Gender affects levels of self-concept and mathematics achievement but not the pattern of causal predominance¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q3
Currency · newest study 1995 · not yet checked against its sources · 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 i? Boys had higher self-concept (path .33 in Grade 2) and slightly higher achievement (paths .17–.19), but including gender did not change the cross-lagged pattern. → Helmke 1995
Evidence¶
Helmke 1995¶
Helmke, A., & van Aken, M. A. G. (1995). The causal ordering of academic achievement and self-concept of ability during elementary school: A longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 87(4), 624-637. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.87.4.624
q3 · i? · associational · r2
Gender was added to all structural models and the models reestimated (N = 697). The article reports "the pattern of path coefficients presented in Figures 1-4 did not change when gender was included" (maximum coefficient change .06).
"gender had an effect on self-concept, indicating that boys had a higher self-concept than girls (the path coefficients from gender to self-concept in Grade 2 were .33 in all models)"
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- Gender — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
Related Claims¶
- Teacher-rated grades show girls rated slightly higher than boys, but gender is unrelated to test performance — related
- Boys received more process praise and scored higher in 4th grade math than girls in this sample — related
- The cross-lagged model holds equally for intervention and control groups and for boys and girls — related
- The spatial pathway to mathematical competence is relatively more important for boys and the in-class attention pathway for girls, confirming the differential contributions hypothesis — related
- Prior longitudinal SEM studies of self-concept versus achievement causality show heterogeneous causal predominance, varying with design, self-concept operationalization, domain, and achievement measure — related
- Marks show a stronger impact on later self-concept than test performance from third to fourth grade — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
gender-levels-not-causal-pattern |
title |
Gender affects levels of self-concept and mathematics achievement but not the pattern of causal predominance |
description |
Gender affects levels of self-concept and mathematics achievement but not the pattern of causal predominance |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
1995 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-25 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — helmke-1995 |
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