reform‐based strategies in science and mathematics methods courses, researchers wondered how novices negotiate reform strategies once they enter the elementary school culture. Given that the extent of parents' and veteran teachers' influence on novice teachers is largely unknown, this grounded theory study explored parents' and teachers' expectations of children's optimal science and mathematics learning in the current era of reform. Data consisted of semi‐structured, open‐ended interviews with novice teachers (n = 20), veteran teachers (n = 9), and parents (n = 28). Researchers followed three stages of coding procedures to develop a logic model connecting participants' discrete designations of the landscape, regulating phenomena, contextual orientation, and desired outcomes. This logic model helped researchers develop propositions for future research on the interactive nature of parents' and teachers' influential role in elementary science and mathematics education. Implications encourage science and mathematics teacher educators—as well as school administrators—to explicitly develop and support novice teachers' ability to initiate and sustain parent/family engagement in order to create a school climate where teachers and parents are synergistically motivated to change.     

Enriching Science and Math Through Engineering

This case study reviewed the collaborative efforts of university engineers, teacher educators, and middle school teachers to advance sixth‐ and seventh‐grade students' learning through a series of project‐based engineering activities. This two‐year project enriched regular school curricula by introducing real‐world applications of science and mathematics concepts that expanded opportunities for creativity and problem‐solving, introduced problem‐based learning, and provided after‐school programming (for girls only) led by engineering students from the local university. This engineering education initiative showed significant impact on students' (1) confidence in science and mathematics; (2) effort toward science and mathematics; (3) awareness of engineering; and (4) interest in engineering as a potential career. With regard to gender, there were no significant differences between boys' and girls' responses. The girls' confidence in their own skills and potential, however, was significantly more positive than the boys' confidence in the girls. These results gave rise to new questions regarding mentor/mentee relationships and the overall effect of “girls only” mentoring.     

Mathematics teachers’ enactment of cognitively demanding tasks and students’ perception of racial differences in opportunity

This study examined whether secondary students in an urban school district perceived racial differences in opportunity to be successful in mathematics, whether those perceptions differed between students of color and white students, and the relation of those perceptions to teachers’ choice and implementation of mathematical tasks. The results of multi-level regression models based on student survey and teacher observation data revealed two primary findings: (a) students of color were more likely to perceive opportunity differences than were white students; and (b) this difference was greater in classrooms in which teachers attempted to use cognitively demanding tasks but allowed the cognitive demand to decline during the lesson. Implications for both future research and mathematics teacher education are discussed.     

A Framework for Characterizing Middle School Students' Statistical Thinking

People make use of quantitative information on a daily basis. Professional education organizations for mathematics, science, social studies, and geography recommend that students, as early as middle school, have experience collecting, organizing, representing, and interpreting data. However, research on middle school students' statistical thinking is sparse. A cohesive picture of middle school students' statistical thinking is needed to better inform curriculum developers and classroom teachers. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a framework for characterizing middle school students' thinking across 4 processes: describing data, organizing and reducing data, representing data, and analyzing and interpreting data. The validation process involved interviewing, individually, 12 students across Grades 6 through 8. Results of the study indicate that students progress through 4 levels of thinking within each statistical process. These levels of thinking were consistent with the cognitive levels postulated in a general developmental model by Biggs and Collis (1991).     

Collaborative Workshops and Student Academic Performance in Introductory College Mathematics Courses: A Study of a Treisman Model Math Excel Program

High failure rates in introductory college mathematics courses, particularly among underrepresented groups of students, have been of concern for many years. One approach to the problem experiencing some success has been Treisman's Emerging Scholars workshop model. The model involves supplemental workshops in which students solve problems in collaborative learning groups. This study reports on the effectiveness of Math Excel, an implementation of the Treisman model for introductory mathematics courses (college algebra, precalculus, differential calculus, and integral calculus) at Oregon State University over five academic terms. Regression analyses revealed a significant effect on achievement (.671 grade points on a 4‐point scale) favoring Math Excel students. Even after adjusting for prior mathematics achievement using linear regression with SAT‐M as predictor, Math Excel groups' grade averages were over half a grade point better than predicted (significant at the .001 level). This study provides supporting evidence that programs like Math Excel can help students in making a successful transition to college mathematics study.     

Factors Associated With Mathematics Achievement and Participation in Advanced Mathematics Courses: An Examination of Gender Differences From an International Perspective

This paper reports results of an exploratory study examining factors that might be associated with achievement in mathematics and participation in advanced mathematics courses in Canada, Norway, and the United States of America (USA). These factors, which were not directly related to schooling accounted for large degrees of variability, 24% to 39%, in mathematics achievement scores. Confidence in mathematics was the strongest predictor of achievement for students from Canada and Norway, whereas for the students from the USA, parents' highest education level was the highest predictor of achievement. Student home environment related variables were stronger predictors of achievement for females than for males in all three countries. The participation in advanced mathematics courses could be predicted with 72% to 76% accuracy by the same variables. In all of the three countries, the strongest predictors of participation in advanced mathematics courses were students' attitudes toward mathematics. Parents' education level, a socioeconomic related variable, was one of the strongest predictors of participation for Canadian female students and all students from the USA.     

A process of students and their instructor developing a final closed-book mathematics exam

This article describes a study, from a Canadian technical institute's upgrading mathematics course, where students played a role in developing the final closed-book exam that they sat. The study involved a process where students developed practice exams and solutions keys, students sat each other's practice exams, students evaluated classmates' solutions to the practice exams, and finally the instructor used questions from the practice exams to develop the ‘live’ final exam. Phenomenography is used to analyse interview data and report students' experiences. Through the results, claims are made that students experienced deep approaches to learning and worked as partners in learning, teaching and assessment during the process of developing the final exam with their instructor.