Although women are entering male-dominated occupations at a greater rate, they still tend to avoid those occupations, as well as college majors that require math. Lack of an adequate math background, and thus lower math achievement, seems to effectively bar women from high level, technological, and male-dominated occupations. This study examined…

Summarizes common explanations for the fact that fewer women than men elect to take advanced mathematics courses and enter mathematically oriented careers, integrating this research into a theoretical model first proposed by Parsons and her colleagues for studying students' academic choices and decisions. The utility of the model is discussed.…

A key to continuing occupational segregation by sex is seen to lie in "math avoidance" by women students. Borrowing from the insights of affective education, innovators have developed "reentry mathematics" courses which turn to self-conditioning, the attitudes, the psychological mindset, and the self-defeating behaviors of…

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that mathematics-related self-efficacy mediates the effects of gender and mathematical preparation and achievement on mathematics-relatedness of college major. The responses of 117 undergraduates to a series of inventories and questionnaires yielded seven variables descriptive of the…

Discusses confidence in learning math, anxiety, attributions of success and failure, and perceived usefulness of mathematics for both elementary and secondary samples. Three models for research are presented, and directions for future research are discussed. (RH)