Problem Solving Strategies as Gendered: Views from Mathematics Teachers

Rubel L., Shahbari J.

Steinmann I.

Previous research suggests that girls get better school marks and are more often recommended for academic school tracks after primary school. Using data from a representative sample of 4529 students who were followed longitudinally between grades 1–4 in Germany, this study adds nuance to this picture. In simple logistic regression models, girls were found to get more favourable teacher ratings in terms of language and written skills and more favourable school track recommendations, while boys got better teacher ratings in terms of nature knowledge and mathematical skills. In models that included control variables (achievement test scores, teacher-rated ability to concentrate, teacher-rated social skills, and teacher-rated personality characteristics), gender gaps shifted to the boys' advantage, with written skills remaining the only domain with female advantages. Linear growth models showed that in three out of four cases, gender gaps in teacher-rated skills widened over the course of primary school.

Clements M.A.

The five editors of this Fourth International Handbook of Mathematics Education (HB4) reside in Singapore (Berinderjeet Kaur), Australia (Ken Clements and Thomas Lowrie), the United States (Vilma Mesa), and Sweden (Johan Prytz). In this introductory chapter, meanings given to the concept “colonization” are discussed, with that concept being interpreted beyond purely historical and geographical contexts. One of the aims of HB4 is to investigate controversial issues in mathematics education, and four areas of contemporary literature in the field—“Mathematics Education in Asia,” “The Roles of Theory in Research and Practice,” “Equity and Social Justice,” and “Curriculum and Change”—are dealt with in uncompromising ways. Throughout HB4, a past-present-future balance has been consciously maintained in each of the four main sections.

Jaremus F., Pomeroy D., Luoma T.

Despite decades of attention to gender and school mathematics, gender inequalities in participation persist. This paper uses the lens of gender monoglossia to explore how accounts of gender and mathematics differ in three international contexts: Finland, Australia, and New Zealand. Drawing on data from completed studies, we examine normalised performances of masculinity in relation to location, race, and class, and who these constructions exclude from mathematics. In contrast to previous studies documenting masculine advantages, we note some boys ‘on the margins’ of mathematics in each context. We argue that masculine advantages in mathematics are not universal and that attention to contextual differences in gender monoglossia offers a way to ‘open mathematics up’ by exposing the constructed nature of gender norms.

Hannak A., Joseph K., Larremore D.B., Cimpian A.

Academic fields exhibit substantial levels of gender segregation. Here, we investigated differences in

Becker J.R., Hall J.

This narrative review of current research on gender and mathematics covers the years 2020 to 2022. The number of exemplary publications within these 3 years and the diversity of topics, theoretical frameworks, subjects, and authors are indications of gender and mathematics remaining a robust and evolving area of study. Of particular interest are studies of lived experiences of students in secondary school and university programs, many of which featured continuing and troubling discriminatory incidents. In addition, the focus in several studies on the intersectionality of gender with race and other identity features is a commendable trend that should be continued. Similar to the transition from sex differences to gender differences that emerged in the 1990s and 2000s, in the papers examined, some authors have reconceptualized gender as a fluid, non-binary construct, although most gender data are reported in binary ways. Gender remains a focus of research in mathematics education because of persistent inequities in achievement, attitudes, representation, and lived experiences.

Gutiérrez R., Myers M., Kokka K.

This article articulates how mathematics (e.g., what they are, how they can be used, who they are by and for, who is able to do and understand them) are a social construct, just like racial or gender identities are social constructs. The authors describe how Political Conocimiento in Teaching Mathematics–a relational knowing that involves the entanglement of mathematics, pedagogies, students, and politics–can be used as a lens to reveal narratives about mathematics re(told) through stories (e.g., “Mathematics is culture-free, objective, and universal”). Drawing on their work with teachers, the authors offer an example scenario/activity and a teacher discussion that unpacks where mathematical stories are being told, from a dominant perspective, as well as how focusing on healthier narratives can help teachers work toward liberatory futures. Implications for teaching, teacher education, and future research are described.

Kolovou M., Ran H., Secada W.

This article reports on an exploratory study of the shifts of teachers’ interactions with boys from their first to their second year of using cognitively guided instruction (CGI) in their math instruction. Interaction analysis was used to analyze 22 videos, two per each of 11 teachers, who applied CGI instruction in their classrooms (a) after participating in a CGI professional development program (year 1) and (b) after practicing CGI for one year (year 2). In the eleven year 1 videos, some teachers differentiated their attention to boys and girls based on two kinds of interactions: (a) during one-to-one interactions, teachers tended to distribute their attention more to boys as compared to girls; often, that attention was unevenly distributed among boys with some boys receiving more attention than others; and (b) during whole group interactions, teachers tended to ask more boys than girls to share their strategies. In the eleven year 2 videos, some noticeable shifts occurred: (a) during one-to-one interactions, teachers tended to distribute their attention to boys and girls and among students in more balanced patterns than during the previous year; and (b) during whole group interactions, teachers tended to balance how often they called on boys and girls to share. Microanalysis of selected episodes suggests that both shifts coincided with teachers’ adapting their teaching to be more aligned with CGI principles of instruction, such as attending to students’ mathematical thinking processes.

Ayalon M., Rubel L.H.

One class of problem-based lessons are those that culminate in a teacher-facilitated whole-class discussion featuring students’ solution approaches. We explore teachers’ considerations about selecting and sequencing students’ ideas for a summative whole-class discussion in this kind of problem-based lesson. We provided 42 participants, in a teacher education context, a task and a sample of solutions (correct and incorrect) to a given task. We prompted participants for which three they would select to have presented to the class, in what sequence, and why. In general, participants favored a direct model solution, an error, and an inductive solution with a geometric representation. They explained their selections and sequences in terms of structuring access for students by increasing in complexity; attending to errors; and sharing a variety of approaches. In their explanations, they placed less emphasis on mathematical connections between two solutions and rarely on connections across the set of three solutions. • We review the literature and identify principles and heuristics for sharing student work in whole class discussions. • Teachers received a task and eight solutions and chose a sequence of three to share with a hypothetical class. • Many participants began with a direct model or an error and culminated with a geometric solution. • Participants emphasized access through increases in complexity rather than mathematical connections between solutions.

Zhao S., Setoh P., Storage D., Cimpian A.

Past research has explored children's gender stereotypes about specific intellectual domains, such as mathematics and science, but less is known about the acquisition of domain-general stereotypes about the intellectual abilities of women and men. During 2017 and 2018, the authors administered Implicit Association Tests to Chinese Singaporean adults and 8- to 12-year-olds (N = 731; 58% female) to examine the gender stereotype that portrays exceptional intellectual ability (e.g., genius, brilliance) as a male attribute. This gender-brilliance stereotype was present among adults and children and for both Chinese and White stereotype targets. It also was stronger among older children and among children whose parents also showed it. This early-emerging stereotype may be an obstacle to gender equity in many prestigious employment sectors.

Rubel L.H., Ayalon M., Shahbari J.A.

Vial A.C., Muradoglu M., Newman G.E., Cimpian A.

Women are underrepresented in fields in which success is believed to require brilliance, but the reasons for this pattern are poorly understood. We investigated perceptions of a “masculinity-contest culture,” an organizational environment of ruthless competition, as a key mechanism whereby a perceived emphasis on brilliance discourages female participation. Across three preregistered correlational and experimental studies involving adult lay participants online ( N = 870) and academics from more than 30 disciplines ( N = 1,347), we found a positive association between the perception that a field or an organization values brilliance and the perception that this field or organization is characterized by a masculinity-contest culture. This association was particularly strong among women. In turn, perceiving a masculinity-contest culture predicted lower interest and sense of belonging as well as stronger impostor feelings. Experimentally reducing the perception of a masculinity-contest culture eliminated gender gaps in interest and belonging in a brilliance-oriented organization, suggesting possible avenues for intervention.

McCoy S., Byrne D., O’Connor P.

Parents' and teachers’ beliefs and evaluations of young people are important. Using a feminist institutionalist perspective, and drawing on rich data from one in seven nine-year-old children in Ire...

Kaplar M., Radović S., Veljković K., Simić-Muller K., Marić M.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of the Interactive Learning Materials Triangle (iLMT) on the learning and knowledge retention of 12-year-old students. The iLMT is a digital version of the standard school learning materials in Serbia, and is characterized by a high degree of interactivity and immediate feedback during the learning process. We conducted an experiment to explore whether iLMT influences student success in solving mathematical tasks that require different types of mathematical reasoning. Based on previous extensive research by Lithner, 4 types of tasks are discussed: high relatedness answer, high relatedness algorithm, local low relatedness, and global low relatedness. The study involved 633 students and 13 teachers of mathematics, equally distributed in control and test groups. The main findings indicate that student success on a knowledge test for high relatedness answer and local low relatedness tasks for the test group was significantly higher than for the control group. On the knowledge retention test, students in the test group outperformed students in the control group at high relatedness algorithm and local low relatedness tasks. Our results also suggest that, even when learning materials are carefully digitalized with the use of available technological advantages, student success in global low relatedness tasks may still be lacking.

Lubienski S.T., Ganley C.M., Makowski M.B., Miller E.K., Timmer J.D.

Despite progress toward gender equity, troubling disparities in mathematical problem-solving performance and related outcomes persist. To investigate why, we build on recurrent findings in previous studies to introduce a new construct, “bold problem solving,” which involves approaching mathematics problems in inventive ways. We introduce a self-report survey of bold problem-solving orientation and find that it mediates gender differences in problem-solving performance for both high-achieving middle school students (n = 79) and a more diverse sample of high school students (n = 222). Confidence mediates the relation between gender and bold problem-solving orientation, with mixed results for mental rotation skills and teacher-pleasing tendencies as mediators. Overall, the new bold problem-solving construct appears promising for advancing our understanding of gender differences in mathematics.