To address the seven guiding questions posed for authors of articles in this special issue, we begin by discussing the development (in the late 1970s-early 1980s) of Eccles' expectancy-value theory of achievement choice (EEVT), a theory developed to explain the cultural phenomenon of why girls were less likely to participate in STEM courses and…

Many Black women doctoral students entering and persisting through graduate study lack the affirmation, community, and resources necessary to confidently assert themselves as members of the academy. These barriers make it especially difficult for Black women to effectively navigate doctoral programs that privilege and normalize elite white male…

Youth in Western countries are exposed to many messages that sexualize women. We selectively review the literature on sexualization with the goal of clarifying and integrating theories, constructs, and models of the pathways and mechanisms via which exposure to such messages may affect youth. In the first section of the article, we define…

This study examined a structural model of mathematics achievement among Druze 8th graders in Israel. The model integrates 2 psychosocial theories: goal theory and social learning theory. Variables in the model included gender, father's and mother's education, classroom mastery and performance goal orientation, mathematics self-efficacy and…

Girls' early pubertal timing has been linked in many studies to behavioral problems such as delinquency and substance use. The theoretical explanations for these links have often involved the girls' peer relationships, but contexts have also been considered important in some explanations. By integrating two theoretical models, the…

The purposes of this study were (a) to examine the socialization factors of community college transfer students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); (b) to examine the socialization factors that impact the academic and social adjustment of community college transfer students in STEM majors; and (c) to understand how female…

This article outlines a model of the structure and the dynamics of gender cognition in childhood. The model incorporates 3 hypotheses featured in different contemporary theories of childhood gender cognition and unites them under a single theoretical framework. Adapted from Greenwald et al. (2002), the model distinguishes three constructs: gender…

Theories that explain the gender discrepancy in mathematics almost universally explain why boys are "better at math" than girls while failing to adequately account for girls' higher grades in math classes or better performances on tests of computational ability. This article develops a new, more comprehensive theoretical model that explains girls'…

As a nation reliant on scientific and technological innovation for the health of our economy and national security, it is imperative that both educators and education policy create learning pathways that will successfully support current and future undergraduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.…

A technique designed to provide an idiosyncratic representation of a client's personal socialization experiences and reanalysis of these experiences from social-learning-theory perspective reveals interconnectedness of cognitions, feelings, and actions that contribute to the client's self-image. A case study illustrating the use of…

A three-stage model of sex-role development which accounts for the failure of traditional models to explain sex-role socialization and eliminate discrimination is proposed. The model necessitates exploration of multiple interactive processes which influence sex-role development and several different mechanisms of growth. (Author/AM)

This article examines some persistent paradoxes in the definition of the male role, and proposes a distinction between traditional and modern male roles. Four current perspectives on the problem of the male role are distinguished. (Author/AM)

Presented is evidence that situational factors have more effect on political behavior of both sexes than is usually reported in socialization literature. When situational factors are varied, respondents in the high stimulus situation are found to be more politically expressive regardless of sex. Available from: Southern Political Science…

Analysis of National Youth Survey data supports a symbolic interactionist model of gender and delinquency. For both males and females, parental appraisals significantly affected youths' reflected appraisals, which in turn predicted delinquency. However, for males, parental labeling and reflected appraisals had a greater effect on delinquency, and…

An interactive, biosocial model of early hominids presents evidence that physical sex differences are not the basis for the sexual division of labor as is commonly believed. Production (the deliberate collection and distribution of food) developed among early hominids as a prerequisite for survival. Although the population appears to have had…