Mathetude » Little girls are made of sugar and spice, and learn that math is not nice

Little girls are made of sugar and spice, and learn that math is not nice

nitajo sumitted ago via http://www.scientificamerican.com (Views: 134, Clicks: 13) View Story

One of the first lessons that girls often learn in elementary school is that boys are better at math.

1 comments | Tags: susan levine achievement gap math attitudes math math performance | Topic: Elementary/Primary BAD >_<

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#1 by nitajo posted ago

+3 apples

Levine's team points out that these young children are also learning gender-based attitudes from parents, siblings and peers. But because teachers are probably confirming or strengthening sexist ideas about mathematical ability, the researchers suggest that elementary teachers be required to take more than the minimal college math courses. "More care needs to be taken to develop both strong math skills and positive math attitudes in these educators," the authors wrote.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences -- http://www.pnas.org/

Female teachers’ math anxiety affects girls’ math achievement -- http://www.pnas.org/search?fulltext=math+education&go.x=15&go.y=13&go=GO&submit=yes

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