Motivation and Engagement with Physics: a Comparative Study of Females in Single-Sex and Co-educational Classrooms

Abraham, Jessy; Barker, Katrina L

doi:10.1007/s11165-018-9770-3

“…These classes represent the single-sex teaching methods practiced by some religious high schools in Israel. Because single-sex classroom teaching takes place in other countries as well (Abraham & Barker, 2020;Murphy & Whitelegg, 2006;Pahlke et al, 2014), it is important to develop a deeper understanding of the discourse in these classes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The persistent fact that few girls choose scientific studies generally, or physics specifically, has received attention among researchers and educators around the world. Researchers from Australia (Abraham & Barker, 2020), Europe (Francis et al, 2017), Israel (Zohar & Bronshtein, 2005), the Far East (Oon et al, 2020), and the United States (Pahlke et al, 2014) are concerned about the significant gender gap and seek ways of changing this pattern of reluctance among girls to pursue physics (Carreño et al, 2021). The situation is seemingly surprising, given that girls reportedly have higher average grades in most subjects, including the sciences, and a stronger commitment to scholastic learning processes (Jugović, 2017;Legewie & Diprete, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classroom discourse in single-sex physics classes: A case study

Raviv¹,

Aflalo²

2023

EUR J SCI MATH ED

1

0

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This case study examined the characteristics of classroom discourse during physics lessons in two single-sex high school classes–a boys’ vs. a girls’ class. All lessons were taught by the same teacher and covered the same topics. For each class, six lessons were recorded, transcribed, and coded and the characteristics of the discussion were counted, including the number of words spoken by the teacher and students, the number of open-ended and closed-ended questions posed, and the number of open and closed discourse segments and their initiator. A total of 549 closed-ended questions, 1,151 open-ended questions, 139 closed and 168 open discourse segments were analyzed. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the teacher on his views of the discussion characteristic in his lessons and the differences he has observed between boys and girls in terms of these characteristics. The average number of all classroom discourse parameters examined was similar in both classes and no significant differences were observed. In both classes, the students participated very actively in the discourse throughout most of the lesson, both among themselves and with the teacher. From the teacher’s perspective, the differences in discussions between the classes, if any, are not related to the student’s gender, but rather to the character of the students and the classroom environment. The main conclusion that emerges from this study is that the girls’ discourse in a single-sex class does not differ significantly from the boys’ discourse, as discussed in the article.

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“…Dentre vinte e oito artigos, apenas um apresentou um estudo transcultural, desenvolvido entre Brasil, Índia e Estados Unidos (Foote & Garg, 2015). Um estudo foi realizado na Austrália (Abraham & Barker, 2018); um na Estônia (Talves, 2016); um na Alemanha (Lucht, 2014); quatro no Brasil (B. S. Lima, 2011Lima, , 2013Santos, 2016;Silva & Ribeiro, 2014); e vinte nos Estados Unidos (ver referências abaixo).…”

Section: Experiências Das Mulheresunclassified

What are the Problem Representations and Assumptions About Gender Underlying Research on Gender in Physics and Physics Education? A Systematic Literature Review

Vidor

¹

,

Danielsson

²

,

Rezende

³

et al. 2020

RBPEC

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This work offers a systematic literature review of Brazilian and international research on gender in physics and physics education published over the last decade (2010–2019). We draw on a poststructuralist analytical approach to discuss assumptions about gender and forms of problematization of gender inequalities in physics, referred as problem representations, underlying one hundred and thirty studies. Results show that most studies (76.9%) assume a binary gender model that restricts “gender” to sex-specific issues related to female individuals. The “problem” is represented as the low number of women pursuing careers related to physics. The implied solution is to attract girls to physics and retain female academics in their careers. Around 22.3% of studies assume that “gender” is a relational construct that constitutes power relations between individuals, who may or may not conform to hetero-cis-normative social expectations. The “problem” is represented as the reproduction of gender discourses and stereotypes within and about the cultures of physics and physics education. Only one study assume “gender” as one of several axes of a complex and dynamic power system that constrains knowledge production in physics, then representing the “problem” as a matter of how theories and practices are perpetuated in the field. We conclude that a call for more gender diversity in physics and physics education should not only address hetero-cis-normative conceptions of gender, but should also challenge strict and specific cultural, social and epistemological norms within the physics community.

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“…Among twenty-eight papers, only one presented a cross-cultural study, developed between Brazil, India and the United States (Foote & Garg, 2015). One study was conducted in Australia (Abraham & Barker, 2018); one in Estonia (Talves, 2016); one in Germany (Lucht, 2014); four in Brazil (B. S. Lima, 2011Lima, , 2013Santos, 2016;Silva & Ribeiro, 2014); and twenty in the United States (see references below).…”

Section: Women's Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

What are the Problem Representations and Assumptions About Gender Underlying Research on Gender in Physics and Physics Education? A Systematic Literature Review

Vidor

¹

,

Danielsson

²

,

Rezende

³

et al. 2020

RBPEC

5

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This work offers a systematic literature review of Brazilian and international research on gender in physics and physics education published over the last decade (2010–2019). We draw on a poststructuralist analytical approach to discuss assumptions about gender and forms of problematization of gender inequalities in physics, referred as problem representations, underlying one hundred and thirty studies. Results show that most studies (76.9%) assume a binary gender model that restricts “gender” to sex-specific issues related to female individuals. The “problem” is represented as the low number of women pursuing careers related to physics. The implied solution is to attract girls to physics and retain female academics in their careers. Around 22.3% of studies assume that “gender” is a relational construct that constitutes power relations between individuals, who may or may not conform to hetero-cis-normative social expectations. The “problem” is represented as the reproduction of gender discourses and stereotypes within and about the cultures of physics and physics education. Only one study assume “gender” as one of several axes of a complex and dynamic power system that constrains knowledge production in physics, then representing the “problem” as a matter of how theories and practices are perpetuated in the field. We conclude that a call for more gender diversity in physics and physics education should not only address hetero-cis-normative conceptions of gender, but should also challenge strict and specific cultural, social and epistemological norms within the physics community.

show abstract

Motivation and Engagement with Physics: a Comparative Study of Females in Single-Sex and Co-educational Classrooms

Cited by 5 publications

References 52 publications

Classroom discourse in single-sex physics classes: A case study

Classroom discourse in single-sex physics classes: A case study

What are the Problem Representations and Assumptions About Gender Underlying Research on Gender in Physics and Physics Education? A Systematic Literature Review

What are the Problem Representations and Assumptions About Gender Underlying Research on Gender in Physics and Physics Education? A Systematic Literature Review

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