Gender Differences in Gifted and Average-Ability Students Comparing Girls' and Boys' Achievement, Self-Concept, Interest, and Motivation in Mathematics

This article investigates gender differences in 181 gifted and 181 average-ability sixth graders in achievement, academic self-concept, interest, and motivation in mathematics. Giftedness was conceptualized as nonverbal reasoning ability and defined by a rank of at least 95% on a nonverbal reasoning subscale of the German Cognitive Abilities Test. Mathematical achievement was measured by teacher-assigned grades and a standardized mathematics test. Self-concept, interest, and motivation were assessed by questionnaire. In both ability groups, boys earned significantly higher test scores but there were no gender differences in grades. Girls scored lower on measures of academic self-concept, interest, and motivation. Gender differences were larger in gifted than in average-ability students. Ability group differences for self-concept and interest were only found for boys in favor of the gifted. Results support the assumption that gender differences in self-concept, interest, and motivation in mathematics are more prevalent in gifted than in average-ability students. Putting the Research to Use: What can educators do to increase the number of gifted females choosing academic courses and careers in domains related to n;tathematics, the inorganic sciences, and engineering? First ot aU, they have to know the reasons why gifted as welI asnongifted females are underrepresented in tliese areas. Students' choices of mathematical careers largely depend on the way they react to statements like the following ones: "It is easy for me to solve mathematical problems" (academic self-concept), "I am interested in mathemati~s" (interest)\ "I want to learn as much as possible from math class" (motivation). However, in spite of eamjng equally good grades in mathematics as boys, 'gi11s report lower mean levels of academic self-concept, interest, and motivation. Thi\) holds for gifted students as well as for students of average apility. In samples of si/'th-grl\de students, we found thaJ this gender gap is even more pronounced in gifted thanfu average-ability, students. Thus, it seems Very important to foster females', and particularly gifted females', positive attitudes toward mathematics. One possibility for doing so would be to foster gifted female students' attdbutions to ability when they receive good grades. In addition, interventions should not only focus on the girl herself but also on environmental factors including parents, teachers, the peer group, and administrative planning.