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The Relation Between Gender Egalitarian Values and Gender Differences in Academic Achievement

Eriksson, Kimmo ; Björnstjerna, Marie LU and Vartanova, Irina (2020) In Frontiers in Psychology 11.
Abstract

Gender differences in achievement exhibit variation between domains and between countries. Much prior research has examined whether this variation could be due to variation in gender equality in opportunities, with mixed results. Here we focus instead on the role of a society's values about gender equality, which may have a more pervasive influence. We pooled all available country measures on adolescent boys' and girls' academic achievement between 2000 and 2015 from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessments of math, science, and reading. We then analyzed the relation between gender differences and country levels of gender egalitarian values,... (More)

Gender differences in achievement exhibit variation between domains and between countries. Much prior research has examined whether this variation could be due to variation in gender equality in opportunities, with mixed results. Here we focus instead on the role of a society's values about gender equality, which may have a more pervasive influence. We pooled all available country measures on adolescent boys' and girls' academic achievement between 2000 and 2015 from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessments of math, science, and reading. We then analyzed the relation between gender differences and country levels of gender egalitarian values, controlling for country levels of living standards and indicators of gender equality in opportunities. Gender egalitarian values came out as the most important predictor. Specifically, more gender egalitarian values were associated with improved performance of boys relative to girls in the same countries. This pattern held in reading, where boys globally perform substantially worse than girls, as well as in math and science where gender differences in performance are small and may favor either boys or girls. Our findings suggest a previously underappreciated role of cultural values in moderating gender gaps in academic achievement.

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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
gender egalitarian values, gender equality, gender differences, academic achievement, mathematics education, literacy abilities
in
Frontiers in Psychology
volume
11
publisher
Frontiers Media S. A.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85081215552
  • pmid:32153461
ISSN
1664-1078
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00236
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Copyright © 2020 Eriksson, Björnstjerna and Vartanova.
id
30ad2caa-b83c-4ba2-bcc0-d2f660fd0c14
date added to LUP
2023-08-16 20:20:59
date last changed
2024-06-15 06:01:45
@article{30ad2caa-b83c-4ba2-bcc0-d2f660fd0c14,
  abstract     = {{<p>Gender differences in achievement exhibit variation between domains and between countries. Much prior research has examined whether this variation could be due to variation in gender equality in opportunities, with mixed results. Here we focus instead on the role of a society's values about gender equality, which may have a more pervasive influence. We pooled all available country measures on adolescent boys' and girls' academic achievement between 2000 and 2015 from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessments of math, science, and reading. We then analyzed the relation between gender differences and country levels of gender egalitarian values, controlling for country levels of living standards and indicators of gender equality in opportunities. Gender egalitarian values came out as the most important predictor. Specifically, more gender egalitarian values were associated with improved performance of boys relative to girls in the same countries. This pattern held in reading, where boys globally perform substantially worse than girls, as well as in math and science where gender differences in performance are small and may favor either boys or girls. Our findings suggest a previously underappreciated role of cultural values in moderating gender gaps in academic achievement.</p>}},
  author       = {{Eriksson, Kimmo and Björnstjerna, Marie and Vartanova, Irina}},
  issn         = {{1664-1078}},
  keywords     = {{gender egalitarian values; gender equality; gender differences; academic achievement; mathematics education; literacy abilities}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Frontiers Media S. A.}},
  series       = {{Frontiers in Psychology}},
  title        = {{The Relation Between Gender Egalitarian Values and Gender Differences in Academic Achievement}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00236}},
  doi          = {{10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00236}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}