An Attempt to Explain the Gender Gap Reversal in Academic Achievement in Arab Countries
Abstract Girls outperforming boys in academic achievement is attracting a lot of attention from educational researchers, and there is a growing literature on the factors explaining this reverse gender gap. This study aims to contribute to the literature by explaining the gender gap reversal in acade...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Arabic |
| Published: |
Knowledge E
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Gulf Education and Social Policy Review |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.18502/gespr.v3i1.11496 |
| _version_ | 1818027562504290304 |
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| author | Donia Smaali Bouhlila Imen Hentati |
| author_facet | Donia Smaali Bouhlila Imen Hentati |
| author_sort | Donia Smaali Bouhlila |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Girls outperforming boys in academic achievement is attracting a lot of attention from educational researchers, and there is a growing literature on the factors explaining this reverse gender gap. This study aims to contribute to the literature by explaining the gender gap reversal in academic achievement of students in four Arab countries participating in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012. Using Amartya Sen's capability approach, we define the desire to learn as an emotional capability. The latter is a hypothetical construct and a latent (unobservable) variable that we assume predicts achievement positively. We employ the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) technique to assess the desire to learn. The MIMIC estimation model is used to calculate the desire to learn scores for males and females. Our findings demonstrate that girls have a far higher score of desire to learn than boys which explains their outperformance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T04:49:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-37cb18957a2549c4941177846b8901e6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2709-0191 |
| language | Arabic |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T04:49:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Knowledge E |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gulf Education and Social Policy Review |
| spelling | doaj.art-37cb18957a2549c4941177846b8901e62022-12-22T02:01:38ZaraKnowledge EGulf Education and Social Policy Review2709-01912022-07-01319112310.18502/gespr.v3i1.11496gespr.v3i1.11496An Attempt to Explain the Gender Gap Reversal in Academic Achievement in Arab CountriesDonia Smaali BouhlilaImen HentatiAbstract Girls outperforming boys in academic achievement is attracting a lot of attention from educational researchers, and there is a growing literature on the factors explaining this reverse gender gap. This study aims to contribute to the literature by explaining the gender gap reversal in academic achievement of students in four Arab countries participating in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012. Using Amartya Sen's capability approach, we define the desire to learn as an emotional capability. The latter is a hypothetical construct and a latent (unobservable) variable that we assume predicts achievement positively. We employ the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) technique to assess the desire to learn. The MIMIC estimation model is used to calculate the desire to learn scores for males and females. Our findings demonstrate that girls have a far higher score of desire to learn than boys which explains their outperformance.https://doi.org/10.18502/gespr.v3i1.11496academic achievement, capability approach, desire to learn, gender gap reversal, multiple indicators multiple causes (mimic) |
| spellingShingle | Donia Smaali Bouhlila Imen Hentati An Attempt to Explain the Gender Gap Reversal in Academic Achievement in Arab Countries Gulf Education and Social Policy Review academic achievement, capability approach, desire to learn, gender gap reversal, multiple indicators multiple causes (mimic) |
| title | An Attempt to Explain the Gender Gap Reversal in Academic Achievement in Arab Countries |
| title_full | An Attempt to Explain the Gender Gap Reversal in Academic Achievement in Arab Countries |
| title_fullStr | An Attempt to Explain the Gender Gap Reversal in Academic Achievement in Arab Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Attempt to Explain the Gender Gap Reversal in Academic Achievement in Arab Countries |
| title_short | An Attempt to Explain the Gender Gap Reversal in Academic Achievement in Arab Countries |
| title_sort | attempt to explain the gender gap reversal in academic achievement in arab countries |
| topic | academic achievement, capability approach, desire to learn, gender gap reversal, multiple indicators multiple causes (mimic) |
| url | https://doi.org/10.18502/gespr.v3i1.11496 |
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