Table_1_When Grades Are High but Self-Efficacy Is Low: Unpacking the Confidence Gap Between Girls and Boys in Mathematics.pdf

Girls have much lower mathematics self-efficacy than boys, a likely contributor to the under-representation of women in STEM. To help explain this gender confidence gap, we examined predictors of mathematics self-efficacy in a sample of 1,007 9th graders aged 13–18 years (54.2% girls). Participants completed a standardized math test, after which they rated three indices of mastery: an affective component (state self-esteem), a meta-cognitive component (self-enhancement), and their prior math grade. Despite having similar grades, girls reported lower mathematics self-efficacy and state self-esteem, and were less likely than boys to self-enhance in terms of performance. Multilevel multiple-group regression analyses showed that the affective mastery component explained girls’ self-efficacy while cognitive self-enhancement explained boys’. Yet, a chi-square test showed that both constructs were equally relevant in the prediction of girls’ and boys’ self-efficacy. Measures of interpersonal sources of self-efficacy were not predictive of self-efficacy after taking the other dimensions into account. Results suggest that boys are advantaged in their development of mathematics self-efficacy beliefs, partly due to more positive feelings and more cognitive self-enhancement following test situations.

女性在数学自我效能感方面相较于男性显著较低，这一现象很可能是女性在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域代表性不足的可能原因之一。为解释这一性别信心差距，本研究对一组1,007名13至18岁（其中54.2%为女性）的九年级学生进行了调查，以探究数学自我效能感的预测因素。参与者完成了一项标准化数学测试，并在测试后对三个掌握指标进行了评估：情感成分（状态自尊）、元认知成分（自我提升）以及之前的数学成绩。尽管成绩相似，女性报告的数学自我效能感和状态自尊较低，且在自我提升方面不如男性。多水平多组回归分析表明，情感掌握成分解释了女性的自我效能感，而认知自我提升则解释了男性的自我效能感。然而，卡方检验显示，这两个结构在预测男女自我效能感方面具有同等的重要性。在考虑其他维度后，人际关系来源的自我效能感指标并不能预测自我效能感。研究结果提示，男性在数学自我效能信念的发展上具有优势，部分原因在于测试情境后更积极的情感和更高的认知自我提升。” }