Washington, January 26: Little girls may learn fear of math from their earliest teachers.
Women long lagged men in math achievement, although they have made gains in recent years. They still trail men in some areas, however, and the question of why has provoked controversy. Researchers may have found at least part of the answer.
A study of first- and second-grade students suggests that female elementary school teachers who are anxious about their own math skills may pass that along to the little girls they teach.
Young students tend to model themselves after adults of the same sex, and having a woman teacher who is anxious about her math skills may reinforce the stereotype that boys are better at math than girls, explained Sian L Beilock, an associate professor in psychology at the University of Chicago.
Beilock and colleagues studied 52 boys and 65 girls who were in first- and second-grade classes taught by 17 different teachers. Ninety percent of US elementary school teachers are women, as were all of those in this study.
—Agencies