Gender, single-sex schooling and maths achievement
ARTICLE
Aedín Doris, Donal O’Neill, Olive Sweetman, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Rhetoric House, Ireland
Economics of Education Review Volume 35, Number 1, ISSN 0272-7757 Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
This paper uses a distinctive feature of the Irish education system to examine the impact of single-sex education on the gender difference in mathematical achievement at the top of the distribution. The Irish primary school system is interesting both for the fact that many children attend single-sex schools, and because these single-sex schools are part of the general educational system, rather than serving a particular socio-economic group. In keeping with research on other countries, we find a significant gender gap in favour of boys, but contrary to suggestions in the literature, our results provide no evidence that single-sex schooling reduces the gap. If anything, the gender differential is larger for children educated in single-sex schools than in coeducational schools.
Citation
Doris, A., O’Neill, D. & Sweetman, O. (2013). Gender, single-sex schooling and maths achievement. Economics of Education Review, 35(1), 104-119. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved September 22, 2023 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/206318/.
This record was imported from
Economics of Education Review
on March 1, 2019.
Economics of Education Review is a publication of Elsevier.
Keywords
References
View References & Citations Map- Altonji, J., Elder, T., & Taber, C. (2005). An evaluation of instrumental variable strategies for estimating the effects of catholic schooling. Journal of Human Resource, 40(4), pp. 791-821.
- Altonji, J., Elder, T., & Taber, C. (2005). Selection on observed and unobserved variables: Assessing the effectiveness of catholic schools. Journal of Political Economy, 113(1), pp. 151-184.
- Angrist, J. (1991). Instrumental variables estimation of average treatment effects in econometrics and epidemiology. National Bureau of Economic Research. Technical working paper no. 115.
- Bedard, K., & Cho, I. (2010). Early gender test score gaps across OECD countries. Economics of Education Review., 29, pp. 348-363.
- Bernie, J., & Lall, M. (2008). Building Bridges between Home and School Mathematics: A Review of the Ocean Mathematics Project. Institute of Education: University of London.
- Bharadwaj, P., De Giorgi, G., Hansen, D., & Neilson, C. (2012). The gender gap in mathematics: Evidence from low and middle income countries, NBER WP #18464.
- Billger, S. (2009). On reconstructing school segregation: The efficacy and equity of single-sex schooling. Economics of Education Review, 28, pp. 393-402.
- Black, S., Devereux, P.J., & Salvanes, K.G. (2007). From the cradle to the labor market? The effect of birth weight on adult outcomes. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122(1), pp. 409-439.
- Booth, A., Cardona-Sosa, L., & Nolen, P., (2013). Do single-sex classes affect exam scores? An experiment in a coeducational university. Australian National University discussion paper, DP. No. 679.
- Booth, A., & Nolen, P. (2012). Choosing to compete: How different are boys and girls?. Journal of Behavior & Organization, 81(2), pp. 542-555.
- Bryk, A., Lee, V., & Holland, P. (1993). Catholic schools and the common good. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Buonanno, P., & Pozzoli, D. (2009). Early labour market returns to college subjects. Labour, Review of Labour Economics and Industrial Organisation, 23(4), pp. 559-588.
- Carrell, S.E., Page, M.E., & West, J.E. (2010). Sex and science: How professor gender perpetuates the gender gap. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 125(3), pp. 1101-1144.
- Cho, I. (2012). The effect of teacher – Student gender matching: Evidence from OECD Countries. Economics of Education Review, 31(3), pp. 54-67.
- Close, S., & Shiel, G. (2009). Gender and PISA mathematics: Irish results in context. European Educational Research Journal, 8(1), pp. 20-33.
- Cotton, C., McIntyre, F., & Price, J. (2010). The gender gap cracks under pressure: A detailed look at male and female performance differences during competitions. NBER Working Paper 16436.
- Currie, J., & Hyson, R. (1999). Is the impact of health shocks cushioned by socioeconomic status? The case of low birthweight. American Economic Review, 89(2), pp. 245-250.
- Dee, T. (2007). Teachers and the gender gaps in student achievement. The Journal of Human Resources, 42(3), pp. 528-554.
- Department for Education and Skills. (2007). 2020 Vision. Report of the Teaching and Learning in 2020 Review Group.
- Dickerson, A., McIntosh S., & Valente, C. (2012). Do the maths: An analysis of the gender gap in mathematics in Africa. IZA discussion paper 7174.
- Eisenkopf, G., Hessami, Z., Fischbacher, U., & Ursprung, H. (2012). Academic performance and single-sex schooling: Evidence from a natural experiment in Switzerland. University of Konstanz working paper.
- Ellison, G., & Swanson, A. (2010). The gender gap in secondary school mathematics at high achievement levels: Evidence from the American mathematics competitions. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24, pp. 109-128.
- Else-Quest, N., Hyde, J., & Linn, M. (2010). Cross-national patterns of gender differences in mathematics: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 136(1), pp. 103-127.
- Evans, W., & Schwab, R. (1995). Finishing high school and starting college: Do catholic schools make a difference?. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110(4), pp. 941-974.
- Fox, R., & Buchanan, N. (2008). School choice in the Republic of Ireland: An unqualified commitment to parental choice. Mimeo, University of Hawai’i Charter School Resource Center.
- Fryer, R., & Levitt, S. (2010). An empirical analysis of the gender gap in mathematics. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2(2), pp. 210-240.
- Gneezy, U., Leonard, K., & List, J. (2009). Gender differences in competition: Evidence from a matrilineal and a patriarchal society. Econometrica, 77(5), pp. 1637-1664.
- Gneezy, U., Niederle, M., & Rustichini, A. (2003). Performance in competitive environments: Gender differences. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118, pp. 1049-1074.
- Grogger, J., & Eide, E. (1995). Changes in college skills and the rise in the college wage premium. The Journal of Human Resources, 30, pp. 280-310.
- Growing Up in Ireland. (2010a). The lives of 9-year-olds. Research Report. http://www.growingup.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/1st_Report/Barcode_Growing_Up_in_Ireland_-_The_Lives_of_9-Year-Olds_Main_Report.pdf.
- Growing Up in Ireland. (2010b). Sample design and response in wave 1 of the nine-year cohort of Growing up in Ireland. http://www.ucd.ie/issda/static/documentation/esri/GUI-SampleDesign9YearCohort.pdf.
- Guiso, L., Monter, F., Sapienza, P., & Zingales, L. (2008). Culture, gender and math. Science, 320(5880), pp. 1164-1165.
- Günther, C., Ekinci, N., Schwieren, C., & Strobel, M. (2010). Women can’t jump? An experiment on competitive attitudes and stereotype threat. Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization, 75(3), pp. 395-401.
- Halpern, D., Benbow, C., Geary, D., Gur, R., Hyde, J., & Gernsbacher, M. (2007). The science of sex differences in science and mathematics. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 8(1), pp. 1-51.
- Halpern, D., Eliot, L., Bigler, R.S., Fabes, R.A., Hanish, L.D., Hyde, J., (2011). The pseudoscience of single-sex schooling. Science, 333(6050), pp. 1706-1707.
- Hedges, L., & Nowell, A. (1995). Sex differences in mental test scores, variability, and numbers of high-scoring individuals. Science, 269(5220), pp. 41-45.
- Hoxby, C. (2000). Peer effects in the classroom: Learning from gender and race variation. NBER working paper 7867.
- Huguet, P., & Régner, I. (2007). Stereotype threat among school girls in quasi-ordinary classroom circumstances. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, pp. 545-560.
- Husain, M., & Milimet, D. (2009). The mythical ‘boy crisis’?. Economics of Education Review, 28, pp. 38-48.
- Jackson, C. (2012). Single-sex schools, student achievement and course selection: Evidence from rule-based student assignments in Trinidad and Tobago. Journal of Public Economics, 96, pp. 173-187.
- Koedel, C., & Tyhurst, E. (2012). Math skills and labour market outcomes: Evidence from a resume-based field experiment. Economics of Education Review, 31, pp. 131-140.
- Lavy, V., & Schlosser, A. (2011). Mechanism and impact of gender peer effects at school. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 3, pp. 1-33.
- Lindberg, S., Hyde, J., Linn, M., & Petersen, J. (2010). New trends in gender and mathematics performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 136(6), pp. 1123-1135.
- LoGerfo, L., Nichols, A., & Chaplin, D. (2006). Gender gaps in math and reading gains during elementary and high school by race and ethnicity. Urban Institute. http://www.urban.org/publications/411428.html.
- Lord, F. M. (1952). A theory of tests. Psychometric Monograph No. 7, Iowa City, IA, Psychometric Society.
- Lord, F.M. (1980). Applications of item response theory to practical testing problems. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Mael, F.A., Alonso, A., Gibson, D., Rogers, K., & Smith, M. (2005). Single-sex versus coeducational schooling: A systematic review.
- Mael, F.A., Smith, M., Alonso, A., Rogers, K., & Gibson, D. (2004). Theoretical arguments for and against single-sex schools: A critical analysis of the explanations. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research.
- Machin, S., & McNally, S. (2005). Gender and student achievement in English schools. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 21(3), pp. 357-372.
- McCoy, S., Smyth, E., & Burke, J. (2012). The Primary classroom: Insights from the growing up in Ireland survey. Economic and Social Research Institute working paper.
- McGovern, M. (2013). Still unequal at birth: Birth weights, socioeconomic status and outcomes at age 9. Economic and Social Review, 44(1), pp. 53-84.
- Murray, A., McCrory, C., Thornton, M., Williams, J., Quail, A., & Swords, L. (2011). Growing up in Ireland: National longitudinal study of children: Design, instrumentation and procedures for the child cohort. Dublin: Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.
- Niederle, M., & Vesterlund, L. (2010). Explaining the gender gap in math test scores: The role of competition. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(2), pp. 129-144.
- OECD. (2010a). http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/11/28/44417824.pdf.
- OECD (2010). PISA 2009 results: What students know and can do, student performance in reading mathematics and science. PISA 2009 results: What students know and can do, student performance in reading mathematics and science, Vol. 1 Paris: OECD.
- OECD (2011). Does where a student live affect his or her reading performance?. PISA 2009 at a glance.
- O’Mahony, E. (2008). Factors determining school choice: Report on a survey of the attitudes of parents of children attending catholic primary schools in Ireland. Maynooth, Co. Kildare: Council for Research & Development, Irish Bishops’ Conference.
- Örs, E., Palomino, F., Peyrache, E. (2008). Performance gender-gap: Does competition matter? CEPR discussion paper 6891.
- Paglin, M., & Rufolo, A. (1990). Heterogeneous human capital, occupational choice, and male–female earnings differences. Journal of Labor Economics, 8(1 Part 1), pp. 123-144.
- Park, H., Behrman, J., & Choi, J. (2012). Do single-sex schools enhance students’ STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics) Outcomes? PIER working paper 12-038.
- Pekkarinen, T. (2012). Gender differences in education. Nordic Economic Policy Review, 1, pp. 165-196.
- Pope, D., & Sydnor, J. (2010). Geographical variations in the gender differences in test scores. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(2), pp. 95-108.
- Rasch, G. (1960). Probabilistic models for some intelligence and attainment tests. Copenhagen: Paedagogiske Institute.
- Riordan, C. (1985). Public and catholic schooling: The effects of gender context policy. American Journal of Education, 93, pp. 518-540.
- Roberson Hayes, A., Pahlke, E., & Bigler, R. (2011). The efficacy of single-sex education: Testing for selection and peer quality effects. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 65, pp. 693-703.
- Robinson, J., & Lubienski, S. (2011). The development of gender achievement gaps in mathematics and reading during elementary and middle school: Examining direct cognitive assessments and teacher ratings. American Educational Research Journal, 48(2), pp. 268-302.
- Sax, L. (2005). Why gender matters. New York: Doubleday.
- Schrøter Joensen, J., & Skyt Nielsen, H. (2010). Is there a causal effect of high school math on labor market outcomes. The Journal of Human Resources, 44(1), pp. 171-198.
- Schneeweis, N., & Zweimuller, M. (2012). Girls, girls, girls: Gender composition and female school choice. Economics of Education Review, 31, pp. 482-500.
- Smithers, A., & Robinson, P. (2006). The paradox of single-sex schooling and co-educational schooling. Buckingham, United Kingdom: Carmichael Press.
- Smyth, E. (2010). Single-sex education: What does research tell us?. Revue Française de Pédagogie, 171, pp. 47-55.
- Stecher, B.M., & Klein, S.P. (1996). Performance assessments in science: Hands-on tasks and scoring guide. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
- Sullivan, A., Joshi, H., & Leonard, D. (2010). Single-sex schooling and academic attainment at school and throughout the lifecourse. American Education Research Journal, 47(1), pp. 6-36.
- Todd, P., & Wolpin, K. (2003). On the specification and estimation of the production function for cognitive achievement. The Economic Journal, 113(485), pp. F3-F33.
- Todd, P., & Wolpin, K. (2007). The production of cognitive achievement in children: Home, school and racial test score gaps. Journal of Human Capital, 1(1), pp. 91-136.
- Winters, M., Haight, R., Swaim, T., & Pickering, K. (2013). The effect of same-gender teacher assignment on student achievement in the elementary and secondary grades: Evidence from panel data. Economics of Education Review, 34(June), pp. 69-75.
These references have been extracted automatically and may have some errors. Signed in users can suggest corrections to these mistakes.
Suggest Corrections to References