When Stereotypes Disadvantage Boys: Stereotypes in Mathematics and Language Arts and Their Relations With Grades (Poster 35)

• In Event: Thursday Poster Session 4:20 pm
  In Poster Session: Motivation, Social Identity, and Understudied Populations

Abstract

There is growing concern about boys’ lagging performance in school, not only in language arts, where the gap is particularly pronounced, but also in mathematics. Gender stereotypes about mathematics and language arts may be related to boys’ and girls’ performance. In two complementary studies examining high school boys’ and girls’ awareness and endorsement of stereotypes about both language arts (n = 299) and mathematics (n = 243), we found that students were aware of and endorsed strong stereotypes advantaging girls in language arts. In mathematics, students endorsed counter-traditional stereotypes slightly advantaging girls. We also found that endorsement of negative stereotypes about students’ own gender was related to poorer end-of-year grades in the targeted subject.

Authors

• Kathryn Everhart Chaffee, University of Quebec - Montreal

• Isabelle Plante, University of Quebec - Montreal

• Catherine Good, Baruch College - CUNY

• Joshua M. Aronson, New York University

• Simon-Benoît Kinch, Université du Québec à Montréal