Science attitudes of selected middle school students in China: A preliminary investigation of similarities and differences as a function of gender

School Science and Mathematics, Feb 1997 by Boone, William J

Not all studies of this age range have uncovered differences in science attitude as a function of gender. Mason and Kahle (1989) report on the effect of trying to create a gender-free learning environment. As part of their study they administered a science attitude questionnaire to ninth grade biology students. They found that although there were significant changes in attitude as a function of group (i.e., control or treatment), they did not observe a difference as a function of gender.

Studies that involve other gender issues, science education, and middle school students have been conducted. In 1990 Shemesh investigated gender-related differences of seventh-ninth graders when only formal learning skills and learning interests were considered. In the study, boys' interests were observed not to change with grade level, but the girls' interests moved toward humanities, social sciences and the arts. However, "no gender-related differences were found in the overall relations between learning interest and cognitive development" (p. 32). Jacobson, Doran, Chang, Humrich, and Keeves (1987) discussed aspects of the second IEA science study and considered issues of gender and science achievement. They felt that the data showed U.S. girls did not like manipulatives. Linn, De Benedictis, Delucchi, Harris, and Stage (1987) explored another large scale study, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, for gender differences. One finding of their study was that females (ages 13 and 17) were less confident about their answers to content questions than boys.

The studies mentioned above involved western students (Israeli and American). Fewer studies have been completed that involved students in China or other non-western countries. Collis and Williams (1987) reported on a comparison of 8th and 12th grade students in Shanghai and Canada. These authors found no difference in the mean science attitude of Chinese boys and girls. However, it should be noted that their analysis utilized only three science attitude survey items. Mordi (1991) discussed the science attitudes of Nigerian sixth graders, but gender issues were not directly addressed. Toh and Woolnough (1993) described a study of middle school students in Singapore, but that work centered on an evaluation of laboratory achievement.

There are a number of science education studies with an international perspective that consider gender issues excluding attitude. For example, Lock (1992) evaluated British students' (ages 15-16) performance on problem solving tasks, while Lawson (1990) explored differences of Japanese and American students with regard to measuring tasks. Interestingly, a recent study by Xu and Farrell (1992) evaluated math achievement as a function of gender among students in Shanghai. They found no gender differences in achievement among pre-high school students, whereas at the high school level there was some evidence of male achievement being higher female achievement.

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