CCL Home > Reports & Data > Commissioned Reports
Is there a difference in science test results between girls and boys? Is there a relationship between gender and pursuing a PSE careers in science?
Two reports commissioned by CCL examine the role that gender plays in achievements in science testing and the pursuit of science-related careers in post-secondary institutions.
Science-related career aspirations and planful competence: A gendered relationship?
Summary (PDF, 53 KB)
Full Report (PDF, 142 KB)
Given attempts to involve more girls in science and science-related careers, it is important to better understand gender differences reported in a recent test of science literacy administered to a national sample of Canadian 13 and 16 year-old youth.
Results of the 2002 School Achievement Indicators Program Science (SAIP-SCIENCE) survey indicate adolescent girls perform significantly below boys in the application of scientific knowledge to applied, 'everyday' problems. Girls do, however, receive higher teacher-assigned grades than boys in their science classes.
Since both assessment formats are important to establishing interest in and commitment to this field of study we examined the basis for gender differences in literacy scores and their relationship to teacher-assigned grades.
Much of the superior performance of girls in science classrooms may be attributed to teachers' marking practices which incorporate not only cognitive achievement information but also social behaviours and compliance with demands for academic engagement—particularly, the completion of homework assignments. Homework then is correlated with teacher-assigned grades. However, because the latter are associated with objective test performance—at least to the extent knowledge acquired in classrooms is transferable—one would expect the study efforts of girls to be reflected not only in high teacher-assigned grades but also in higher literacy scores.
In this study we address the question: Why do girls' greater investments in homework not result in higher literacy scores? We first establish the degree of difference between male and female scores on teacher-assigned grades in science and on the SAIP-SCIENCE literacy test.
We next examine the effects on literacy achievement of a range of beliefs and behaviours suggested in the literature as predictive of achievement in science. These include PSE aspirations and parental expectations 'to do well in science', both of which may be assumed to encourage dispositions to study. We focus particularly on adolescent beliefs about the positive relationship between study effort and achievement. We also examine the effects on achievement of students' homework behaviours—their actual investments of time in doing science homework.
Taking dispositions, beliefs and behaviours into account, we next examine the effects of grades on literacy test performance. We find that all these factors are positively related to science literacy but that each also increases gender differences in literacy test scores.
With the qualification that science literacy scores of males and females are not widely discrepant, the pattern of gender differences in teacher-assigned grades and literacy scores found in the SAIP-SCIENCE data are important to the extent they discourage girls' further involvement in science and science-related activities.
Despite calls for better alignment of assessment indicators, it is unlikely that gender differences in teacher-assigned science grades and science literacy scores will be remedied by assigning girls more homework or persuading more girls to do homework. An effective initial response would be to recognize the variability in science achievement among female science students. Many girls respond well to the current curriculum. Others do not and for these students curricular change may help. This requires an acknowledgement that science needs to be presented in more engaging ways, or even that girls may 'do' science differently. Similarly, it may be that boys performed well on the literacy test because their leisure time activities offer more opportunity to explore and apply science-related activities located in the community rather than the school. To the extent such informal learning is situated and experiential it too suggests alternative approaches to science instruction in the more formal setting of the school.
Summary (PDF, 24 MB)
Full Report (PDF, 159 MB)
This study employs data from the 2004 Student Achievement Indicators Programme (SAIP) in order to examine the gendered relationship between students' aspirations for science-related post-secondary education and career pathways, achievement in SAIP science test and various aspects of planful competence (e.g., investment in school and science-related activities, self-confidence and dependability). The analysis is based on a representative sample of about ten thousands 16-year-old Canadian students who wrote the SAIP test and completed a questionnaire about their beliefs, values and behaviours related to science learning.
The purpose of the study is to understand whether gender remains a significant determinant of students' planned post-secondary education pathways when controlling for the effect of achievement and indicators of purposeful orientation toward life and career. The study proposes a typology of six post-secondary education (PSE) and career pathways planned by the 16-year-old students, and then contains a series of analyses to understand gender differences and the effect of other factors on students' pathway choices.
The analysis shows that only a small percent of 16-year-old students do not intend to go to PSE, although about one quarter of students do not have at this age specific plans regarding their future careers.
It is important to observe that students' achievement in the SAIP science test is quite a good indicator of their post-secondary plans and intentions of choosing future science-related careers. For instance, it is more likely for higher achievers who performed above criterion in the test to: a) have clear post-secondary plans, and b) plan academic science-related pathways.
Some notable gender differences are evident. First, women, especially those who performed below criterion in SAIP, have PSE plans that do not involve science. Meanwhile, male lower achievers were more likely to have no PSE plans or no career plans. Second, among the higher achievers, men are more likely to intend academic careers in hard sciences, engineering, technology while women preferred other scientific fields (e.g., health, science education).
Gender differences are also noticed in how students position themselves affectively with respect to school and science learning. For instance, female students have more positive responses than male students on all components of planful competence. They have a higher level of academic and social school engagement, they score better on science academic engagement, are more likely to attribute success to personal effort rather than external factors, have higher level of school self-efficacy and are even more persistent in dealing with difficulties in science courses. However, even if female students achieve better in science courses, SAP science performance is slightly below the level of their male counterparts.
The paper employs a multinomial regression model to assess the relative effect of gender, SAIP achievement and planful competence indicators on the choice of science-related PSE pathways. Most factors play a contribution to the model, but among the most significant is gender, SAIP achievement, academic engagement with school and science, and attribution of success to personal effort.
The current study demonstrates that a) achievement in science and engagement with school and science courses are important determinants of PSE choices, and b) gender differences in the choice of science-related pathways are still evident, even when controlling for achievement and engagement factors. These aspects have clear policy implications for educators. While the first aspect indicates that lack of science-related academic skills and negative perceptions about science may increase students' reservation toward science-related pathways for all students, the second aspect suggests persistent gender differences in how men and women situate themselves with respect to the field of science regardless their scientific ability.
Top