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Gender differences in motivational style: a comparison of measures and curriculum area
Author(s) -
Rogers C.G.,
Galloway D.,
Armstrong D.,
Leo E.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
british journal of educational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.557
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 2044-8279
pISSN - 0007-0998
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1998.tb01283.x
Subject(s) - psychology , curriculum , univariate , style (visual arts) , developmental psychology , task (project management) , social psychology , mathematics education , pedagogy , multivariate statistics , statistics , mathematics , management , archaeology , economics , history
Background . Gender has long been implicated in school‐based performance with gender differences varying across curriculum domains. Motivational differences have often been cited as a possible cause. However, evidence for the pattern of motivational difference between the genders is unclear. Aims . This study compares the motivational responses of girls and boys in the curriculum areas of mathematics and English. Two different measures of motivation are employed. Samples . The sample consists of all pupils from years 7, 9 and 11 in two secondary schools in Northern England. A total of 435 yr 7, 389 yr 9 and 357 yr 11 students was available. Methods . Students completed two assessments of motivation, one based on self‐report measures of goal strength and the other on performance over four tasks. Some school performance data were also available. Results . The two motivation measures produce different patterns of results. The task‐based measure shows no gender based differences while the other indicates a pattern of differences broadly suggestive of an advantage for girls. Conclusions . Future exploration of gender effects in motivation needs to give careful consideration to the type of motivation under consideration. Univariate models are unlikely to be adequate.