Gender Equity in Math and Science

2559 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Inequalities in education between gender

Gender Equity in Math and Science

From the research I have read while there is a disagreement on when and how much of a gender gap exists in math and science, there is definitely an equity issue that needs addressing. There seems to be an abundance of information about equity issues and as a future teacher I feel that it is important to examine these issues. If gender equity issues exist in today's’ classrooms why do they and what can be done to help correct it.

Everything I've read so far states that a gender gap exists in science, while opinions about math vary. I found a paper on the Internet from the National Center for Education Statistics called “Trends In Educational Equity of Girls & Women.” Using information from NAEP this source states that between 1973 and 1994 academic achievement of females in math was about equal to males (NCES, 2000). The NCES report states that females and males take similarly challenging academic courses (2000). Baker (2001) however writes that research shows that there is a slight female superiority in elementary school and middle school and a moderate male superiority in high school in math and science. Baker (2001) researched gender equity in gifted elementary students in grades 4 and 6. After his study he concluded that “gender had a significant effect on the performance of high performing students in grades 4 and 6” (Baker, p.134). Baker reported a slight female superiority in relation to performance in the area of math computation which is consistent with other studies he has read, but Baker found that males were superior in the understanding of math concepts and applications which is inconsistent with previous findings (2001).

From reading our textbook the...

... middle of paper ...

.... Science Education, 84, 180-192.

Kahle, J., and Lakes, M. (1983). The Myth of Equality in Science Classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20, 131-140.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2000). Trends in Educational Equity of Girls & Women. Retrieved March 16, 2001 on the World Wide Web: http://nces.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pud=2000030.

Sadker, M., Sadker, D., and Stulberg, M. (1993, March). Fair and Square? Creating a Nonsexist Classroom. Instructor, 44-46, 67-68.

Sanders, J. (1997). Teacher Education and Gender Equity. (Eric Document No. ED408277). World Wide Web: http://ericir.syr.edu/plweb-cgi/obtain.pl. Retrieved March 16, 2001.

Reys, R., Lindquist, M. Lambdin, D., Smith, N., and Suydam, M. (2001). Helping Children Learn Mathematics. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Show More
Related

  • Content Analysis of Student Learning

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    Van de Walle, J., , F., Karp, K. S., & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2010). Elementary and middle school mathematics, teaching developmentally. (Seventh ed.). New York, NY: Allyn & Bacon.

    Read More

  • Gender Inequalities Essay

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    Education is the most important in the critical rank for reducing gender inequalities. Women’s status socioeconomically has increased with the time change, but only because they have more means of entry to improved circumstances. Forms of gender inequality still exist in our society, even in the highly developed world. Sex-segregation

    Read More

  • Implicit Racial Bias Essay

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this case girls are the ones who are discriminated against. Teaches do not see girls as being as smart in math and science. Boys may get called on more for their disruptive behavior. This gives boys more practice and therefore can cause a gender gap. In the text it states “boys and girls behaved and performed in similar ways in the classroom.” this shows how both genders perform the same yet boys are pictured as more intelligent. This adds to the central idea of how there is inequality between students for no reason. The two articles talk about two separate problems however the root of the problem is the same. Teaches create biases about girls and black students. Getting girls active in STEM can close the gender gap and solve this problem. This will help because it will show how math and science are just “boy subjects” and girls can excel in them too. The two articles have the same main idea however the two writers cite different pieces of evidence. The writers do this to branch the main idea off into two different aspects of how gender and racial biases are occurring in

    Read More

  • Does gender make a difference in education in America in the same way as in other countries?

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    The United Kingdom did a survey in 2003 where the objective was to identify gender issues in the academic performances of boys and girls during classroom laboratories. This study was done on adolescent children that explored the idea of what would be said about girls and boys who stated that they did or did not like science. The conclusion was predicted with the group of imaginary girls and boys. That is participants were to mark traits of girls and boys in their class that they did not know. Girls who liked science were found less feminine than girls who disliked science (Breakwell, Glynis; Robertson, Toby. 449). Oddly enough girls and boys who scored themselves did not give ratings that girls that liked science were considered less feminine. However, boys rated boys who disliked science more feminine. It appears that boys are pres...

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Little House on the Prairie

    2315 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sadker, Myra, David Sadker, and Susan Klein. "The Issue of Gender in Elementary and Secondary Education." Review of Research in Education 17 (1991): 269. JSTOR. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.

    Read More

  • Gender Pay Bias

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    In any case if a woman has worked the ample amount of time to further her education just like a man then the pay should not matter, their job performance should make their increase in pay not their gender. “Mankind” was viewed as such, a collection of men: dependent upon women for reproduction but unwilling to value them as equal members of society. While the establishment of internationally recognized women’s rights has accelerated, greatly, over the past century, “gender equality” is an idea that remains very far off from reality. The wage gap between men and women is a major issue facing today’s society. “Women are faced with a pay gap in nearly every occupation. From elementary and middle school teachers to computer programmer, women are paid less than men in female-dominated, gender-balanced, and male-dominated occupations.” These statistics are quite unexpected because the college graduation rate of women compared to that of men is 32% percent

    Read More

  • Bloodchild: Gender Inequality in Society

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    Darity William A. Inequality, Gender." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 624-627. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • What Is The Gender Gap In STEM

    1702 Words  | 4 Pages

    Parents and educators both display actions that could be and continue to affect the gender gap in STEM. By parents not giving both their sons and daughters an equal to the questions they ask, it supports the idea of why there is a lack of women in these areas of study. Female teachers also may be openly expressing their struggles with math and other similar areas have negatively affected the gap in STEM today. Direct biases and unconscious biases are both reasons that lead to a gap in these areas. But as female teenagers mature and grow older, they have different wants than men do when they grow

    Read More

  • Educational Equality: Leadership Role and Involment of Women in Society

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    All people deserve the right of education equality no matter gender, race or financial income. According to the daily star, by 2015 only seventy percent of countries will have achieved equality between the sexes in primary education and fifty six percent will have achieved equality in lower secondary education. Education equality is one of the main problems in school systems. Despite progress in recent years girls still suffer a lot of disadvantage in education systems. While gender equality in education remains a crucial issue for many countries women still account for two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population.

    Read More

  • Mathematics in the Primary School

    1687 Words  | 4 Pages

    Skemp, R (2002). Mathematics in the Primary School. 2nd ed. London: Taylor and Francis .

    Read More

  • Mathematics in Early Childhood Learning

    2147 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ett, S. (2008) . Young children’s access to powerful mathematical ideas, in English, Lyn D (ed), Handbook of international research in mathematics education, 2nd edn, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 75-108.

    Read More

  • Learning Theories for Mathematical Concepts

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kirova, A., & Bhargava, A. (2002). Learning to guide preschool children's mathematical understanding: A teacher's professional growth. 4 (1), Retrieved from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/kirova.html

    Read More

  • My Philosophy of Mathematics Teaching and Learning

    1307 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...S. and Stepelman, J. (2010). Teaching Secondary Mathematics: Techniques and Enrichment Units. 8th Ed. Merrill Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ.

    Read More

  • Why Male Teachers are Important in Society Today?

    1415 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...appy. With the difference in gender, both a male and female teachers' exposure to society's youth is critical, and male teachers are just as important as females in the educational field.

    Read More

  • Women and Mathematics

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    Call me a bigot if you want but men are better mathematicians than women. Year after year, men score higher on the SAT’s, more men receive prestigious educations from the best technical schools in the nation, and men obtain more degrees, secure more jobs and get promoted more often. “The ETS report on students taking the SAT examinations indicates that males have traditionally scored 40-50 points higher on the mathematics section” (Women) “In 1996, California Institute of Technology’s enrollment was 75% male, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s enrollment was 62% male, Renssalear Polytechnic Institute’s enrollment was 77% male, Rochester Institute of Technology’s enrollment was is 68% male, and Worchester Institute of Technology’s enrollment was 79% male” (Baron’s). The future for women who enter the work place as mathematicians is no more encouraging. “Roughly three times as many women are unemployed and six times as many women are in part time positions. The female mathematicians who acquire these full time jobs are less likely than men to be promoted to a position such as full or associate professor” (awm-math.org). Females’ lack of success as mathematicians has nothing to do with their mathematical potential. The reason females do not excel in mathematical fields can be explained by high school course selection, social pressures and support and not by genetic differences.

    Read More

More about Gender Equity in Math and Science

Open Document