Session Information
09 SES 06 C, Assessment of Competencies and Attitudes in Mathematics Classrooms
Paper Session
Contribution
Both Swedish and international research claims that despite generally small grade differences in Math between boys and girls (Swedish Ministry of Education and Research 2006:287,Swedish Ministry of Education and Research 2010:51, Usher, 2009) the interest and desire to continue to study Math develops differently for boys and girls (Walkerdine, 1998, Grönmo 2004, Swedish Ministry of Education and Research 2004:97, Swedish Ministry of Education and Research 2010:51).This was not the case in Ma-classes in Stockholm.Both boys and girls in these math classes were twice as likely to choose a science program in high school. Girls in these math classes also had significantly higher grades in math compared to girls in the regular classes (Kjellman, 2006).When women and girls think about themselves as good or bad in mathematics, this seems to be closely connected to their capacity to practice maths in school within an educational everyday discourse (Swedish Ministry of Education and Research 2004:97). Recent studies also have highlighted how gender identity is formed through individual choices (Swedish Ministry of Education and Research2006:287).To analyze what happens at the micro-interactional level- that is, in classrooms is therefore important (Esmonde , 2009, s.1011, quoting Tate, 1995).
Purpose:
- To conduct a qualitative and comparative study of Math/Science schools, in contrast to “normal” middle schools, which examines Math teaching practices and content that effects young people’s constructions of identity and gender.
Questions:
- Are there differences in the concrete conditions for girls’ identities and gender constructions as "Math individuals" in Math-specific classes versus other classes?
- How are teachers’ assumptions and attitudes about Math, gender and student capability, related their teaching practices
Theoretically this project works within the ecological domain (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).
An ecological approach considers the development of an individual in relation to the “immediate environment, and the way in which this relation is mediated by forces emanating from more remote regions in the lager physical and social milieu” (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p.13). A school’s culture and environment largely influence its way of working and its Microsystems; can be understood in the form of established value foundations that together constitute the school as an institution.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Litterature Bronfenbrenner, Urie 1979. The ecology of human development. Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press Esmonde, Indigo (2009) Ideas and Identities: Supporting Equity in Cooperative Mathematics Learning. 2009 AERA. http://rer.aera.net Flores, A. (2007) Examinining disparities in mathematic education: Achievement gap or opportunity gap? Te High School Journal, 91 (1), 29-42. Grönmo, Liv Sissel 2004. Are Girls and Boys to Be Taught Differently? Ur International Perspecives on Learning and Teaching Mathematics. Clark B & Clark, D-M & Emanuelsson, G & Johansson, B & Lambdini, D-V & Lester, F-K & Wallby, A& Wallby K (Ed). Göteborgs Universitet. Johansson, R.Burke & Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. 2004. Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come. Educational Researcher, Vol.33, No 7,pp.14-26, October 2004. American Educational Research Association Kjellman, Ann-Christin 2006. Stockholms satsning på profilklasser i MA/NO. Slutrapport 2006. Individ, omvärld och lärande/Forskning nr 35. Institutionen för individ, omvärld och lärande, Lärarhögskolan i Stockholm (2006) Mendick, H. (2006). Masculinities in mathematics. Open University Press: England PNAS 2009 106:10593-10597. National differences in gender-science stereotypes predict national sex differences in science and math achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106, 10593-10597. SOU2004:97. Swedish Ministry of Education and Research (2004) Könsskillnader i utbildningsresultat. Fakta, mönster och perspektiv. Utbildningsdepartementets skriftserie rapport 7. 2004 SOU2006:287. Swedish Ministry of Education and Research 2006. Könsskillnader i måluppfyllelse och utbildningsval. Skolverket, Stockholm. SOU 2010:51. Swedish Ministry of Education and Research Könskillnader i skolprestationer – idéer om orsaker . Statens Offentliga Utredningar. Stockholm 2010 Usher,Ellen L (2009) Sourses of Middle School Student´s Self-Efficacy in Mathematics: A Qualitative Investigation. American Educational research Journal, Volume 46, Number 1 March 2009 Walkerdine, Valerie 1998. Counting girls out. Girls and mathematics. London: Falmer
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