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Harriet explained how social construction of the genders could affect learners by saying ‘…if any one speaks about PE, you think of boys doing really well because immediately in your head you get a perception of footballers, obviously there is no massive market for girl football players and things like that have effect on learners’. Harriet’s view agrees with the findings of Mendick (2006). Mendick investigating students doing Further Mathematics, found out that although the female students were as good as the male students the female students did not accept that they were good at it because mathematics is constructed to be boys’ subject and they wanted to remain ‘invisible’ (Rodd and Bartholomew, 2006). However, as shown below, four male members from the two focus groups citing empirical examples argued that the girls were marginally doing better than the boys at school age level, a view supported by research as noted in the literature (see, for example, OECD, 2006; DfE, 2012).

Gamal pointed out that in his experience the girls achieved better than the boys in mathematics in his class. He said, ‘… I mean on equal grounds, it is the girls who are doing much better in maths than us, the boys. Only when we go to university, the girls, they want to be doctors, and they do not want to be mathematicians (Gamal, Egyptian, Male, Mathematics, Group A). Vladimir also cited his experience from school, where the girls performed better than boys, ‘...in my school where I studied primary and secondary education, the best marks in the school for maths were scored by female students’ (Vladimir, Vietnamese, Male, Finance and Banking, Group B).

Donald believed the possible reason for the girls to be better in mathematics lies in the dedication they have:

I think, from what I know, girls are slightly better in maths at school age because they do slightly better than boys in lots of subjects, only be by a small percentage, just because, may be they are more dedicated at certain ages than boys

(Donald, White, Male, Biomedical Sciences, Group A).

Andrew, in line with discourse of individuality, effectively said it all depended on the ability and dedication:

It all depends on one’s ability, and it is just ability. Whether someone is good at it or not, you can’t break it down in terms of gender. It is all about your hard work and how good you are with maths.

(Andrew, Ugandan, Male, Finance and Banking, Group B)

During the focus group interviews, the participants at both campuses were asked to discuss the statement that mathematics is a subject in which male students are more likely to be successful. A participant from group B shared his view on the issue as follows:

…. you can’t say one gender is better than the other… So I don’t think there is a gender issue, it just is all ability.

(Andrew, Ugandan, Male, Finance and Banking, Group B).

However, in opposition to Andrew’s views, Annabel referring to her teacher’s views: ‘She believes that male students are better in geometry than female students because they have a better visualization’ (Annabel, White, Female, Finance and Banking, Group B). A participant from group B, quoting empirical evidence from his school, disagreed with Annabel, believing that female students are better in mathematics than their counterparts, as described below:

I do not think that males are better than females in maths. This is because, in my school where I studied my primary and secondary education, the best marks in the school for maths were scored by female students. So I will disagree with that [view].

Responding to the views expressed by Annabel and Vladimir, Gore attempted to explain why he disagreed with their views and reiterated his view by referring to a popular Channel 4 TV programme, ‘Countdown’, hosted by Carol Vorderman:

I believe [a] male’s perceptions and [a] female’s perception are different. …You could show Carol 10 numbers… no matter how you look at the 10 numbers, it is just impossible to beat Carol - no matter how long you sit and think. But she looks at the numbers, sort of, in a different way. It is your mind; it is the way you look at the numbers in your mind.

(Gore, Nigerian, Male, Finance and Banking, Group B)

As far as he was concerned, mathematics was not a male-only or female-only subject. Many people in the UK think of Carol Vorderman as a positive role model of female mathematicians (Mendick, 2006:144); however the media and other social forces have positioned her to be so. Nevertheless a recent report (LMS, 2013) shows that the proportion of female graduates (First Degree) has risen from 40% in 2004/05 to 44% in 2010/11. This is an indication that the construction of mathematics as ‘masculine’ and the various discourses related to mathematics being a male subject is being rejected as some of the participants expressed in the interviews.

7.4 Summary

This chapter explored the views of the participants on the effect of some of the learners’ identity on the learning of mathematics. The statement that ‘some ethnic groups being better at mathematics than others’ was rejected by 48% of the respondents of the questionnaire. Further examination of the quantitative data showed that the majority (50% - 72%) of each ethnic group did not believe that some ethnic groups are better in mathematics than others. A substantial minority (40%) of the one-to-one interview participants, by referring to their classmates from different ethnic groups, who they thought were good at mathematics, believed otherwise.

The quantitative analysis shows that the male respondents were likely to believe that males were more likely to be successful at mathematics than the female students. However, the majority of the participants of the interviews believed that mathematics is not gendered, but the society, the mass media, tradition and some sections of the academia make it look gendered. Furthermore, in line with the discourse of individuality, some of the participants believed that hard work at it and the individual’s ability in mathematics make a person succeed in the subject. Drawing on the experiences they have had in pre-university education and discourses about mathematics the majority of the participants believed that learners’ gender or ethnicity were not important factors to affect the successful learning of mathematics.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Conclusion, Evaluation and Implications of the Findings

8.1 Introduction

This final chapter reviews the findings of the study; reflects on the research instruments employed for collecting the data; and evaluates the appropriateness of the research methods used to put together the results from the qualitative and quantitative analyses. It also considers how the findings might lead to procedures that could enhance learning for the group of students covered in this study and help them better understand mathematics. Further implications of the investigation and potential future research directions are also considered.