GENDER DIFFERENCES IN MATHEMATICS PARTICIPATION - AN AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE

Gender differences in many areas of participation in school are recedi ng, but the gap favouring males in mathematics study in senior seconda ry school persists. This study attempted to identify some of the dimen sions underlying gender differences in mathematics participation. The data from a survey of Years 10, 11 and 12 students at four high school s were used to examine the relationships between the gender difference s in attitudes towards mathematics and the participation in senior sch ool courses. The findings suggest that the separation of senior school mathematics into academic and non-academic subjects was more efficien t for boys than far girls because in the junior years of high school b oys develop more positive views of mathematics and of themselves as ma thematics learners leading to them more often selecting the university -preferred options. Not all girls were disadvantaged, however. Girls f rom middle-class backgrounds, particularly those from professional and managerial origins, tended to remain confident and retained their int erest in mathematics supporting high enrolment rates in the specialist maths stream at the senior level of high school. The social backgroun d offset the effects of gender.