{"id":75920,"date":"2025-02-18T15:37:29","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T20:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=75920"},"modified":"2025-02-19T00:04:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T05:04:24","slug":"boys-not-only-perform-better-in-maths-they-are-also-more-confident-about-the-subject-than-girls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/boys-not-only-perform-better-in-maths-they-are-also-more-confident-about-the-subject-than-girls\/","title":{"rendered":"Boys not only perform better in maths, they are also more confident about the subject than girls"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There is a persistent gender gap in Australian schools. Boys, on average, outperform girls in maths.<\/p>\n

We see this in national tests such as\u00a0NAPLAN<\/a>, as well as\u00a0international assessments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New Australian Council for Educational Research\u00a0analysis<\/a>\u00a0by my colleague Catherine Underwood shows how boys, on average, are also more confident and positive about maths than girls.<\/p>\n

What can parents do to help their children feel more confident about this core subject?<\/p>\n

Boys outperform girls in maths<\/h4>\n

An important measure of students\u2019 maths performance is the OECD\u2019s\u00a0Programme for International Assessment<\/a>\u00a0(PISA) test. Run every three years, it measures 15-year-olds\u2019 ability to apply their maths, science and reading knowledge to real-world situations.<\/p>\n

In 2022,\u00a053% of Australian male students<\/a>\u00a0achieved the PISA national proficiency standard in maths, compared with 48% of female students. The gender gap on average scores was also\u00a0greater in Australia<\/a>\u00a0than across the OECD.<\/p>\n

As part of PISA, students also completed a questionnaire about their attitudes to learning. ACER\u2019s new analysis uses data from the questionnaire to look at Australian students\u2019 confidence in maths and how this differs between girls and boys.<\/p>\n

Why is confidence so important?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Research suggests\u00a0students\u2019 confidence has an impact<\/a>\u00a0on their academic performance. Researchers can call this \u201cself-efficacy\u201d, or the belief in your ability to successfully perform tasks and solve problems.<\/p>\n

Students with high mathematical self-efficacy embrace challenges, use effective problem-solving strategies, and persevere despite difficulties. Those with low self-efficacy may avoid tasks, experience anxiety, and ultimately underperform due to a lack of confidence in their maths abilities.<\/p>\n

We can see this in the 2022 PISA results. Girls in the top quarter on the self-rated \u201cself-efficacy index\u201d scored an average of 568 points on the PISA maths performance test, a staggering 147 points higher than the average for girls in the lowest quarter on the index.<\/p>\n

For boys, the benefit of confidence was even more pronounced. Those in the top quarter of the index scored 159 points on average higher in maths performance than those in the lowest quarter.<\/p>\n

Boys are more confident than girls<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The PISA questionnaire asked students how confident they felt about having to do a range of formal and applied maths tasks.<\/p>\n

Students showed similar levels of confidence solving formal maths tasks such as equations. But male students, on average, showed they were more confident than female students with applied mathematics tasks such as:<\/p>\n