Girls lack self-confidence in maths and science problems, study finds

Girls “lack self-confidence” in their ability to solve mathematics and science problems and achieve worse results than they otherwise would, despite outperforming boys overall, according to an international study of gender equality in schools by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The study – based on the OECD’s international tests and surveys – suggests school performance both worldwide and in the UK could be boosted by improving attitudes among girls towards tackling maths and science, and by parents encouraging girls to consider careers involving subjects such as engineering.

The OECD’s research found that girls do worse than boys in maths, and that boys come out top even among high-performing students, in countries that took part in the OECD’s assessments of 15-year-olds.

The OECD said: “What emerges from these analyses is particularly worrying. Even many high-achieving girls have low levels of confidence in their ability to solve science and mathematics problems and express high levels of anxiety towards mathematics.”

Yet girls were also found to have more positive attitudes to school in general, did more homework, more often read for pleasure and were less likely to play video games – so that far fewer girls than boys were among underachieving school pupils.

Finland – one of Europe’s best performing countries in OECD tests overall – had more than twice as many boys as girls among its low achievers. The UK came out relatively well, with almost no gender gap seen between boys and girls among the worst performing pupils.

“Gender disparities in performance do not stem from innate differences in aptitude, but rather from students’ attitudes towards learning and their behaviour in school, from how they choose to spend their leisure time, and from the confidence they have,” the report said.

As proof, the report noted that girls in Shanghai – the highest performing entrant in the last round of OECD tests – scored more highly in maths than boys in most other countries.

The OECD pinned the blame for the disadvantage for girls in maths and science on low expectations among parents and teachers, as well as lack of self-confidence and what it called the ability to “think like a scientist” in answering problems.

“This gender difference in the ability to think like a scientist may be related to students’ self-confidence. When students are more self-confident, they give themselves the freedom to fail, to engage in the trial-and-error processes that are fundamental to acquiring knowledge in mathematics and science,” the OECD said.

Girls were more likely than boys to report that they “just weren’t good at maths” and less likely to agree that maths was one of their best subjects.

Girls in the UK appeared to be particularly vulnerable to low self-confidence hampering their ability in maths and science.

British boys outperformed girls in science exercises by 20 percentage points – but the gap disappeared when the performances were adjusted for levels of self-confidence. In other words: girls who said they were good at science performed as well as boys with the same attitude, while girls and boys lacking in self-confidence achieved results that were similar to each other.

In maths, British girls were outscored by boys in tests – but the gap was reversed when attitudes were taken into account. The problem, however, is that many more girls lack confidence in their mathematical and scientific ability than their male peers.

In the UK, the position was made worse by the very high correlation between mathematical and science test performance and self-confidence in those subjects. As a result, lack of confidence is potentially holding the UK back from performing better in international league tables such as the OECD’s triennial Pisa tests.

Alun Jones, head of the Girls’ School Association, said that he agreed with the OECD’s assessment, but said that girls could be encouraged to “think like a scientist” in the right environment and through exposure to scientific roles. He said: “We’re dealing with centuries of gender bias and what people and parents think and say, often without realising it, does influence children’s expectations of themselves.

“Girls’ schools can’t eradicate this kind of cultural conditioning, but we can take significant steps towards minimising it and the results indicate that this does boost girls’ confidence in their maths and science abilities,” Jones said.

Pupils at all-girls schools are more likely to study subjects such as physics and maths to A-level.

The OECD research tallies with recent examination results in England. While girls do better overall, boys outperform them in maths and sciences other than biology, and study those subjects in greater numbers in higher education.