A measure of mathematical self-concept in young adults - A cross-cultural comparison with a focus on gender and numeracy

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky

Girls are less likely than boys to continue studying mathematics once it becomes elective in upper secondary education and beyond, prompting investigation into gender-linked mathematical self-concept. The study uses 2003 Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) data to test dependence of young adults’ mathematical self-concept on gender across Norway, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, and the USA. Results show females generally report lower number and calculation competence, with the strongest gender gaps in Switzerland and Norway, persisting even after controlling for numeracy skills.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Mathematics as an important skill area

Gender differences in mathematics participation and achievement

Self-concept and numeracy as related constructs

Literature review

A measure of mathematical self-concept in young adults 16 – 24 years old: A cross-cultural comparison with a focus on gender and numeracy Kjersti Lundetræ The National Centre for Reading Education and Research, University of Stavanger Stavanger, Norway <[kjersti.lundetre@uis.no](kjersti.lundetre@uis.no) > Reidar Mykletun Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger Stavanger, Norway <[reidar.mykletun@uis.no](reidar.mykletun@uis.no)> Egil Gabrielsen The National Centre for Reading Education and Research, University of Stavanger Stavanger, Norway <[egil.gabrielsen@uis.no](egil.gabrielsen@uis.no) > Abstract Girls attend less education in mathematics than boys when the subject becomes an elective in upper secondary schools and above. One explanation for this might be gender differences in mathematical self-concept, which are the focus of the present study. Data from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) were used to examine whether young adults’mathematical self-concept is dependent on gender. The Norwegian results were compared to findings in Canada, Italy, Switzerland, and USA. The ALL-data presented indicate that in all of these countries, females in general are less likely than males to state that they are good with numbers and calculations. The gender differences in mathematical self-concept were largest within Switzerland and Norway. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that gender influenced mathematical self-concept, even when controlled for numeracy skills. To our knowledge, this is the first time representative cross-country samples are used to explore the relationships between gender, country and young adult’s mathematical self-concept. Key words: mathematical self-concept; gender; numeracy; mathematical skills; ALL; comparative study. Introduction Mathematics is considered an important area of skills, which can affect the individual’s opportunities in education, employment and everyday life. In primary and secondary education, mathematics is a compulsory core subject in most countries (Mullis, et al., 2008) . This applies to Canada, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the US (Le Métais, 2002, 2003; Mullis, et al., 2008), where data for the present study were collected through Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) in 2003 . ALL is a cross-country survey of adults’ literacy-, numeracy- and problem 36 Adults Learning Mathematics – An International Journal solving skills, and were coordinated by Statistics Canada and supported by OECD (Statistics Canada & OECD, 2005) . The participating countries are hereafter referred to as the ALLcountries. Mathematics has been considered a masculine subject and a generally accepted view has been that mathematics is a discipline first and foremost for boys, and that boys perform better than girls in mathematics (Ernest, 1991; Georgiou, Stavrinides, & Kalavana, 2007; Harris, 2000; Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999; Walkerdine, 1998) . In Norway, boys received more weekly lessons in arithmetic than girls for years and it was not until the curriculum reform in 1974 that all girls and boys in Norway were formally guaranteed equal teaching in mathematics in primary and lower secondary education (Lundetræ, 2005) . The socio-political constructed differences may have influenced women’s and men’s attitudes and skills in mathematics. Studies indicate that when mathematics becomes voluntary, gender-differences in participation in this subject clearly appear but this tendency has in part been counteracted by increasing gender equalities. As for Norway, after equal status between genders seriously became a subject of public concern and a part of curricula and textbooks in the 1970s, the gender differences in the education statistics have diminished. Thus the female students’participation in mathematical subjects at university level has increased from 5% in 1978, to 24% in 1989, 29% in 1995 (Hag, 1996, 1998), and reached 32% in 2005

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study?

The study examines how young adults’ mathematical self-concept depends on gender, with a cross-cultural comparison across multiple countries.

Which dataset and year are used for the analysis?

Data come from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL), collected in 2003.

How do gender differences relate to numeracy skills?

Gender influences mathematical self-concept even when analyses control for numeracy skills.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky