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06 / 01 / 2018

The Myth That Only Brilliant People Are Good at Math and Its Implications for Diversity

Education Sciences

https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8020065

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Abstract: A common misconception about math is that it requires raw intellectual talent or “brilliance.” Only students who possess this sort of brilliance are assumed to be capable of success in math-related subjects. This harmful myth has far-reaching consequences for the success of girls and children from ethnic-minority backgrounds in these subjects. Because women and minorities are stereotyped as lacking brilliance, the myth that success in math requires this trait is a barrier that students from these groups have to overcome. In the first part of this paper, we detail the pervasiveness of this myth and explore its relation to gender and race gaps in math and beyond. In the second part, we highlight some potential sources of this myth in children’s everyday experiences and offer some strategies for debunking it.

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02 / 18 / 2018

The Gender-Equality Paradox in STEM Education

Psychological Science

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797617741719?journalCode=pssa

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Abstract: Paradoxically, the sex differences in the magnitude of relative academic strengths and pursuit of STEM degrees rose with increases in national gender equality. The gap between boys’ science achievement and girls’ reading achievement relative to their mean academic performance was near universal. A mediation analysis suggested that life-quality pressures in less gender-equal countries promote girls’ and women’s engagement with STEM subjects.

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11 / 01 / 2017

The Status of Women in STEM in Higher Education: A Review of the Literature 2007–2017

Science & Technology Libraries

https://doi.org/10.1080/0194262X.2017.1371658

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Abstract: Increased efforts to diversify science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States have drastically increased the number of studies offering insight into the experiences of women in STEM programs in higher education. This paper presents a thematic review of the literature regarding their status from 2007 to 2017 including journals, trade magazines, theses, and dissertations. It focuses on areas of recruitment, retention, barriers, and faculty issues. Stereotypes, biases, campus culture, classroom experiences, identity, and sense of belonging are also explored. The author additionally identifies gaps and suggests related areas for new research as well as implications for librarians.

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09 / 01 / 2017

Choice of Majors: Are Women Really Different from Men?

the National Bureau of Economics Research

http://www.nber.org/papers/w23735

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Abstract: Recent work suggests that women are more responsive to negative feedback than men in certain environments. We examine whether negative feedback in the form of relatively low grades in major-related classes explains gender differences in the final majors undergraduates choose. We use unique administrative data from a large private university on the East Coast from 2009-2016 to test whether women are more sensitive to grades than men, and whether the gender composition of major-related classes affects major changes.

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08 / 31 / 2016

Women 1.5 Times More Likely to Leave STEM Pipeline after Calculus Compared to Men: Lack of Mathematical Confidence a Potential Culprit

PLOS Biology

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157447

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Abstract: The substantial gender gap in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce can be traced back to the underrepresentation of women at various milestones in the career pathway. Calculus is a necessary step in this pathway and has been shown to often dissuade people from pursuing STEM fields. We examine the characteristics of students who begin college interested in STEM and either persist or switch out of the calculus sequence after taking Calculus I, and hence either continue to pursue a STEM major or are dissuaded from STEM disciplines. The data come from a unique, national survey focused on mainstream college calculus. Our analyses show that, while controlling for academic preparedness, career intentions, and instruction, the odds of a woman being dissuaded from continuing in calculus is 1.5 times greater than that for a man. Furthermore, women report they do not understand the course material well enough to continue significantly more often than men. When comparing women and men with above-average mathematical abilities and preparedness, we find women start and end the term with significantly lower mathematical confidence than men. This suggests a lack of mathematical confidence, rather than a lack of mathematically ability, may be responsible for the high departure rate of women. While it would be ideal to increase interest and participation of women in STEM at all stages of their careers, our findings indicate that if women persisted in STEM at the same rate as men starting in Calculus I, the number of women entering the STEM workforce would increase by 75%.

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07 / 16 / 2016

Do Schools Matter for High Math Achievement? Evidence from the American Mathematics Competitions

American Economic Review

https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20140308

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Abstract: This paper uses data from the American Mathematics Competitions to examine the rates at which different high schools produce high-achieving math students. There are large differences in the frequency with which students from seemingly similar schools reach high achievement levels. The distribution of unexplained school effects includes a thick tail of schools that produce many more high-achieving students than is typical. Several additional analyses suggest that the differences are not primarily due to unobserved differences in student characteristics. The differences are persistent across time, suggesting that differences in the effectiveness of educational programs are not primarily due to direct peer effects.

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03 / 11 / 2015

Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines

Science

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6219/262

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Abstract: Some scientific disciplines have lower percentages of women in academia than others. Leslie et al. hypothesized that general attitudes about the discipline would reflect the representation of women in those fields. Surveys revealed that some fields are believed to require attributes such as brilliance and genius, whereas other fields are believed to require more empathy or hard work. In fields where people thought that raw talent was required, academic departments had lower percentages of women.

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01 / 21 / 2015

Exploring international gender differences in mathematics self-concept

International Journal of Adolescence and Youth

https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2013.847850

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Abstract: This study provides an international perspective on mathematics by examnnng mathematics self-concept, achievement, and the desire to enter a career involving mathematics among eighth graders in 49 countries. Using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, this study shows that self-concept in mathematics is more closely related to the desire to enter a career using mathematics than achievement is. Further, while gender differences in mathematics self-concept are smaller in more egalitarian countries, both girls and boys have lower mathematics self-concepts and less interest in mathematics careers in these countries. These findings reveal a policy paradox: policies aimed at training the next generation of STEM professionals often highlight the need to close the gender gap, but countries with smaller gender gaps have fewer boys and girls interested in mathematics-intensive careers. We conclude by highlighting the importance of disentangling instrumental and expressive aspects of gender inequality in STEM fields.

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04 / 19 / 2014

Gender, culture, and mathematics performance

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2689999/

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Using contemporary data from the U.S. and other nations, we address 3 questions: Do gender differences in mathematics performance exist in the general population? Do gender differences exist among the mathematically talented? Do females exist who possess profound mathematical talent? In regard to the first question, contemporary data indicate that girls in the U.S. have reached parity with boys in mathematics performance, a pattern that is found in some other nations as well. Focusing on the second question, studies find more males than females scoring above the 95th or 99th percentile, but this gender gap has significantly narrowed over time in the U.S. and is not found among some ethnic groups and in some nations. Furthermore, data from several studies indicate that greater male variability with respect to mathematics is not ubiquitous. Rather, its presence correlates with several measures of gender inequality. Thus, it is largely an artifact of changeable sociocultural factors, not immutable, innate biological differences between the sexes. Responding to the third question, we document the existence of females who possess profound mathematical talent. Finally, we review mounting evidence that both the magnitude of mean math gender differences and the frequency of identification of gifted and profoundly gifted females significantly correlate with sociocultural factors, including measures of gender equality across nations.

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02 / 12 / 2014

Ability and Mathematics: the mindset revolution that is reshaping education

Forum

https://www.youcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/14_Boaler_FORUM_55_1_web.pdf

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Abstract: Recent scientific evidence demonstrates both the incredible potential of the brain to grow and change and the powerful impact of growth mindset messages upon students’ attainment. Schooling practices, however, particularly in England, are based upon notions of fixed ability thinking which limits students’ attainment and increases inequality. This article reviews evidence for brain plasticity, the importance of mindset and the ways that mindset messages may be communicated through classroom and
grouping practices.

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02 / 11 / 2014

Why Do Women Opt Out? Sense of Belonging and Women’s Representation in Mathematics

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22288527

Insights

Abstract: Sense of belonging to math— one’s feelings of membership and acceptance in the math domain—was established as a new and an important factor in the representation gap between males and females in math. First, a new scale of sense of belonging to math was created and validated, and was found to predict unique variance in college students’ intent to pursue math in the future (Studies 1–2). Second, in a longitudinal study of calculus students (Study 3), students’ perceptions of 2 factors in their math environment—the message that math ability is a fixed trait and the stereotype that women have less of this ability than men—worked together to erode women’s, but not men’s, sense of belonging in math. Their lowered sense of belonging, in turn, mediated women’s desire to pursue math in the future and their math grades. Interestingly, the message that math ability could be acquired protected women from negative stereotypes, allowing them to maintain a high sense of belonging in math and the intention to pursue math in the future.

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01 / 14 / 2014

Explaining the Gender Gap in Math Test Scores: The Role of Competition

Journal of Economic Perspectives

https://web.stanford.edu/~niederle/NV.JEP.pdf

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Abstract: The mean and standard deviation in performance on math test scores are only slightly larger for males than for females. Despite minor differences in mean performance, many more boys than girls perform at the right tail of the distribution. This gender gap has been documented for a series of math tests including the AP calculus test, the mathematics SAT, and the quantitative portion of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The objective of this paper is not to discuss whether the mathematical skills of males and females differ, be it a result of nurture or nature. Rather we argue that the reported test scores do not necessarily match the gender differences in math skills. We will present results that suggest that the evidence of a large gender gap in mathematics performance at high percentiles in part may be explained by the differential manner in which men and women respond to competitive test-taking environments. The effects in mixed-sex settings range from women failing to perform well in competitions, to women shying away from environments in which they have to compete. We find that the response to competition differs for men and women, and in the examined environment, gender difference in competitive performance does not reflect the difference in noncompetitive performance. We argue that the competitive pressures associated with test taking may result in performances that do not reflect those of less-competitive settings. Of particular concern is that the distortion is likely to vary by gender and that it may cause gender differences in performance to be particularly large in mathematics and for the right tail of the performance distribution. Thus the gender gap in math test scores may exaggerate the math advantage of males over females.

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01 / 13 / 2014

The Gender Gap in Secondary School Mathematics at High Achievement Levels: Evidence from the American Mathematics Competitions

Journal of Economic Perspectives

https://economics.mit.edu/files/7598

Insights

Abstract: This paper uses a new data source, American Mathematics Competitions, to examine the gender gap among high school students at very high achievement levels. The data bring out several new facts. There is a large gender gap that widens dramatically at percentiles above those that can be examined using standard data sources. An analysis of unobserved heterogeneity indicates that there is only moderate variation in the gender gap across schools. The highest achieving girls in the U.S. are concentrated in a very small set of elite schools, suggesting that almost all girls with the ability to reach high math achievement levels are not doing so.

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01 / 12 / 2014

Peer Context of Mathematics Classroom Belonging in Early Adolescence

The Journal of Early Adolescence

https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431605276932

Insights

Abstract: Classroom peer factors were examined for their role in African American and White early adolescents’ sense of belonging in mathematics classrooms. After controlling for fall sense of classroom belonging, spring sense of belonging was greater when teens perceived a more supportive peer context, minimal emotional risk in participating, and when they were recognized by peers as being strong math tutors. Additionally, naturally occurring peer groups were differentiated by sense of belonging of members; peer networks that began the year below average in sense of belonging became more alienated during the course of the year, whereas networks above average in belonging stayed at fall levels. The results are interpreted in relation to the benefits that specific peer relations offer aspects of adjustment such as belonging.

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