A recent Singaporean study has shown that the perception that boys are better at mathematics affects how girls perform in the subject.
The study, focusing predominately on primary-school-aged children, adds fresh insight about stereotypes that boys have a better affinity for math than girls, further debunking the notion that there is an inherent gender difference between girls’ and boys’ “natural” mathematical ability.
The study by scientists from the University of Washington in the United States, teaming up with the National Institute of Education in Singapore, examined math gender stereotypes, math self-concepts and math scores in 300 elementary school children in Singapore.
The team found the stereotype that “math is for boys” to be prevalent in Singapore where both girls and boys excel in the subject, while a related study showed that the stronger this particular stereotype was in boys, the more they identified with being good at maths. The reverse was true for girls.
Findings such as this underscore the role and importance of social conditioning, parent, peer and teacher messaging regarding children’s, and especially girl’s, attitudes to and confidence in mathematics.
To read more about the study, go to: ‘Asian Scientist’ Magazine.
The study itself can be accessed at: Science Direct.
