Boy's math performance, compared to girls', jumps at age 6 (in the ELFE's data at least)
Résumé
The mathematics achievement discrepancy between girls and boys, with its subsequent occupational consequences, is an issue that has received considerable attention in the literature. It is often referred to as the "math-gap" and favors boys. A major component of the explanation of this gap resides in determining its age of onset. We analyze here data from more than ten thousand (cross-sectional study) and two thousand (longitudinal study) French students aged 4 to 7 years, tested in the framework of the Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance (ELFE). The results allow to precisely determine the age of onset, since the gender difference, non-existent (or even slightly in favor of girls) in kindergarten (4-5 years), is clearly in favor of boys in first grade (6-7 years). They could therefore provide an important element in the controversial debate on the origin of genderdifferentiated performance in mathematics.
Domaines
Psychologie
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