Population type significantly moderates the gender gap in L2 achievement, largest in secondary schools and smallest at university¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? The gender gap is largest among secondary school learners (g = 0.41) and smallest among university learners (g = 0.03), with population type a significant moderator. → Chen 2026

Evidence¶

Chen 2026¶

Chen, X., Zhou, Z., & Padilla, A. M. (2026). Do Females Outperform Males on Second/Foreign Language (L2) Achievement? A Meta-Analytical Review across Three Decades. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10092-6

q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r2

Mixed-effects moderator analysis across the pooled studies. Secondary settings showed g = 0.41, elementary g = 0.33, language institute g = 0.26, and university settings the smallest effect (g = 0.03).

"the three-level mixed-effects model identified population type ( F (3, 133) = 2.68, p < 0.05) as a significant moderator."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Gender — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• Country significantly moderates the gender gap in L2 achievement, favoring females in China and males in Türkiye — related
• Most study characteristics (publication year, mean age, sampling, target language, L2 major, proficiency, measure, mode) do not significantly moderate the gender gap — related
• Female learners show a small but statistically significant advantage over males in L2 learning achievement (g = 0.17) — related