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ERIC Number: EJ1466365
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Apr
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0140-1971
EISSN: EISSN-1095-9254
Available Date: 2025-01-09
Girls and Boys Typically Have Similar Math Value Beliefs: Replication Evidence across Historical Time, High School, and Racial/Ethnic Groups
Christine R. Starr1; Glona Lee-Poon2; Charlott Rubach3; Yannan Gao4; Nayssan Safavian2; Anna-Lena Dicke2; Jacquelynne S. Eccles2; Sandra D. Simpkins2
Journal of Adolescence, v97 n3 p808-825 2025
Introduction: Individuals' math value beliefs are theorized to influence who persists in STEM. However, the existing findings on gender differences in adolescents' math value beliefs are inconsistent. The goal of this study was to use three existing datasets to help clarify when gender differences emerge for high school adolescents and for whom (i.e., adolescents across historical time, grade level, and race/ethnicity). Specifically, we examined the extent to which gender differences in adolescents' math value beliefs (i.e., interest, utility, and attainment) replicated (1) across three datasets spanning the 1990s to 2010s, (2) from 9th-12th grade, and (3) within each of the four largest U.S. racial/ethnic groups (i.e., Asian, Black, Latine, and White adolescents). Methods: We tested these aims with three existing longitudinal U.S. datasets: the California Achievement Motivation Project (CAMP) (n = 8855), the Childhood and Beyond Study (CAB) (n = 582), and the High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS) (n = 21,000). Students were in high school (9th-12th grade) and half were girls (49%-53%). All three datasets included measures with the same or similar math value belief items, making conceptual replication possible. Results and Conclusions: Overall, we did not find strong evidence for meaningful gender differences in adolescents' math value beliefs overall. We did find meaningful gender differences in the oldest data set (CAB). When examined within each racial/ethnic group, we found no evidence of gender differences in math value beliefs among Black or Latine adolescents, but some differences among Asian and White adolescents. The findings align with the gender similarities hypothesis, suggesting adolescent girls and boys had similar math value beliefs.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (NCES)
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1760757; 2054956; R01033437
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; 2School of Education, University of California, Irvine, California, USA; 3Department of School Pedagogy and Educational Research, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany; 4Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany