Icelandic culture fosters girls’ maths skills

Counting sheep not too hard for girlsIn America, it is a common misconception that boys learn maths with greater ease than girls, however a new study has shown that cultural and social influences have a far greater role in determining a child’s learning capabilities than gender does.

Cultures with few sex-based restrictions on girls showed little to no difference between the test scores of boys and girls given the same maths test.

In countries where gender inequalities were pervasive, test scores showed the most significant gaps.

Paola Sapienza is an economist who participated in the study: “The so-called gender gap in maths skills seems to be at least partially correlated to environmental factors,” Dr Sapienza said.

“The gap doesn’t exist in countries in which men and women have access to similar resources and opportunities.”

The research appeared in an issue of “Science” published on 30th May. The findings have significant implications for teaching practices and gender equity.

Sapienza and the research group studied 276,000 youths in 40 countries across the globe, conducting standardised tests in maths, reading, problem-solving and science.

In addition, the surveys assessed cultural views on gender from surveys on gender equity. In societies such as Iceland, Norway and Sweden, where there are few restrictions on women’s roles, math scores tended to be similar between girls and boys.

In Turkey, a country with low gender equity scores, there was a large gap between girls’ maths scores and boys’ maths scores, with boys emerging 23 points ahead of the girls.