Sex differences in developmental pathways to mathematical competence

• Autores: David C. Geary, Mary K. Hoard, Lara Nugent, Zehra E. Ünal
• Localización: Journal of educational psychology, ISSN-e 1939-2176, ISSN 0022-0663, Vol. 115, Nº. 2, 2023, págs. 212-228
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The study tested the hypothesis that there are sex differences in the pathways to mathematical development. Three-hundred and 42 adolescents (169 boys) were assessed in various mathematics areas from arithmetic fluency to algebra across 6th to 9th grade, inclusive, and completed a battery of working memory, spatial, and intelligence measures in middle school. Their middle school and ninth grade teachers reported on their in-class attentive behavior. There were no sex differences in overall mathematics performance, but boys had advantages on all spatial measures (ds = .29 to .58) and girls were more attentive in classroom settings (ds = −.28 to −.37). A series of structural equation models indicated that sixth- to ninth-grade mathematical competence was influenced by a combination of general cognitive ability, spatial abilities, and in-class attention. General cognitive ability was important for both sexes but the spatial pathway to mathematical competence was relatively more important for boys and the in-class attention pathway for girls. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)