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2. Does gender matter in science education? Michel Caillot Université René Descartes - Paris 5 (Sorbonne)

3. 3 TIMSS 4 th grade 8 th grade final year of secondary school Permanent features through ages: –Male students have higher mean science achievement in earth science and physical science since 4 th grade. –No gender difference in life science and environmental issues

4. 4 Some evolutions Gender differences increase from 4 th -grade to 12 th -grade particularly in the physical sciences. Positive images of science and scientists decrease from 4 th - grade to the final year of secondary school whatever the gender.

5. 5 TIMSS survey (3 rd -4 th grades) Substantial achievement differences among the 25 participating countries on the TIMSS science test. Boys had significantly higher mean science achievement than girls except in 9 countries where the differences are not statistically significant.

6. 6 3rd- and 4th-grades Differences favouring boys in science are substantially more pronounced than in the TIMSS mathematics results The gender difference is much less pervasive at 3 rd and 4 th grades than at 7 th and 8 th grades.

7. 7 Content areas (3rd- and 4th-grades) Advantages for boys in earth science and physical science. In life science and for the items covering environmental issues and the nature of science, girls and boys had similar performances.

8. 8 TIMSS survey (7 th & 8 th grades) Statistically significant differences favouring boys with boys averaging 20 or more points higher than girls in 12 countries. In only seven countries there are no statistically significant differences in science achievement between boys and girls in both grades.

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10. 10 7 th and 8 th grades Pervasive difference favouring boys in science is substantially more pronounced than in the TIMSS mathematics results for 7 th and 8 th grades, which indicates an international pattern of gender differences favouring males but shows few significant differences for individual countries

11. 11 Content areas (7 th and 8 th grades) Advantages for boys in earth science, physics, and chemistry Girls and boys had similar performances at both grades in life science and for the items covering environmental issues and the nature of science.

12. 12 Gender differences in liking a specific content area

13. 13 7 th and 8 th grades Gender differences differ across subject areas Girls dislike more physical sciences than boys do. No significant gender differences about liking or disliking biological science. This corresponds with the relative performance of boys and girls on the life science and physical sciences items.

14. 14 TIMSS Final year of secondary school

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16. 16 In many countries female students report liking biological science more than male students do. The opposite was found in all countries for physics, where male students report liking physics significantly more than female students do. On average, female students report disliking physics to some degree in nearly all countries.

17. 17 Bias in TIMSS items? Items favouring boys: –items involving diagrams –Items involving spatial relationships –physical science items Items favouring girls –health and nutrition

18. 18 International average (%correct) (statistically significant at.05 level) Males: 75 Females : 78 8th grade

19. 19 International average (%correct) (statistically significant at.05 level) Males: 85 Females : 74 8th grade

20. 20 International average (%correct) (statistically significant at.05 level) Males: 66 Females : 72 Final year of secondary school

21. 21 Final year of secondary school International average (%correct) (statistically significant at.05 level) Males: 20 Females : 11

22. 22 Progression In 4 th -grade more girls feel it is important to do well in science and mathematics. In 12 th -grade more boys think it is important to do well in science and mathematics

23. 23 Attitudes towards science More favorable attitudes of male students than those of female students whatever age levels –"masculine science": physics, computer science –"feminine science": biology, environment But for girls science is not related to their personal lives.

24. 24 Attitudes towards scientists Image of scientist for young children: "White man who carries out dangerous experiments" Scientist Mad scientist Image reproduced in textbooks and cartoons

25. 25 Male model Male model of practice Full-time devotion to his job Emphasis on early achievements Exclusive identification with science This stereotype is a general barrier for all girls Few positive female role models

26. 26 Who knows Dr Wu? Chien-Shiung Wu 1912 - 1997

27. 27 Chien-Shiung Wu was a pioneering physicist woman. She devised the experiment which confirmed a theory proposed by Lee and Yang (her former students). Wu's experiments led physicists to discard the concept that parity was conserved. Lee and Yang received the Nobel Prize for their work but not Chien Shiung Wu. In recognition of her contributions to the understanding of beta decay and the weak interactions, Wu became the first woman to receive the prestigious Comstock Prize from the National Academy of Sciences. The Comstock Prize is given only once every five years. She was the first woman to be elected president of the American Physical Society. A positive image of a scientist woman

28. 28 Interests in science Studying science subjects is regarded as difficult. However girls who plan to choose science are not interested in science per se, but because it is necessary to enter their desired health career (Miller et al., 2006) Studying physics and chemistry is regarded as more abstract and not relevant to the 'real world'. However, girls wish to study –science for daily life such as chemistry at home or ecology in the city park – in chemistry "hot" issues such as pollution rather than rates of chemical equations or chemical equilibrium.

29. 29 Stereotypes of jobs Studying science to get desired job –Biology for female students who want to become health professionals –Computer science and physical sciences for male students who want to become engineers

30. 30 Relationship to knowledge Issue introduced into French educational studies (Dr B. Charlot) as an indicator to explain learning development. Related to identity built through family, friends and personal experience. Relationship to knowing and to learning such or such subject Male experience  female experience

31. 31 Miller et al., 2006 Female high-school students –More 'people-oriented' than males are –Choice of a major, including science, in terms of their desire to help people or animals This caring orientation may be found in early socialization (playing with dolls, playing mother, ….)

32. 32 Self-perception of relationship to science Girls perceive their academic strength to be in verbal areas, as early as the 4 th - grade, whereas boys perceive theirs in mathematics and science. True even for 'gifted' students

33. 33 Gender-role socialization Home and family environment –Sexualized toys –Parental views about the importance of learning science –Significantly more males than females internationally agree that it was important to do well in science to please their parents (67% compared to 58%) (TIMSS) Cultural capital and habitus

34. 34 Socio-economic background. Societal barriers to females wishing to enter and remain in scientific fields: difficulty of combining work and family life

35. 35 Achieving gender equity in science classrooms Shift from a competitive to a cooperative educational model Encourage active participation in labs with hands-on experiments Develop curriculum focused on "real world" Fight narrow stereotypes of science and scientists Select materials that promote gender equity through texts and illustrations

36. 36 Does gender matter in science education? Yes it does! and everywhere. But the current problem is more the general and universal issue of decline in the choice of science studies and careers The number of students in undergraduate or postgraduate science programs is decreasing but proportionally the number of female students and women scientists has been increasing for the last decade.

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