Sex Differences in Developmental Pathways to Mathematical Competence

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  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.apa.org
    • Peer Reviewed:
      Y
    • Source:
      17
    • Sponsoring Agency:
      Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
      National Science Foundation (NSF)
    • Contract Number:
      R01HD087231
      DRL1659133
    • Education Level:
      Elementary Education
      Grade 6
      Intermediate Grades
      Middle Schools
      Grade 7
      Junior High Schools
      Secondary Education
      Grade 8
      Grade 9
      High Schools
    • Subject Terms:
      Gender Differences; Mathematics Skills; Mathematics Achievement; Adolescents; Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 8; Grade 9; Middle School Students; Student Behavior; Attention; Spatial Ability; Short Term Memory; Cognitive Ability; Arithmetic; Algebra; Intelligence Quotient
    • Subject Terms:
      Missouri
    • Subject Terms:
      Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence
    • Accession Number:
      10.1037/edu0000763
    • ISSN:
      0022-0663
      1939-2176
    • Abstract:
      The study tested the hypothesis that there are sex differences in the pathways to mathematical development. Three-hundred and 42 adolescents (169 boys) were assessed in various mathematics areas from arithmetic fluency to algebra across 6th to 9th grade, inclusive, and completed a battery of working memory, spatial, and intelligence measures in middle school. Their middle school and ninth grade teachers reported on their in-class attentive behavior. There were no sex differences in overall mathematics performance, but boys had advantages on all spatial measures (ds = 0.29 to 0.58) and girls were more attentive in classroom settings (ds = -0.28 to -0.37). A series of structural equation models indicated that sixth- to ninth-grade mathematical competence was influenced by a combination of general cognitive ability, spatial abilities, and in-class attention. General cognitive ability was important for both sexes but the spatial pathway to mathematical competence was relatively more important for boys and the in-class attention pathway for girls.
    • Abstract:
      As Provided
    • Notes:
      https://osf.io/fdkab
    • Publication Date:
      2023
    • Accession Number:
      EJ1372968