10 SISTEMA DE ALIMENTACIÓN 10.1 Deposito de combustible

SMGS refer to how students consider the relationship between gender and mathematics with two sub-scales, where Traditional Stereotype (TS) refers to the

90 superiority that boys have in mathematics and Anti-Traditional Stereotype (ATS) refers to the equity of boys’ and girls’ capability in mathematical learning; even that girls can do mathematics better.

Table 4. 19 Mode and variation ratio of SMGS by gender

Gender SMGS SMGS

TS ATS

Mode Boys 5 3 5

Girls 5 1 5

Variation

ratio Boys Girls 0.69 0.47 0.68 0.55 0.61 0.42

Both boys and girls share high levels of anti-traditional stereotypes with a mode of 5 (Strongly Agree), while a much higher degree of centralisation is shared among girls (0.47) than among boys (0.69) (see Table 4.19). An inspection of two sub-scales informs that most girls show strong disagreement on traditional stereotypes with a mode of 1 and strong agreement on anti-traditional stereotypes with a mode of 5. Although anti-traditional stereotypical views are widely shared among both boys and girls, boys tend to sit on the fence by choosing Neutral when being asked about traditional stereotypes. Furthermore, the variation ratios reveal that boys’ views on traditional stereotypes vary besides neutral attitudes (0.68) while more than half of girls tend to show strong agreement on anti-traditional stereotypes with the highest degree of centralisation (0.42).

Traditional Stereotype

Figure 4. 16 TS (Item 26 to 29) responses frequency distribution by gender

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

boys girls boys girls boys girls boys girls

Item 26 Boys can solve more difficult maths

problems.

Item 27 Girls who enjoy studying maths are a

little bit strange.

Item 28 Boys are born

with maths minds. better at maths, becauseItem 29 Boys perform of their intelligence.

Traditional Stereotype: Boys are more superior in maths than girls

91 More girls show strong disagreement on traditional stereotypes, while more boys show strong agreement for this sub-scale (see Figure 4.16). For item 26 (Boys can solve more difficult maths problems), item 28 (Boys are born with maths minds) and item 29 (Boys perform better at maths, because of their intelligence), the differences between boys’ and girls’ attitudes are obvious: approximately 35% of girls show strong disagreement, while a similar percentage of boys show their strong agreement on these items. Furthermore, more than 30% of students choose neutral for these three items. This pattern uncovers that although most students do not accept traditional stereotypical views, particularly among girls, a similar number of students prefer to sit on the fence by showing neutral attitudes.

Table 4. 20 Chi-square results for TS (Item 26 to 29) by gender

Item χ2 _Statistics

26. Boys can solve more difficult maths problems. χ2 = 91.882, df = 4, P(χ2 > 91.882) < 0.001 27. Girls who enjoy studying maths are a little bit

strange. χ2 = 59.709, df = 4, P(χ2 > 59.709) < 0.001

28. Boys are born with maths minds. χ2 = 107.105, df = 4, P(χ2 > 107.105) < 0.001

29. Boys perform better at maths, because of their

intelligence. χ2 = 47.714, df = 4, P(χ2 > 47.714) < 0.001

There are statistically significant differences within Traditional Stereotype by gender with p-values less than 0.001 (see Table 4.20). Compared with other items, less students choose neutral for item 27 (Girls who enjoy studying maths are a little bit strange), while the majority of students disagree with this statement. Almost 60% of boys and approximately 90% of girls show their disagreement. Up to 71% of girls and 40% of boys show their strong disagreement, revealing that anti-traditional stereotypes are widely accepted.

Interview data reveal that the differences between boys’ and girls’ maths-related ability are highlighted by two Year 4 boys. Both of them agree that Chinese belongs to girls while mathematics definitely belongs to boys.

Generally, girls have stronger observing ability while boys have stronger thinking ability which is very important for mathematics learning. [BB2Y4, Year 4 boy] Probably, the differences between boys and girls learning maths are not obvious now, but I believe the gap will become bigger and bigger at higher year levels.

92 Anti-Traditional Stereotype

Figure 4. 17 ATS (Item 30 to 35) responses frequency distribution by gender

Although anti-traditional stereotypes are widely accepted by both boys and girls, more girls than boys hold this view (see Figure 4.17). Comparison among items reveals that the majority of students agree with gender equality in mathematics learning, approximately 80% of students, while more girls than boys think so (see item 31 and item 35). Interestingly, relatively more boys than girls choose neutral for these two items, particularly for item 35, which reveals that boys are more reluctant about girls’ high achievements in mathematics. However, less students agree with girls’ superiority in mathematics by showing their agreement for item 30 (Girls perform better at maths, because of their diligence) and item 34 (Girls can solve some maths problems that boys cannot). Particularly, for item 34, approximately 35% of boys and girls tend to hold neutral views, while up to 37% of boys disagree with this statement, revealing that some boys still consider mathematics a male domain, thus there could be mathematical problems that girls cannot solve but none that boys cannot solve. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

boys girls boys girls boys girls boys girls boys girls boys girls Item 30 Girls perform better at maths, because of their diligence. Item 31 Both boys and girls can do well in

maths.

Item 32 Boys are not naturally better than girls

in maths.

Item 33 Girls are certainly smart

enough to do well in maths.

Item 34 Girls can solve some maths problems

that boys cannot.

Item 35 Both boys and girls can achieve high

scores in maths exams.

Anti-Traditional Stereotype: Boys and girls are equally good at maths, even girls are better

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Table 4. 21 Chi-square results for ATS (Item 30 to 35) by gender

Item χ2 _Statistics

30. Girls perform better at maths, because of their

diligence. χ2 = 32.655, df = 4, P(χ2 > 32.655) < 0.001

31. Both boys and girls can do well in maths. χ2 = 20.791, df = 4, P(χ2 > 20.791) < 0.001 32. Boys are not naturally better than girls in maths. χ2 = 27.168, df = 4, P(χ2 > 27.168) < 0.001 33. Girls are certainly smart enough to do well in

maths. χ2 = 72.509, df = 4, P(χ2 > 72.509) < 0.001

34. Girls can solve some maths problems that boys

cannot. χ2 = 63.374, df = 4, P(χ2 > 63.374) < 0.001

35. Both boys and girls can achieve high scores in

maths exams. χ2 = 14.692, df = 4, P(χ2 > 14.692) = 0.0054 < 0.05

There are statistically significant differences on all items within Anti-Traditional Stereotype by gender with the p-values less than 0.001 (see Table 4.21). Item 32 denies boys’ superiority in mathematical learning, while item 33 emphasises girls’ capability to do mathematics well. The comparison between these two items reveals that approximately 40% of boys do not think they have natural talents in mathematics while 40% of boys think they have, while up to 30% of boys show their neutral view on girls’ superiority in mathematics. On the other hand, approximately 65% of girls agree with item 32 and almost 80% of girls agree with item 33. These results further confirm that more girls share anti-traditional stereotypical views in mathematics than boys do.

Interview data reveal that relatively more students have strong anti-traditional stereotypes about math-related problem-solving than about mathematics learning. Most participants (BB1Y4, BB2Y4, BM3Y4, GG2Y4, GM3Y4, BB1Y6) think boys solve mathematics problems much quicker since they think more quickly. However, it is easy for boys to make mistakes due to their carelessness, while girls are relatively slow but they demonstrate higher accuracy. Earnestness, concentration and attitudes towards the problem itself determine who can solve the problem correctly (GG1Y4, BM3Y5, GM3Y5, GG1Y6, GG2Y6, BB2Y6). However, some students (BB1Y5, BB2Y5, BM3Y6, GM3Y6) think boys have more comprehensive and flexible train of thoughts and like to challenge themselves through trying different ways to solve the problem, while girls prefer to use the methods that are taught in classes. This can also result in boys having higher chances to make mistakes.

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