Various studies have found differences in males’ and females’ mathematical achievement, with boys’ achievement scores higher than girls’. However, the difference in mathematical achievement does not appear to exist yet when children are younger (e.g., in preschool or kindergarten), but rather we begin to observe this gender achievement gap in middle school and high school. These findings raise the question about what is happening in pre- and elementary school that may cause this achievement gap to appear. Research suggests that there is a relationship between the amount of teachers’ math talk and preschool children’s conventional mathematical knowledge. Studies suggest that teachers’ math talk is significantly related to the growth of mathematical knowledge. The amount of input boys and girls receive from preschool teachers’ can be one of the causes of the gap in their math achievement in later years. Various studies measured the amount of teachers’ math talk in the classroom however there are very few research that investigated the influence of gender on the amount of preschool teachers’ math talk. The current study investigated the effects of children’s gender on preschool teachers’ math talk. The purpose of the study was to investigate the amount of preschool teachers’ math talk with children as well as the effect of children’s gender on the amount and type of preschool teachers’ math talk. The data was collected as part of another study which aimed to create a database of quality early childhood practices. The participants of the current study were 2 teachers (1 teacher and 1 assistant teacher) in a preschool classroom and the 16 (7 girls. 9 boys) children in their classroom. Permissions were obtained from teachers and children’s families. The teachers were videotaped during the free play time and the videos were coded for the amount and type of math talk using Observational Coding Matrix which is a checklist of 8 different math categories. The results showed a statistically significant difference for the amount of total math talk that boys received comparing to girls, in favor of the boys. Although, boys received more math talk in most of the math categories, the operation was the type in which the gender difference was statistically significant. Although the sample size was small the gender difference was statistically significant, which shows the importance of studies that investigate the gender differences in teachers’ math talk.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:asrf-1101 |
| Date | 05 April 2018 |
| Creators | Sareh, Narges |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Appalachian Student Research Forum |
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