Gender differences in the intention to study math increase with math performance
Abstract Even though females currently outnumber males in higher education, they remain largely underrepresented in math-related fields of study, with no sign of improvement during the past decades. To better understand which students drive this underrepresentation, we use PISA 2012 data on 251,120...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39079-z |
| _version_ | 1827910743700275200 |
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| author | Thomas Breda Elyès Jouini Clotilde Napp |
| author_facet | Thomas Breda Elyès Jouini Clotilde Napp |
| author_sort | Thomas Breda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Even though females currently outnumber males in higher education, they remain largely underrepresented in math-related fields of study, with no sign of improvement during the past decades. To better understand which students drive this underrepresentation, we use PISA 2012 data on 251,120 15-year-old students in 61 countries to analyse boys’ and girls’ educational intentions along the ability distribution on math assessment tests. We analyze the percentages of boys and girls intending to pursue math-related studies or careers as a function of math performance. First, we show that for both boys and girls, there is a positive and linear relation between the probability of intending to pursue math and math performance. Second, the positive relation is stronger among boys than among girls. In particular, the gender gap in student intentions to pursue math-related studies or careers is close to zero among the poorest performers in math and increases steadily with math performance. Third, as a consequence, the gender gap in math performance, to the detriment of girls, is larger among students intending to pursue math than in the general student population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:54:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e85213d39f084635976af745691be753 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:54:56Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-e85213d39f084635976af745691be7532023-07-02T11:20:06ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-06-0114111210.1038/s41467-023-39079-zGender differences in the intention to study math increase with math performanceThomas Breda0Elyès Jouini1Clotilde Napp2Paris School of EconomicsCNRS, 3 rue Michel AngeCNRS, 3 rue Michel AngeAbstract Even though females currently outnumber males in higher education, they remain largely underrepresented in math-related fields of study, with no sign of improvement during the past decades. To better understand which students drive this underrepresentation, we use PISA 2012 data on 251,120 15-year-old students in 61 countries to analyse boys’ and girls’ educational intentions along the ability distribution on math assessment tests. We analyze the percentages of boys and girls intending to pursue math-related studies or careers as a function of math performance. First, we show that for both boys and girls, there is a positive and linear relation between the probability of intending to pursue math and math performance. Second, the positive relation is stronger among boys than among girls. In particular, the gender gap in student intentions to pursue math-related studies or careers is close to zero among the poorest performers in math and increases steadily with math performance. Third, as a consequence, the gender gap in math performance, to the detriment of girls, is larger among students intending to pursue math than in the general student population.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39079-z |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Breda Elyès Jouini Clotilde Napp Gender differences in the intention to study math increase with math performance Nature Communications |
| title | Gender differences in the intention to study math increase with math performance |
| title_full | Gender differences in the intention to study math increase with math performance |
| title_fullStr | Gender differences in the intention to study math increase with math performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender differences in the intention to study math increase with math performance |
| title_short | Gender differences in the intention to study math increase with math performance |
| title_sort | gender differences in the intention to study math increase with math performance |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39079-z |
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