ERIC Number: EJ971952
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Aug
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1041-6080
EISSN: N/A
Advanced Mathematics Course-Taking: A Focus on Gender Equifinality
You, Sukkyung; Sharkey, Jill D.
Learning and Individual Differences, v22 n4 p484-489 Aug 2012
High school mathematics achievement predicts future success. Potentially different factors that lead to success for boys versus girls, termed equifinality, are not well understood. Such factors are needed to inform interventions to increase numbers of students taking advanced mathematics courses and going on into science and mathematics careers. With 16,373 diverse tenth grade participants of the 2002 Education Longitudinal Study, we used multi-group logistic regression modeling to investigate advanced mathematics course selection from a social cognitive perspective, testing relations separately by gender. Girls took advanced mathematics courses at significantly higher rates than males. Family background and cognitive factors were related to advanced mathematics coursetaking for both groups. Supporting the equifinality hypothesis, father's expectation, parent communication, and peer academic value were significant for girls yet mother's expectation and parent participation were significant for boys. Implications and future directions are discussed. (Contains 3 tables.)
Descriptors: Expectation, High School Students, Family Characteristics, Course Selection (Students), Mathematics Achievement, Parent Participation, Academic Achievement, Grade 10, Prediction, Gender Differences, Advanced Courses, Intervention, Science Careers, Mathematics, Career Choice, Parent Child Relationship, Peer Influence, Parent Aspiration, Mothers, Futures (of Society)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A