Girls Academic Performance in Science Subjects: Evidences from the Industrializing and Least Industrialized Countries
Abstract
The study reviewed the published empirical evidence on girls’ academic performance in science subjects in Industrializing and Least Industrialized Countries. Empirical evidences suggest that girls have been outperforming boys in education across the globe. Policy makers and academics have extensively studied this gender reverse change in the context of technologically advanced countries. The issue is an emerging phenomena in the context of industrializing and least industrialized countries and has received some academic attention in the last two decades. This gender reversal change in academic performance is an interesting trend in the context of industrializing and least industrialized countries. Nevertheless, girls as compared to boys, are not doing well in science subjects: technology, engineering and math (STEM). This review paper seeks to give a succinct picture of gender differences in academic performance in STEM subjects in the socio-cultural contexts industrializing and least industrialized. The findings of our umbrella review of different studies in the developing countries show girls’ underperformance in STEM subjects in the industrializing and least industrialized countries. Findings (skimmed from a number of empirical studies) suggest boys’ outperformance in STEM subjects.
References
Adler, P. A., Kless, S. J., & Adler, P. (1992). Socialization to gender roles: Popularity among elementary school boys and girls. Sociology of Education, 169–187.
Andresen, S., Otto, H.-U., & Ziegler, H. (2008). Bildung as human development: An educational view on the capabilities approach. In Capabilities—Handlungsbefähigung und Verwirklichungschancen in der Erziehungswissenschaft (pp. 165–197). Springer.
Asante, K. O. (2010). Sex differences in mathematics performance among senior high students in Ghana. Gender and Behaviour, 8(2), 3279–3289.
Bailur, K. B. (2006). Influence of relations of family and peers and pressures of PUC II year students’ on their adjustment and academic performance [PhD Thesis]. UAS, Dharwad.
Baru, P. M. (2012). A Comparative Analysis of Academic Performance of Boys and Girls in Mixed Day Secondary Schools In Kenya: A Case of Kihumbu-Ini Division of Gatanga District, Murang‟ a County. A Research Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of Master of Arts Degree in Project Planning and Management, University of Nairobi.
Burke, R. J., & Mattis, M. C. (2007). Women and minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics: Upping the numbers. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Card, D., & Lemieux, T. (2001). Dropout and enrollment trends in the postwar period: What went wrong in the 1970s? In Risky behavior among youths: An economic analysis (pp. 439–482). University of Chicago Press.
Catherine, W. W. (2011). Performance determinants of Kenya certificate of secondary education (KCSE) in mathematics of secondary schools in Nyamaiya division, Kenya. Asian Social Science, 7(2), 107.
Ceci, S. J., & Williams, W. M. (2011). Understanding current causes of women’s underrepresentation in science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(8), 3157–3162.
Ceci, S. J., Williams, W. M., & Barnett, S. M. (2009). Women’s underrepresentation in science: Sociocultural and biological considerations. Psychological Bulletin, 135(2), 218.
Chamdimba, P. C. (2003). Gender-related differences in working style during cooperative learning in secondary mathematics: A Malawian case study. Which Way Social Justice in Mathematics Education, 153–167.
Dickerson, A., McIntosh, S., & Valente, C. (2015). Do the maths: An analysis of the gender gap in mathematics in Africa. Economics of Education Review, 46, 1–22.
Driessen, G., & Van Langen, A. (2013). Gender differences in primary and secondary education: Are girls really outperforming boys? International Review of Education, 59(1), 67–86.
Goldin, C., Katz, L. F., & Kuziemko, I. (2006). The homecoming of American college women: The reversal of the college gender gap. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(4), 133–156.
Hedges, L. V., & Nowell, A. (1995). Sex differences in mental test scores, variability, and numbers of high-scoring individuals. Science, 269(5220), 41–45.
Jayachandran, S. (2015). The roots of gender inequality in developing countries. Economics, 7(1), 63–88.
Jha, J., Bakshi, S., & Faria, E. M. (2012). Understanding and challenging boys’ disadvantage in secondary education in developing countries. Background Paper for EFA Global Monitoring Report.
Kabote, S. J., Niboye, E. P., & Nombo, C. I. (2014). Performance in Mathematics and Science Subjects: A Gender Perspective for Selected Primary Schools in Rural and Urban Tanzania. International Journal of Gender Studies and Women’s Studies, 5(3), 87–105.
Kalipeni, E. (1997). Gender and regional differences in schooling between boys and girls in Malawi. East African Geographical Review, 19(1), 14–32.
Kindlon, D. (2007). Alpha girls: Understanding the new American girl and how she is changing the world. Rodale Books.
Machin, S., & Pekkarinen, T. (2008). Global sex differences in test score variability. Science, 322(5906), 1331–1332.
Mbugua, Z. K., Kibet, K., Muthaa, G. M., & Nkonke, G. R. (2012). Factors contributing to students’ poor performance in mathematics at Kenya certificate of secondary education in Kenya: A case of Baringo county, Kenya.
Musau, L. M., Migosi, J. A., & Muola, J. M. (2013). Determinants of girls’ performance in science, mathematics and technology subjects in public secondary schools in Kenya.
Mwetulundila, P. N. (2000). Why girls aren’fitfully participating in science and mathematics in Namibia. Reform Forum, 5, 14–23.
Randhawa, B. S. (1994). Self-efficacy in mathematics, attitudes, and achievement of boys and girls from restricted samples in two countries. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 79(2), 1011–1018.
Riddell, A. R., Nyagura, L. M., & Mundial, B. (1991). What causes differences in achievement in Zimbabwe’s secondary schools? Citeseer.
Sayers, R. (1994). Gender differences in mathematics education in Zambia. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 26(4), 389–403.
Sifuna, D. N. (2006). A review of major obstacles to women’s participation in higher education in Kenya. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 11(1), 85–105.
Sinnes, A. (2006). Approaches to gender equity in science education: Three alternatives and two examples. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 10(1), 1–12.
Thomson, S., Hillman, K., Wernert, N., Schmid, M., Buckley, S., & Munene, A. (2012). Monitoring Australian year 4 student achievement internationally: TIMSS and PIRLS 2011.
Ullah, R. (2020). Girls outperforming boys in education: A sociological study in khyber pakhtunkhwa (Unpublished doctoral thesis). International Islamic University, Islamabad
Ullah, R., & Ullah, H. (2019). Boys versus Girls’ Educational Performance: Empirical Evidences from Global North and Global South. African Educational Research Journal, 7(4), 163–167.
Ullah, R., Ullah, H., & Allender, T. (2020). Girls Underperforming in Science: Evidences from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Journal of Elementary Education, 29(2), 1–14.
Walter, H. M. (1997). An investigation into the affective profiles of girls from single-sex and co-educational schools, as they relate to the learning of mathematics.
Wambua, R. (2007). The Making of an Engineer: Background Characteristics of Female Engineering Students in Kenyan National Polytechnics. International Journal of Learning, 14(2).
Full Text: PDF
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.