Girls' comparative advantage in language arts explains little of the gender gap in math-related fields: A replication and extension.

Women remain underrepresented in most math-intensive fields. [Breda and Napp, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116, 15435 (2019)] reported that girls' comparative advantage in reading over math (i.e., the intraindividual differences between girls' reading vs. math performance, compared to such differences for boys) could explain up to 80% of the gender gap in students' intentions to pursue math-intensive studies and careers, in conflict with findings from previous research. We conducted a conceptual replication and expanded upon Breda and Napp's study by using new global data (PISA2018, N = 466,165) and a recent US nationally representative longitudinal study (High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, N = 6,560). We coded students' intended majors and careers and their actual college majors. The difference between a student's math vs. reading performance explained only small proportions of the gender gap in students' intentions to pursue math-intensive fields (0.4 to 10.2%) and in their enrollment in math-intensive college majors (12.3%). Consistent with previous studies, our findings suggest girls' comparative advantage in reading explains a minority of the gender gap in math-related majors and occupational intentions and choices. Potential reasons for differences in the estimated effect sizes include differences in the operationalization of math-related choices, the operationalization of math and reading performance, and possibly the timing of measuring intentions and choices. Therefore, it seems premature to conclude that girls' comparative advantage in reading, rather than the cumulative effects of other structural and/or psychological factors, can largely explain the persistent gender gap in math-intensive educational and career choices.

Relative importance of students' expectancy-value beliefs as predictors of academic success in gateway math courses.

Math-intensive fields in postsecondary education, such as physics and math, often struggle with high student dropout rates. Motivational declines after the transition to postsecondary education are a key factor underlying students' achievement difficulties and decisions to leave these fields. A better understanding of which motivational factors play a particularly central role in predicting achievement difficulties and dropout decisions is needed to inform potential interventions. Thus, drawing on Eccles' expectancy-value theory, we examined changes in the relative importance of students' expected success and different task values as unique or joint predictors of students' academic success and course dropout across three time points within a semester. Data were collected in gatekeeper math courses for physics and math majors (N = 811). Commonality analyses showed an increasing overlap in the predictive effects of students' expectancies and values on later academic outcomes, which indicates convergence in these motivational beliefs, as they likely influence each other over time. A significant shift in the relative importance of students' expectancies and values occurred after the transition to postsecondary education, highlighting a sensitive time point for interventions. Pre-existing achievement, socioeconomic, and gender differences lost some of their unique predictive power toward the midpoint of the semester.

Developmental changes in students' use of dimensional comparisons to form ability self-concepts in math and verbal domains.

Dimensional comparisons (i.e., comparing own performances across domains) may drive an increasing differentiation in students' math and verbal self-concepts over time, but little longitudinal research has directly tested this assumption. Using cross-sequential data spanning Grades 1-12 (N = 1069, ages 6-18, 92% White, 2% Black, 51% female, collected 1987-1996), this study charted age-related changes in the role of dimensional comparisons in students' ability self-concept formation. It used three types of self-concept measures: peer comparisons, cross-domain comparisons, and no comparisons. Results indicated that the increase in students' use of dimensional comparisons in self-evaluations substantially contributed to the increasing differentiation in students' math and verbal self-concepts over time. Findings highlight the importance of dimensional comparisons in the development of students' ability self-concepts.

Different Levels of Context-Specificity of Teacher Self-Efficacy and Their Relations With Teaching Quality.

On the basis of Bandura's social cognitive theory, researchers often assume that a teachers' self-efficacy (TSE) will have a positive effect on teaching quality. However, the available empirical evidence is mixed. Building on previous research into TSE, we examined whether assessing class-/task-specific TSE gives a more accurate indication of the associations between TSE assessments and student-rated teaching quality. The analyses were based on the English sample of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) Video Study. Mathematics teachers (N = 86) rated their self-efficacy beliefs using generalized task-specific TSE items and class-/task-specific TSE items. Their students (N = 1,930) rated the quality of teaching in their math class. Multilevel regression analyses revealed stronger associations between student-rated teaching quality and class-/task-specific TSE than generalized task-specific TSE. We discuss possible reasons for these results and outline the potential benefits of using class-specific assessments for future TSE research.

Cross-Domain Trajectories of Students' Ability Self-Concepts and Intrinsic Values in Math and Language Arts.

Different cross-domain trajectories in the development of students' ability self-concepts (ASCs) and their intrinsic valuing of math and language arts were examined in a cross-sequential study spanning Grades 1 through 12 (n = 1,069). Growth mixture modeling analyses identified a Moderate Math Decline/Stable High Language Arts class and a Moderate Math Decline/Strong Language Arts Decline class for students' ASC trajectories. Students' intrinsic value trajectories included a Strong Math Decline/Language Arts Decline Leveling Off, a Moderate Math Decline/Strong Language Arts Decline, and a Stable Math and Language Arts Trajectories class. These classes differed with regard to student characteristics, including gender, family background, and math and reading aptitudes. They also resulted in different high school math course enrollments, career aspirations, and adult careers.

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.

Math-related career aspirations and choices within Eccles et al.'s expectancy-value theory of achievement-related behaviors.

Which occupation to pursue is one of the more consequential decisions people make and represents a key developmental task. Yet the underlying developmental processes associated with either individual or group differences in occupational choices are still not well understood. This study contributes toward filling this gap, focusing in particular on the math domain. We examined two aspects of Eccles et al.'s (1983) expectancy-value theory of achievement-related behaviors: (a) the reciprocal associations between adolescents' expectancy and subjective task value beliefs and adolescents' career plans and (b) the multiplicative association between expectancies and values in predicting occupational outcomes in the math domain. Our analyses indicate that adolescents' expectancy and subjective task value beliefs about math and their math- or science-related career plans reported at the beginning and end of high school predict each other over time, with the exception of intrinsic interest in math. Furthermore, multiplicative associations between adolescents' expectancy and subjective task value beliefs about math predict math-related career attainment approximately 15 years after graduation from high school. Gender differences emerged regarding career-related beliefs and career attainment, with male students being more likely than female to both pursue and attain math-related careers. These gender differences could not be explained by differences in beliefs about math as an academic subject. (PsycINFO Database Record

Academic identity formation and motivation among ethnic minority adolescents: the role of the "self" between internal and external perceptions of identity.

Identity is often studied as a motivational construct within research on adolescent development and education. However, differential dimensions of identity, as a set of internal values versus external perceptions of social belonging, may relate to motivation in distinct ways. Utilizing a sample of 600 African American and Latino adolescents (43% female; mean age = 13.9), the present study examines whether self-regulated learning (SRL) mediates two distinct dimensions of academic identity (i.e., value and belonging) and mastery orientation. This study also examines whether self-efficacy moderates the mediating role of SRL between identity and mastery. Results show evidence for moderated mediation between SRL and academic self-efficacy. Self-regulated learning played its strongest mediating role between belonging and mastery and for low-efficacy students specifically.