Girls show less confidence and interest in math and science from early adolescence, and a strong math/science self-concept predicts course choice and performance for both genders¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2007 · checked against its sources 2026-10-16 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Girls and women have less confidence in their math abilities than males, and from early adolescence girls show less interest in math or science careers. → Halpern 2007 q2 i? Students with a strong self-concept in math or science are more likely to choose and perform well in elective courses and select related majors and careers. → Halpern 2007 (2)

Evidence¶

Halpern 2007¶

Halpern, D., Aronson, J., Reimer, N., Simpkins, S., Star, J., and Wentzel, K. (2007). Encouraging Girls in Math and Science (NCER 2007-2003). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/5

q2 · i? · review · r2

The guide's overview synthesizes correlational and longitudinal studies (citing Andre et al. 1999; Herbert and Stipek 2005; Jacobs et al. 2002, among others). It notes this difference persists "given that males and females generally enroll in similar courses"; no effect sizes printed.

"researchers have found that girls and women have less confidence in their math abilities than males do and that from early adolescence, girls show less interest in math or science careers."

Halpern 2007 (2)¶

Halpern, D., Aronson, J., Reimer, N., Simpkins, S., Star, J., and Wentzel, K. (2007). Encouraging Girls in Math and Science (NCER 2007-2003). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/5

q2 · i? · review · r2

Correlational evidence cited in the overview (Simpkins and Davis-Kean 2005; Updegraff and Eccles 1996). The guide uses it to argue that "improving girls' beliefs about their abilities could alter their choices and performance." No effect sizes printed.

"girls, as well as boys, who have a strong self-concept regarding their abilities in math or science are more likely to choose and perform well in elective math and science courses and to select math- and science-related college majors and careers."

Studies bearing on this claim¶

Do girls and boys differ in confidence, interest and participation in mathematics, science and computing? This table gathers the studies behind this claim and the 12 narrower claims that bear on it: 11 distinct studies (5 associational, 2 theoretical, 1 review, 1 causal, 1 design, 1 qualitative), q2–q3, 2 of 11 with an effect size coded. One row per study, codes as each entry records them; no effect is averaged and no verdict is drawn. Built by scripts/synthesize_claim.py from eval/synthesis/; a row that looks wrong is fixed on the claim it comes from.

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Gender — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Self-Efficacy — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Academic Self-Concept — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Learners' task-specific self-efficacy beliefs predict whether they initiate, persist through, and recover from difficulty on academic tasks. — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Gender effects on self-regulated learning are mediated by culture, discipline, and age, with mixed direction across samples — related
• Learners invest more effort in tasks they perceive as interesting, personally important, or useful to their future goals. — a broader claim this one bears on
• Math anxiety levels do not differ significantly by gender among third graders — related
• Task value was higher for mathematics than for English and social studies for both genders, with gender differences only in the English–social studies comparison — related
• Sixth-graders' mathematics self-concept and individual interest both decline over one school year — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Brilliance cues reduce stigmatized students' interest and intrinsic motivation, with effects emerging by age 6–7 and persisting into adulthood — related
• Nations whose students score best on TIMSS mathematics and science tests show the least liking of mathematics and science — related
• Field-specific ability beliefs are consensual cultural beliefs, acquired by early elementary school, that associate brilliance with fields like math more than language fields — related
• Lack of diversity in computing stems from social and structural barriers, not ability or interest — reports the opposite
• The technological gender gap emerges only within Technology-oriented pathways, with parity in Arts and Sciences — related
• Women tend to shy away from competition, contributing to gender gaps in math-related educational choices — related
• San Diego regional data show STEM access and pay remain inequitable by race, socioeconomic status, and gender — related
• The fraction of women enrolling in mathematics degree programs in the UK and the Netherlands has remained constant despite rising female participation in higher education — related
• Male secondary students report significantly higher STEM career interest than female students across AI, computer science, and engineering at baseline — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Male secondary students report higher self-efficacy than female students after learning from video modeling examples, without higher performance — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• New Mexico CTE enrollment shows breadth over depth and demographic underrepresentation, with females only 19% of STEM CTE enrollment versus 49% of the total population — related
• Gender findings on adolescent creativity are mixed and depend on the domain or topic of the creativity test — related
• High school girls and boys take largely similar math and science coursework, with girls more likely to complete biology and chemistry and boys more likely to complete physics and calculus — related
• Female students report higher job finding anxiety, AI anxiety, and negative AI attitudes than male students — related
• Girls and underrepresented minorities remain far below representative participation on AP computer science exams, though new exams show gains — related
• Early identification and treatment of math anxiety is important because early anxieties can snowball into avoidance of mathematics — related
• Children's ability self-concepts and subjective task values are domain-specific and differentiated from first grade, with gender differences in math fading over time — related
• Girls exhibited a stronger decrease in mathematics ASC than boys over the school year, while school type did not predict ASC development — related
• Girls started lower in math self-concept and interest than boys, and the L1 self-concept gender gap widened over Grades 7–9 — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Male top-performing math students report higher math self-efficacy and stronger math-oriented motivation than female top performers — a narrower finding that bears on this claim