Stereotype Threat and Women's Performance in Physics

Marchand, Gwen C.; Taasoobshirazi, Gita

doi:10.1080/09500693.2012.683461

Cited by 93 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Most importantly, it has been used extensively to study the causes explaining female underrepresentation in mathematics and science (Eccles, ; Eccles, ; Eccles, ; Eccles & Wang, ). Considering the multiple determinants of gender differences in mathematics and science in general and in academic competitions, combining the expectancy‐value theory and rich findings on (gender) stereotypes and the mechanisms they trigger (Ceci & Williams, ; Deemer et al, ; Leslie, Cimpian, Meyer, & Freeland, ; Marchand & Taasoobshirazi, ; Spencer, Logel, & Davies, ), seems a promising method to advance research in this field.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender differences in mathematics and science competitions: A systematic review

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Gendered patterns in mathematics and science interest emerge in early childhood, develop over time, and ultimately reflect advanced course selection in secondary education. During the crucial time adolescents become aware of their strengths and interests and specialize accordingly, they get the opportunity to participate in out‐of‐school learning programs such as mathematics and science competitions. This raises the question whether mathematics and science competitions contribute to gender equity by equally promoting female and male interests. In this article, we present a systematic review on gender differences and the mechanisms explaining success and failure in mathematics and science competitions. On an international level, we found large gender differences regarding participation in all Olympiads with the exception of the biology Olympiad. In fairs and national Olympiads, overall participation rates were not gendered as such, but females preferred biology topics whereas males preferred physics related topics. Male and female achievement in fairs was comparable, but males clearly outperformed female participants at the Olympiads, with the smallest differences in the biology Olympiad. Variables and theoretical frameworks explaining participation and achievement and the role of gender in mathematics and science competitions are discussed. We suggest that gender stereotypes, through their influence on self‐concept and interest, play an important role in the mechanisms resulting in low female participation rates in and beyond mathematics and science competitions (especially in physics and chemistry). The mechanisms we found explaining female representation during a national selection competition might be considered as reflecting those in female mathematics or science careers and could thus serve as food for thought on countering the gender gap in mathematics and science.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender differences in mathematics and science competitions: A systematic review

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For instance, female and male students' self-confidence is likely to be influenced by beliefs about the discipline and who can succeed in it. Further, as noted in the background section, women can be subject to implicit or explicit stereotype threat in physics courses [97,98]. Negative stereotypes about women in physics may cause women to have a different perception of success than men when they initially enter in a male-dominated discipline in which contributions of "brilliant" men are overemphasized.…”

Section: Class Numbermentioning

confidence: 99%

Female students with A’s have similar physics self-efficacy as male students with C’s in introductory courses: A cause for alarm?

Marshman

Kalender

Nokes‐Malach

et al. 2018

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

165

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Self-efficacy can affect performance, career goals, and persistence. Prior studies show that female students have lower self-efficacy than male students in various science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domains, and the self-efficacy gap is a factor that contributes to the low representation of female students in STEM. However, prior research has not decoupled self-efficacy differences from performance differences. This study examines the self-efficacy of male and female students with similar performance in introductory physics courses and investigates whether gender gaps in self-efficacy are persistent across different instructors and course formats. Students filled out a self-efficacy in physics survey before physics 1, before physics 2, and at the end of physics 2. Students' achievement was measured by their performance on research-based conceptual physics tests and course grades. The physics courses were taught by several instructors and varied in the type of pedagogy used, with some using a "flipped" format and others using a traditional, lecture-based format. We found that female students had lower self-efficacy than male students at all performance levels in both physics 1 and physics 2. The selfefficacy gaps continued to grow throughout the introductory physics course sequence, regardless of course format (i.e., traditional or flipped) and instructor. The findings suggest that female students' self-efficacy was negatively impacted by their experiences in introductory physics courses, and this result is persistent across various instructors and course formats. Female students' lower self-efficacy compared to similarly performing male students can result in detrimental short-term and long-term impacts.

show abstract

“…Remaining dependent variables were the performance on a physics test (⁎Marchand & Taasoobshirazi, 2012), a chemistry comprehension test (⁎Good, Woodzicka, & Wingfield, 2010) or recall performance of a geometric figure (⁎Huguet & Régner, 2009). These tests generally consisted of 10 to 40 questions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%