GSE/RES: Who Likes Math? International Trends Among Eighth-Grade Girls and Boys

智力价值：这个项目调查支持科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)领域性别隔离的态度和文化因素。来自59个国家的四个时间点的调查数据将被用来回答以下问题：从1995年到2007年，八年级男孩和女孩对数学的态度发生了怎样的变化？这些态度在不同国家之间有何不同？青少年对工程学学位课程的性别构成有何影响？对数学的态度？性别平等有时会出现在意想不到的地方。这一点在STEM的性别构成中最为明显，特别是在许多公认的性别传统的发展中和转型社会中，妇女在这些领域具有很强的代表性。先进的工业劳动力市场和教育系统的性别隔离程度较高，部分原因是结构特点，包括其庞大的服务部门和高度多样化的课程。但越来越多的证据表明，现代形式的性别隔离也反映了女孩和女性有意识地选择避开数学密集型的物理科学和工程领域，转而从事被认为更以人类为中心的追求。本研究将运用描述性趋势分析和多元、多水平模型，探讨(1)青少年数学态度的国际趋势，(2)女生和男生对数学产生更积极态度的条件，以及(3)性别差异态度转化为工科学位课程性别隔离的过程。三个态度维度将被考虑：对数学的亲和力，对数学技能的评价，以及对数学的自信。态度数据来自国际数学与科学趋势调查(TIMSS)的四次浪潮。中心研究假设是，在发达工业国家，女孩对数学的态度将不那么积极，性别差异更大，而且与转型国家或发展中国家相比，对数学的态度将更好地预测女性在先进工业国家获得工程学位的比例。这些假设源于理论上的论证，即在富裕社会中，生存安全的重要性正在下降，而自我表达的文化要求正在上升。广泛的影响：STEM工人的持续短缺是一个日益严重的问题，有可能破坏国家发展和全球经济竞争力。挖掘大量潜在的女性科学家和工程师已成为雇主的首要任务，也是各国政府和国际组织的关键政策目标。但是，在工业社会中招募妇女参加这些活动的大多数努力都没有成功，因为几乎没有采取任何行动来破坏导致女孩认为自己不适合从事这类工作的陈规定型观念。除了对整个社会有益之外，这项研究的目的是通过确定阻碍女性参与教育投资回报更高、晋升机会更多的领域的文化和态度障碍，为女性服务。对数学密集型工作的强烈男性标签限制了未来几代女孩的可选选择，剥夺了所有公民对妇女潜在的人力资本贡献。通过在广泛的背景下比较态度和结果，这项研究可以帮助确定旨在整合STEM领域的政策努力的适当场所。

Intellectual Merit: This project investigates the attitudinal and cultural factors that support gender segregation of scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) fields. Survey data from 59 countries at four time points will be used to address the following questions: How have eighth grade boys' and girls' attitudes toward mathematics changed between 1995 and 2007? How do these attitudes vary across countries? And how is the gender composition of engineering degree programs affected by adolescents? attitudes toward mathematics? Gender equality is sometimes found in unexpected places. This is nowhere more evident than in the gender composition of STEM, specifically women's strong representation in these fields in many reputably gender-traditional developing and transitional societies. The higher levels of gender segregation in advanced industrial labor markets and educational systems is partly attributable to structural features, including their large service sectors and highly diversified curricula. But evidence is growing that modern forms of gender segregation also reflect conscious choices by girls and women to avoid mathematically-intensive physical science and engineering fields in favor of pursuits that are regarded as more human centered. Using descriptive trend analyses and multivariate, multilevel modeling, this research will investigate (1) international trends in adolescents' attitudes toward mathematics, (2) the conditions under which girls and boys develop more positive attitudes toward mathematics, and (3) the process by which gender-differentiated attitudes are translated into sex-segregation of engineering degree programs. Three attitudinal dimensions will be considered: affinity toward mathematics, valuation of mathematical skills, and self-confidence in mathematics. Attitudinal data are taken from four waves of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS). Central research hypotheses are that girls' attitudes toward mathematics will be less positive and more gender-differentiated in advanced industrial countries, and that attitudes toward mathematics will better predict women's share of engineering degrees in advanced industrial than in transitional or developing countries. These hypotheses derive from theoretical arguments about the declining salience of existential security and the rise of cultural mandates for self-expression in affluent societies.Broader Impacts: Persistent shortage of STEM workers is a growing problem that threatens to undermine national development and economic competitiveness around the globe. Tapping the vast pool of potential female scientists and engineers has become a top priority of employers and a key policy goal of diverse national governments and international organizations. But most efforts to recruit women to these activities in industrial societies have been unsuccessful because little has been done to undermine stereotypes that lead girls to see themselves as unsuited for such work. Besides benefits to society as a whole, this research aims to serve women by identifying cultural and attitudinal obstacles to their participation in fields characterized by better payoff to educational investment and greater opportunities for advancement than typical female-dominated fields. The strong male-labeling of mathematically-intensive work limits perceived options of future generations of girls and deprives all citizens of women's potential human capital contributions. By comparing attitudes and outcomes across a broad range of contexts, this research can help identify the appropriate locus for policy efforts aimed at integrating STEM fields.