What goes well with physics? Measuring and altering the image of science

PhyLab - a virtual reality laboratory for experiments in physics: a pilot study on intervention effectiveness and gender differences

Introduction

New technologies have great potential to facilitate students' understanding and appreciation of one of the most abstract and challenging school subjects - physics. This study aimed to examine the effects of a game-based virtual reality teaching method on secondary school students' self-beliefs, interest, and performance in physics through a quasi-experimental design using pre- and post-test data. The evaluation is based on the systemic actiotope model that explains a person's goal-oriented actions by an interplay of their environment, action repertoire (i.e., students' performance and interest in physics), and subjective action space (i.e., students' self-efficacy, self-concept, and implicit theories regarding physics).

Method

A game-based virtual reality App to be used with Google cardboards was developed containing 10 teaching units from the secondary school physics class curriculum. Participants in the control group were taught using traditional teaching methods, while students in the experimental group went through the VR with the teacher and conducted the prepared VR experiments in addition to the traditionally presented content. Three tests measured students' physics performance during the semester. In addition, students answered questionnaires assessing their interest, self-efficacy, self-concept, and entity implicit theories regarding physics before and after the intervention, resulting in a Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design.

Results

There were no significant differences between the control and experimental group in test scores on the first and second tests but compared to the control group, the experimental group achieved higher scores on the third test. In addition, the results indicate differential effects of the game-based virtual reality teaching method on students' interest and self-efficacy regarding physics to the advantage of students identifying as male, but no effects on students' self-concept, and entity implicit theories regarding physics.

Discussion

The results of our pilot study suggest that incorporating innovative didactic methods into secondary school physics classes could potentially contribute to higher performance in and motivation for physics during this crucial period of adolescence when students develop educational and career aspirations. However, game-based virtual reality teaching methods seem to favor students identifying as male, which should be considered in their development and presentation. Other practical implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Kohortentrends in schulfachbezogenen Selbstkonzepten und Interessen bei Mädchen und Jungen

Zusammenfassung. Schulfachbezogene Selbstkonzepte und Interessen gehören zu den wichtigsten motivationalen Konstrukten in der Pädagogischen Psychologie und zeigen typischerweise stereotype Geschlechtsunterschiede: Während Jungen in Mathematik und den Naturwissenschaften im Mittel ein höheres Selbstkonzept und Interesse aufweisen, berichten Mädchen höhere Werte in sprachlichen Fächern. Erste empirische Ergebnisse von wiederholt durchgeführten Studien des Bildungsmonitorings weisen auf einen leichten Rückgang im Selbstkonzept und Interesse in Deutschland über den Verlauf der untersuchten Kohorten hin. Jüngste Befunde zeigen diesen Rückgang insbesondere für Jungen im MINT-Bereich. Trotz substantieller Zusammenhänge zwischen motivationalen Merkmalen und schulischen Leistungen wurde bisher nicht untersucht, inwiefern diese Motivationsrückgänge auf Veränderungen in schulischen Leistungen zurückgeführt werden können. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht deshalb, (a) ob die Kohortentrends in den fachbezogenen Selbstkonzepten und Interessen für Jungen und Mädchen je nach Fach unterschiedlich ausfallen und insbesondere, (b) ob sich etwaige (geschlechtsspezifische) Trends in der fachbezogenen Motivation auf Unterschiede in Testleistungen und Noten zwischen den Erhebungszeitpunkten zurückführen lassen. Auf Basis der IQB-Bildungstrendstudien wurden Daten von je etwa 25000 Neuntklässlerinnen und Neuntklässlern in den Jahren 2012 und 2018 (Fächer Mathematik, Physik, Chemie und Biologie) bzw. von je etwa 35000 Neuntklässlerinnen und Neuntklässlern in den Jahren 2009 und 2015 (Fach Deutsch) ausgewertet. Während sich für Mädchen in Mathematik und den naturwissenschaftlichen Fächern keine oder geringfügig positive Veränderungen zwischen den Kohorten zeigten (–0.05 >≤ d >≤ 0.07), fanden sich für Jungen zumeist (leichte) Rückgänge in den Selbstkonzepten und Interessen (–0.31 >≤ d >≤ –0.08). Insbesondere die Veränderung im Mathematikinteresse bei Jungen war bedeutsam ( d = –0.31). Im Fach Deutsch zeigte sich ein gegensätzliches Bild: Bei beiden Geschlechtern stiegen die Selbstkonzeptwerte im Kohortentrend geringfügig an (Mädchen/Jungen: d = 0.07/0.06). Diese geschlechtsspezifischen Trends in der Motivation ließen sich nicht bedeutsam auf Testleistungs- und Notenunterschiede zwischen den Kohorten zurückführen. Die Ergebnisse werden im Hinblick auf verschiedene Erklärungsansätze für (geschlechtsspezifische) Kohortentrends in schulischer Motivation diskutiert.

Predicting the future impact of Computer Science researchers: Is there a gender bias?

The advent of large-scale bibliographic databases and powerful prediction algorithms led to calls for data-driven approaches for targeting scarce funds at researchers with high predicted future scientific impact. The potential side-effects and fairness implications of such approaches are unknown, however. Using a large-scale bibliographic data set of N = 111,156 Computer Science researchers active from 1993 to 2016, I build and evaluate a realistic scientific impact prediction model. Given the persistent under-representation of women in Computer Science, the model is audited for disparate impact based on gender. Random forests and Gradient Boosting Machines are used to predict researchers’ h-index in 2010 from their bibliographic profiles in 2005. Based on model predictions, it is determined whether the researcher will become a high-performer with an h-index in the top-25% of the discipline-specific h-index distribution. The models predict the future h-index with an accuracy of $$R^2 = 0.875$$ R 2 = 0.875 and correctly classify 91.0% of researchers as high-performers and low-performers. Overall accuracy does not vary strongly across researcher gender. Nevertheless, there is indication of disparate impact against women. The models under-estimate the true h-index of female researchers more strongly than the h-index of male researchers. Further, women are 8.6% less likely to be predicted to become high-performers than men. In practice, hiring, tenure, and funding decisions that are based on model predictions risk to perpetuate the under-representation of women in Computer Science.

Persisting in Physics and the Physics Olympiad — Impact of Gender Identification and Sense of Belonging on Expectancy-Value Outcomes

The German Physics Olympiad is an extracurricular science contest for students. Here, they have the opportunity to compete against other talented students, can do physics outside of school, and take a first step to more engagement in the domain. Yet, female students participate in the competition in fewer numbers and are disproportionally more likely to drop out of the contest earlier than the male students.

The present study hence explored the question to which extent the German Physics Olympiad provides a threatening environment for female contestants’ intentions of persisting in physics. A total of 298 participants (28% female) were surveyed with respect to stereotype and social identity threat, as well as gender identification and sense of belonging as predictors of success expectations for and value of choosing to study physics. Success expectations and value of choosing to study physics were used as a measure for career intentions within the expectancy-value model.

The results support the conclusion that the contest presents an equally supporting environment for female and male participants. We found no gender differences in success expectations for and value of studying physics. Sense of belonging and gender identification significantly predicted success expectations but not value of choosing to study physics. Female participants in the German Physics Olympiad were also neither affected by stereotype threat nor by social identity threat in their sense of belonging or gender identification.

Patterns of Italian high school and university students’ attitudes towards physics: an analysis based on semiotic-cultural perspective

The purpose of this study was to analyse Italian high school and university students’ attitudes towards physics using the Semiotic Cultural Psychological Theory (SCPT). In the SCPT framework, attitudes represent how individuals interpret their experience through the mediation of generalized meaning with which they are identified. A view-of-physics questionnaire was used as an instrument to collect data with 1603 high school and university students. Data were analysed through multiple correspondence analysis and cluster analysis. We identified four generalized meanings of physics: (a) interesting and important for society; (b) a quite interesting, but badly taught subject at school and not completely useful for society; (c) difficult to study and irrelevant for society; and (d) a fascinating and protective niche from society. The identified generalized meanings are significantly correlated to the choice to study physics at undergraduate level and to the choice of attending physics-related activities in high school. Implications for research are discussed.

Implicit associations of teleology and essentialism concepts with genetics concepts among secondary school students

In this article, we present the development and validation of an implicit association test for measuring secondary school students’ associations between genetics concepts and teleology concepts on the one hand, and between genetics concepts and essentialism concepts on the other hand. In total, 169 students from 16 school classes took part in the study, from January 2018 to May 2018. We investigated the strength of the aforementioned associations and the influence of various covariates such as gender, age, school class, or previous learning of biology on the association of teleology or essentialism concepts with genetics concepts through an analysis of covariance and a multi-level analysis. We found moderate associations between genetics and teleology concepts, as well as between genetics and essentialism concepts. These results might reflect a tendency of students of different ages and with various backgrounds to think about genes in terms of goals (teleology) and stability (essentialism), which should be investigated further in future research.

Sense of Belonging as an Important Factor in the Pursuit of Physics: Does It Also Matter for Female Participants of the German Physics Olympiad?

This paper focuses on stereotype threat and its effects on sense of belonging in the German Physics Olympiad science competition. Participants completed questionnaires about sense of belonging, stereotype endorsement, interest, and self-concept in physics, as well as about value and success expectations of studying physics in college. Female participants who endorsed negative stereotypes about female talent for physics felt less sense of belonging to physics. This effect did not manifest for male participants. Sense of belonging to physics significantly predicted value and success expectations for studying physics in college beyond what is predicted by interest and self-concept in physics. These findings suggest that sense of belonging is influenced by stereotype threat, which was shown to cause gender differences in science. Nevertheless, sense of belonging could be included into the expectancy-value theory based on its predictive impact on value and success expectations of studying physics.

PHYSICS TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON SUSTAINABLE PHYSICS EDUCATION

The United Nation 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development advocates teachers as the key in, and for, sustainable development. Surprisingly, while physics teachers have long been recognized as important agents in equipping students with necessary physics knowledge and scientific inquiry skills, nonetheless less attention is paid to explore physics teachers’ perceptions on sustainable physics education (SPE). The absence of robust research that explores physics teachers’ perceptions to SPE has informed this research. A total of 248 Malaysian physics teachers were involved in a survey consisting of both close and open-ended questions to capture their perceptions of SPE. In examining the differences in physics teachers’ perceptions of SPE, with regards to teaching experiences and educational background, the one-way ANOVA was utilized. Whereas thematic analysis was used to analyze responses from the open-ended questions. The main finding of this research is the novice physics teachers expressed more positive views of SPE, where they posed better understanding and greatly valued physics competencies when compared to the other teaching experiences groups. The understandings of sustainability among physics teachers were largely dominated by environmental foci. This research provides vital information to design effective teacher professional development targeting novice physics teachers in order to implement SPE effectively. Keywords: physics education, education for sustainable development, physics teacher, teachers’ perception.

The Supporting Role of Mentees' Peers in Online Mentoring: A Longitudinal Social Network Analysis of Peer Influence

Studies show that online mentoring is an effective measure to support girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), especially if it also allows for networking with other participants on the mentoring platform. However, research is missing on peer influence. This topic seems especially crucial in programs for adolescents as peer influence plays an important role at this age. In our study, we investigated peer influence on mentoring outcomes - confidence in own STEM abilities and STEM-related activities - in an online mentoring program in STEM for secondary school girls (N = 124, M = 14.3 years, SD = 2.2 years, age range: 11-19 years). The program provides girls with at least 1 year of one-on-one interaction with a personal female mentor who has a college degree in a STEM subject. Participants can also interact with other participants on the platform. We used a longitudinal social network analysis approach to examine peer influence on mentoring outcomes. Our results indicate that both mentoring outcomes - mentees' confidence in own STEM abilities and STEM-related activities - are influenced by peers moderated by the mentees' own age. Younger mentees tended to become more similar to their peers regarding confidence in own STEM abilities and STEM-related activities, whereas older mentees tended to become more dissimilar over time. In addition, peer group size had a positive effect on confidence in own STEM abilities, but not on STEM-related activities. This effect was moderated by the mentee's age. Overall, peers have a positive influence on the measured mentoring outcomes, especially for young mentees.

A meta-analysis of procedures to change implicit measures

Using a novel technique known as network meta-analysis, we synthesized evidence from 492 studies (87,418 participants) to investigate the effectiveness of procedures in changing implicit measures, which we define as response biases on implicit tasks. We also evaluated these procedures' effects on explicit and behavioral measures. We found that implicit measures can be changed, but effects are often relatively weak (|ds| < .30). Most studies focused on producing short-term changes with brief, single-session manipulations. Procedures that associate sets of concepts, invoke goals or motivations, or tax mental resources changed implicit measures the most, whereas procedures that induced threat, affirmation, or specific moods/emotions changed implicit measures the least. Bias tests suggested that implicit effects could be inflated relative to their true population values. Procedures changed explicit measures less consistently and to a smaller degree than implicit measures and generally produced trivial changes in behavior. Finally, changes in implicit measures did not mediate changes in explicit measures or behavior. Our findings suggest that changes in implicit measures are possible, but those changes do not necessarily translate into changes in explicit measures or behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Do implicitly measured math-anxiety associations play a role in math behavior?

The current study examined the role of implicitly measured associations (henceforth referred to as associations) between math and anxiety in adolescents' math anxiety. Previous research has shown that associations predicted behavior independent of explicit measures. In this study, it was investigated whether math-anxiety associations would be related to math anxiety and whether they predicted math behavior as well as state math anxiety independent of explicitly measured math anxiety. In addition, the domain specificity of math-anxiety associations for predicting math behavior was investigated. Adolescents' anxiety associations and self-reported anxiety were assessed for three domains: math anxiety, foreign language (English) anxiety, and trait anxiety. A sample of 189 secondary school students performed three single-target implicit association tests, performed a math problem solving task, and filled out questionnaires. Overall, adolescents showed stronger math-anxiety associations in comparison with math-calmness associations. In contrast to our hypotheses, math-anxiety associations were not related and did not uniquely or specifically predict math behavior and state math anxiety. Explicit anxiety measures demonstrated specificity in predicting math and English grades as well as state math anxiety. The innovative aspects of this study are the investigation of implicitly measured math-anxiety associations and the relation to math anxiety and math behavior. Further research is needed to develop tasks that are better able to capture the most relevant math-threat associations and to investigate which math behavior might be most strongly influenced by these associations.

Gendered Paths Into STEM-Related and Language-Related Careers: Girls' and Boys' Motivational Beliefs and Career Plans in Math and Language Arts

Women are often underrepresented in math-intensive fields like the physical sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics. By comparison, boys relative to girls are less likely to strive for jobs in social and human-services domains. Relatively few studies have considered that intra-individual comparisons across domains may contribute to gendered occupational choices. This study examines whether girls' and boys' motivational beliefs in mathematics and language arts are predictive of their career plans in these fields. The study focusses on same domain and cross-domain effects and investigates bidirectional relations between motivational beliefs and career plans. Data for this study stem from 1,117 ninth and tenth graders (53.2% girls) from secondary schools in Berlin, Germany. Findings show systematic gender differences in same-domain effects in mathematics: girls' comparatively lower mathematics self-concept and intrinsic value predicted a lower likelihood of striving for a math-related career. Cross-domain effects were not related to gender-specific career plans, with only one exception. Girls' lower levels of intrinsic value in mathematics corresponded to a higher likelihood of striving for a career in language-related fields, which subsequently predicted lower levels of intrinsic value in mathematics. This finding points to a need to address both gender-specific motivational beliefs and gender-specific career plans in school when aiming to enhance more gender equality in girls' and boys' occupational choices.

Male Majority, Female Majority, or Gender Diversity in Organizations: How Do Proportions Affect Gender Stereotyping and Women Leaders' Well-Being?

Whereas popular wisdom often centers on character differences between women and men when explaining work-related behavior, Kanter (1977) predicted that the proportion of women and men present in organizations is the crucial factor: With unequal proportions, women (similar to other minority persons) are singled out as "tokens" and gender becomes salient, which has been theorized to have a range of negative consequences. In contrast, if proportions of women and men are similar (i.e., in the presence of gender diversity), gender is not salient, and the work environment becomes much more positive for women. These considerations imply that not only a male majority, but also a female majority at work has negative consequences, because gender becomes salient in both cases. However, empirical research on work environments with female majorities at the top of organizations is scarce. The present study tested the perception of a range of negative consequences, including work-related well-being, among women in leadership positions in Spain who reported a male majority, a female majority, or similar proportions of both genders at the top level of their organization. The online convenience sample consisted of a total of N = 649 women leaders. In addition to work-related well-being, we measured perceived work-family conflict and perceived feelings of guilt associated with work-family conflict, traditional gender stereotypes regarding warmth and competence, women-leadership stereotypes, negative work-related stereotypes of mothers, gender harassment, and stigma consciousness. Almost all of our findings support Kanter's theorizing that equal proportions of both genders go along with more positive perceptions as compared to a male majority. However, a female majority went along with as negative perceptions as a male majority regarding several of the outcome variables, but was associated with the most positive perceptions for other outcomes. We discuss implications and possible reasons for the latter mixed findings.

Gender Stereotypes in a Children's Television Program: Effects on Girls' and Boys' Stereotype Endorsement, Math Performance, Motivational Dispositions, and Attitudes

Television programs are a central part of children's everyday lives. These programs often transmit stereotypes about gender roles such as "math is for boys and not for girls." So far, however, it is unclear whether stereotypes that are embedded in television programs affect girls' and boys' performance, motivational dispositions, or attitudes. On the basis of research on expectancy-value theory and stereotype threat, we conducted a randomized study with a total of 335 fifth-grade students to address this question. As the experimental material, we used a television program that had originally been produced for a national TV channel. The program was designed to show children that math could be interesting and fun. In the experimental condition, the program included a gender stereotyped segment in which two girls who were frustrated with math copied their math homework from a male classmate. In the control condition, participants watched an equally long, neutral summary of the first part of the video. We investigated effects on boys' and girls' stereotype endorsement, math performance, and different motivational constructs to gain insights into differential effects. On the basis of prior research, we expected negative effects of watching the stereotypes on girls' performance, motivational dispositions, and attitudes. Effects on the same outcomes for boys as well as children's stereotype endorsement were explored as open questions. We pre-registered our research predictions and analyses before conducting the experiment. Our results provide partial support for short-term effects of gender stereotypes embedded in television programs: Watching the stereotypes embedded in the video increased boys' and girls' stereotype endorsement. Boys reported a higher sense of belonging but lower utility value after watching the video with the stereotypes. Boys' other outcome variables were not affected, and there were also no effects on girl's performance, motivational dispositions, or attitudes. Results offer initial insights into how even short segments involving gender stereotypes in television shows can influence girls' and boys' stereotype endorsement and how such stereotypes may constitute one factor that contributes to gender differences in the STEM fields.

Stereotypes About Gender and Science

We conducted two studies and our primary goal was to assess the similarity between stereotypes about women and men and stereotypes about successful scientists. In addition, we examined the degree to which scientists, men, and women are seen as agentic or communal. Results revealed greater similarity between stereotypes about men and stereotypes about scientists than between stereotypes about women and scientists. Men and scientists were seen as highly agentic, women as highly communal, and scientists as less communal than either men or women. The higher the proportion of women in a scientific field, the more similar the stereotypes of scientists in that field were to stereotypes about women. Female participants perceived more similarity between women and scientists and judged women to be more agentic than male participants did. The results are consistent with role-congruity and lack-of-fit theories that report incompatibility of female gender stereotypes with stereotypes about high-status occupational roles. The results demonstrate that women are perceived to lack the qualities needed to be successful scientists, which may contribute to discrimination and prejudice against female scientists. A podcast conversation with the author of this article is available to PWQ subscribers on PWQ's website at http://pwq.sagepub.com/supplemental

Toward Inclusive STEM Classrooms: What Personal Role Do Faculty Play?

Private and public policies are increasingly aimed at supporting efforts to broaden participation of a diverse body of students in higher education. Unfortunately, this increase in student diversity does not always occur alongside changes in institutional culture. Unexamined biases in institutional culture can prevent diverse students from thriving and persisting in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Given the daily personal interactions that faculty have with students, we suggest that individual educators have the opportunity, and responsibility, to improve the retention and persistence of diverse students. However, in our experience, faculty professional development programs often limit discussions of diversity to "comfortable" topics (such as learning styles) and miss opportunities to explore deeper issues related to faculty privilege, implicit bias, and cues for stereotype threat that we all bring to the classroom. In this essay, we present a set of social science concepts that we can extend to our STEM courses to inform our efforts at inclusive excellence. We have recommended strategies for meaningful reflection and professional development with respect to diversity and inclusion, and aim to empower faculty to be change agents in their classrooms as a means to broadening participation in STEM fields.

Trapped in the gender stereotype? The image of science among secondary school students and teachers

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the gender stereotype of science by analysing the semantic attributes of gender in relation to three science subjects – chemistry, mathematics, and physics – among students and their science teachers.

Design/methodology/approach

– This cross-sectional study applied a survey of 3,045 students and 123 teachers in secondary schools. The gendered image of science was assessed using a semantic differential consisting of 25 pairs of adjectives with semantically opposite meanings.

Findings

– In summary, the results of the study demonstrate that from the female students’ perspective mathematics and physics are negatively related to female gender, whereas chemistry is neither significantly related to the male nor to the female profile. From the male students’ point of view mathematics is negatively related to the female gender, whereas chemistry and physics are positively related to the male gender. In the science teachers’ perception chemistry and physics combine feminine and masculine attributes, whereas the teachers’ perception of mathematics matches only with the male, but not with the female gender.

Originality/value

– In contrast to previous research, the study is the first to analyse the gender stereotype of chemistry as well as to assess the gender image of three science subjects from students’ and teachers’ perspectives.

Yes I Can!

Many countries face the problem of skill shortage in traditionally male occupations. Individuals’ development of vocational interests and employment goals starts as early as in middle childhood and is strongly influenced by perceptions of job accessibility (status and difficulty) and self-efficacy beliefs. In this study, we tested a linguistic intervention to strengthen children’s self-efficacy toward stereotypically male occupations. Two classroom experiments with 591 primary school students from two different linguistic backgrounds (Dutch or German) showed that the presentation of occupational titles in pair forms (e.g., Ingenieurinnen und Ingenieure, female and male engineers), rather than in generic masculine forms (Ingenieure, plural for engineers), boosted children’s self-efficacy with regard to traditionally male occupations, with the effect fully being mediated by perceptions that the jobs are not as difficult as gender stereotypes suggest. The discussion focuses on linguistic interventions as a means to increase children’s self-efficacy toward traditionally male occupations.

Why Don't Girls Choose Technological Studies? Adolescents' Stereotypes and Attitudes towards Studies Related to Medicine or Engineering

Gender differences in choice of studies emerge already in adolescence. Two studies with adolescents are presented, the goal of which is to explore the influence of gender by assessing males and females who choose studies related to Medicine or Engineering. Study 1, correlational (N = 330, mean age 15.9, 56.7% girls), shows that girls who choose technology are more poorly appraised than girls who choose other studies. Study 2 (N = 130; mean age 16.77, 56.2% girls), experimental, measures implicit attitudes (using the IAT) towards males and females from Medicine and Engineering. Implicit attitudes are more favorable towards women if they are studying Medicine and towards men if they study Engineering. The results are analyzed with relation to the percentages of boys and girls in the different fields of study.

Sind Jungen die neuen Bildungsverlierer? Empirische Evidenz für Geschlechterdisparitäten zuungunsten von Jungen und Erklärungsansätze

Zusammenfassung. Mit diesem Aufsatz soll die gegenwärtig öffentlichkeitswirksam geführte Diskussion um eine mögliche Benachteiligung von Jungen in der Schule auf eine wissenschaftlich fundierte Grundlage gestellt werden. Eine nach Geschlecht getrennte Analyse schulischen Erfolgs ergibt, dass Jungen in Bildungsbeteiligung und Zertifikaterwerb gegenüber Mädchen zurückgefallen sind, nicht aber im Erwerb von Kompetenzen, wo sich unverändert Nachteile für Jungen in der Lesekompetenz und für Mädchen im Bereich der Mathematik zeigen. Derzeit in Wissenschaft und / oder Öffentlichkeit diskutierte Thesen über mögliche Ursachen der ungünstigeren Bildungskarrieren von Jungen werden hinsichtlich ihrer empirischen Belastbarkeit bewertet. Zusammengefasst ergibt sich Evidenz dafür, a) dass Jungen bei gleichen Kompetenzen schlechtere Noten erreichen als Mädchen und deshalb seltener in höhere Bildungslaufbahnen einmünden, und b) dass die besseren Noten von Mädchen durch ihre höheren überfachlichen Kompetenzen, im Besonderen ihre bessere Selbstorganisation eigener Lernprozesse und ihr an schulische Anforderungen besser angepasstes Sozialverhalten, erklärt werden können, nicht aber für die These, c) dass der hohe Anteil von Frauen unter den im Bildungssystem Beschäftigten zu einer Benachteiligung von Jungen führen würde. Abschließend stellen die Autorinnen Überlegungen an, ob Schwierigkeiten, die Jungen bei der Entwicklung ihrer männlichen Identität im Kontext Schule erfahren, zur Erklärung ihrer Leistungs- und Interessenentwicklung betragen können.

When being a girl matters less: Accessibility of gender-related self-knowledge in single-sex and coeducational classes and its impact on students' physics-related self-concept of ability

BACKGROUND

Establishing or preserving single-sex schooling has been widely discussed as a way of bringing more girls into the natural sciences.

AIMS

We test the assumption that the beneficial effects of single-sex education on girls' self-concept of ability in masculine subjects such as physics are due to the lower accessibility of gender-related self-knowledge in single-sex classes.

SAMPLE

N=401 eighth-graders (mean age 14.0 years) from coeducational comprehensive schools.

METHODS

Random assignment of students to single-sex vs. coeducational physics classes throughout the eighth grade. At the end of the year, students' physics-related self-concept of ability was measured using a questionnaire. In a subsample of N=134 students, the accessibility of gender-related self-knowledge during physics classes was assessed by measuring latencies and endorsement of sex-typed trait adjectives.

RESULTS

Girls from single-sex physics classes reported a better physics-related self-concept of ability than girls from coeducational classes, while boys' self-concept of ability did not vary according to class composition. For both boys and girls, gender-related self-knowledge was less accessible in single-sex classes than in mixed-sex classes. To the extent that girls' feminine self-knowledge was relatively less accessible than their masculine self-knowledge, their physics-related self-concept of ability improved at the end of the school year.

CONCLUSIONS

By revealing the importance of the differential accessibility of gender-related self-knowledge in single- and mixed-sex settings, our study clarifies why single-sex schooling helps adolescents to gain a better self-concept of ability in school subjects that are considered inappropriate for their own sex.

Konstruktion und erste Validierung einer Skala zur Erfassung subjektiver schulischer Werte (SESSW)

Zusammenfassung. Die vorliegenden Studien dienten der psychometrischen Überprüfung einer Skala zur Erfassung subjektiver schulbezogener Werte (SESSW). Der Fragebogen erfasst die drei subjektiven Wertekomponenten des Eccles-Modells persönliche Wichtigkeit, Nutzen und intrinsische Wertzuschreibung bezogen auf die Schule im Allgemeinen und fächerspezifisch für Mathematik, Deutsch, Physik und Chemie. Anhand einer Analysestichprobe von N = 391 Schülern/innen der gymnasialen Oberstufe konnten die postulierten Subskalen und die postulierte schulfachspezifische Struktur des Instrumentes bestätigt werden. Die psychometrischen Kennwerte des Instrumentes waren durchgehend gut, Beziehungen zu korrespondierenden Schulnoten und den entsprechenden Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepten belegten die konvergente und divergente Validität des Verfahrens. Als weiterer Validitätshinweis gelten die vorgefundenen fachspezifischen Geschlechtsunterschiede. Darüber hinaus weisen die Ergebnisse einer zweiten Studie mit N = 243 Schülern/innen auf die Bedeutsamkeit von Werten bei der Vorhersage von Kurswahlen in den fokussierten Fächern hin.