Is gender-stereotyping responsible for differences in motivation and achievement in writing?
Motivation and achievement are often perceived to be affected by gender. Stereotypically, girls are ‘good’ at language, boys at science. Why is this? Does the difference actually lie in gender itself, or in the stereotyped beliefs about gender difference held by the students? The aim of this densely written American psychological study was to try and establish the degree to which gender differences in the writing achievements and motivation of a mixed group of middle school students were determined by their own underlying stereotypes of gender ability. To this end, the data were assessed not only by the sex of each student, but also by the strength of their stereotypically ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ beliefs. The authors conclude that it is the masculinity or femininity of students’ beliefs rather than their gender per se that account for differences in motivation and attainment between girls and boys. Most of the significant advantages in motivation and achievement accrue to pupils with
