Doing a science project: Gender differences during childhood

Abstract

By adolescence, men's participation and achievement in science exceeds women's. This article reports a case study that examined the beginnings of this gender differentiation during a naturally occurring academic activity that was designed to support and guide young children's interest in doing science. Data were collected during 2 successive years of a science fair for children in Grades 1-6 of a progressive private school. A total of 268 projects were characterized in terms of achievement and area of science. Parents provided information about the way children selected and created projects. In both years and in all grade levels, boys tended to choose to work in the physical sciences, and girls in the biological and social sciences. Peer collaborations were exclusively same sex. Achievement and parental involvement were not gender related. Factors are discussed that might lead to an early divergence of boys' and girls' interests in science within a context that promotes its exploration.

Interest in Birds and its Relationship with Attitudes and Myths: A Cross-cultural Study in Countries with Different Levels of Economic Development

“…In elementary schools, boys preferred the physical sciences, while girls the biological sciences (Adamson, Foster, Roark, & Reed, 1998). Researchers have reported that, in general, girls expressed a greater interest in biology (Dawson, 2000;Prokop, Tuncer, & Chudá, 2007;Uitto, Juuti, Lavonen, & Meisalo, 2006).…”

“If I had to do it, then I would”: Understanding early middle school students’ perceptions of physics and physics-related careers by gender

“…For many years, the prevailing theory held that women did not pursue science because they were not as talented at mathematics and science as their male counterparts [5,9,[22][23][24]. A look at the performance of girls in K-12 science today, specifically in recent results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), shows that the once-thought achievement gap between girls and boys in mathematics and science no longer exists [5,9,25,26].…”

Taking Stock: Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, Where We’re Going

“…Subjects such as mathematics, chemistry, and physics-physical science in general-are considered masculine, while life sciences are perceived as feminine (Steinkamp & Maehr, 1983). In a striking example of the early divergence of boys' and girls' science interests, Adamson, Foster, Roark, and Reed (1998) found that boys in Grades 1 through 6 tended to choose physical sciences, while girls chose the biological and social sciences, for a science fair project. Out-of-school science experiences for boys and girls may help foster differential preferences, with boys tending to indulge in…”

“…Children's at-home experiences when they are very young can affect future learning outcomes in science and math (Farenga, 1995;Harlen, 1992;Kahle, 1990). As elementary school girls and boys form gender-segregated peer groups outside of the classroom, different skills may be developed from group activities that are gender divergent (Adamson et al, 1998). We need to know more about how experiences outside of the classroom may affect girls' and boys' affinity for science and, more specifically, for different types of science.…”