Girls show higher reading enjoyment and lower math enjoyment than boys, with no science enjoyment difference, after controlling for achievement, SES, and age¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q3·i1small
Currency · newest study 2023 · checked against its sources 2026-10-23 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i1 There was a positive effect of gender (male = 2) on math enjoyment (β = .110) and a negative effect on reading enjoyment (β = -.323); girls had lower math enjoyment but higher reading enjoyment than boys. → Basarkod 2023
Evidence¶
Basarkod 2023¶
Basarkod, G., Marsh, H. W., Guo, J., Parker, P. D., Dicke, T., & Pekrun, R. (2023). The Happy-Fish-Little-Pond Effect on Enjoyment: Generalizability Across Multiple Domains and Countries. https://osf.io/kb29h/
q3 · i1 · associational · r2
Fixed effects from the three-level multilevel models with gender coded female = 1, male = 2; the pattern appeared in both zero-order correlations and models accounting for achievement, SES, and age.
"There was a positive effect of gender on math enjoyment (β = .110) and a negative effect on reading enjoyment (β = -.323). That is, girls had lower math enjoyment, but higher reading enjoyment, compared to boys."
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- Achievement Emotions — outcome: instruction changes it
- Gender — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
- Interest — outcome: instruction changes it
Related Claims¶
- Boys read for leisure and enjoy reading less than girls, but no sex differences appear in mental imagery — related
- Findings on gender differences in engagement with adaptive learning platforms are mixed, with some studies showing higher engagement among girls and others among boys — related
- Questionnaire responses from 3,598 pupils show boys' and girls' reading interests are far from identical, with some interests increasing or declining with age — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
gender-differences-enjoyment-reading-math |
title |
Girls show higher reading enjoyment and lower math enjoyment than boys, with no science enjoyment difference, after controlling for achievement, SES, and age |
description |
Girls show higher reading enjoyment and lower math enjoyment than boys, with no science enjoyment difference, after controlling for achievement, SES, and age |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2023 |
source_checked |
2026-10-23 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-23 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — basarkod-2023 |
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