96 research outputs found
Quality of attachment relationships and frequency of mathematics- and science-related activity offers in kindergarten as predictors of girls' and boys' mathematics-related motivation
During the kindergarten years and until shortly before school start, there are no gender differences in (precursors of) mathematical competencies or mathematics-related motivation. Shortly after school entry, however, boys are already superior to their female peers in mathematics-related competencies and motivation. We investigated in a cross-sectional study two aspects of process quality in kindergarten that can favorably influence the development of mathematics-related motivation, especially of girls: the frequency of offers of mathematics- and science-related activities and a high-quality attachment relationship with the teacher. In 135 independent dyads, the quality of attachment between kindergarten teacher and child was assessed by a one and a half-hour standardized observation (Attachment Q-Set). The teacher provided information on how often she provides mathematics- and science-related activities. The children were asked about their mathematics-related motivation and precursors of mathematical competencies were measured using a standardized test. Results show, in line with existing studies, that girls and boys did not yet differ in their precursors of mathematical competencies and mathematics-related motivation at the end of kindergarten. Girls were involved in significantly higher quality attachment relationships with their teachers than boys. While girls' mathematics-related motivation increased with the frequency of the provision of relevant activities, it did not play a role for boys' motivation. We discuss (a) how teachers can be encouraged to offer mathematics-and science-related activities more often and (b) whether a comparable quality of attachment would be shown for boys as for girls if the kindergarten teacher were male
Do Only White or Asian Males Belong in Genius Organizations? How Academic Organizationsâ Fixed Theories of Excellence Help or Hinder Different Student Groupsâ Sense of Belonging
High-profile organizations often emphasize fixed giftedness rather than malleable effort-based criteria as critical for excellent achievements. With giftedness being primarily associated with White or Asian males, such organizational implicit theories of excellence may shape individualsâ sense of belonging depending on the extent to which they match the gifted White/Asian male prototype, i.e., the prototypical gifted person which is typically imagined to be a White or Asian male. Previous research has reported fixed excellence theories emphasizing giftedness (vs. malleable theories emphasizing effort) to impair the sense of belonging of females and negatively stereotyped ethnic minorities. We investigate the combined effects of gender and ethnicity. We predicted that, while individuals whose gender and ethnicity do not match the gifted prototype show a reduced sense of belonging in fixed organizations, White/Asian males who match the gifted prototype show the opposite effect, experiencing a higher sense of belonging in fixed (vs. malleable) organizations. In an experimental study (N = 663 students), we manipulated advertising material used by a highly selective academic institution in Germany and tested effects on studentsâ belonging. Whereas the original material emphasized giftedness as essential for excelling (fixed excellence version), our manipulated version stressed effort (malleable version). As expected, females from stereotyped ethnic minority groups felt less belonging in the fixed (vs. malleable) organization, while White/Asian males anticipated stronger belonging in the fixed (vs. malleable) organization. Fixed views of excellence impair negatively stereotyped individualsâ belonging but may even strengthen the belonging of prototypical academic elites
Can I Be Myself Around Natives? Feelings of Inauthenticity Mediate the Relationship Between Perceived Discrimination and Tendencies to Avoid Friendships With Natives Among Refugees in Germany
The social integration of the ever-growing number of refugees in receiving societies is of major importance. Perceived discrimination has been found to predict fewer friendships with natives over time. But what short-term mechanisms explain this effect? In a sample of 115 refugees living in Germany we (i) replicated the long-term discrimination-social-integration relationship, (ii) found short-term associations between discrimination and affective, motivational, and behavioral tendencies not to befriend natives, and (iii) showed authenticity to mediate this short-term relationship: with increasing discrimination, refugees felt less like they could show their authentic selves around natives, which in turn impaired tendencies to befriend natives. Discrimination may impede the formation of interethnic friendships by instilling feelings of inauthenticity. Implications for prevention measures are discussed
The interrelatedness of gender-stereotypical interest profiles and studentsâ gender-role orientation, gender, and reasoning abilities
This study investigates early secondary school studentsâ gender-stereotypical interest profiles and how they relate to studentsâ gender-role orientation, i.e., their traditional or egalitarian attitudes toward gender roles. Gender-stereotypical interest profiles are described by relatively high interests in either female- or male-stereotypical domains and low interests in domains that are not associated to the own gender group. In a study conducted with 4,457 students (49.2% female, sixth graders) with data from the German National Educational Panel Study1, four interest profiles were derived from the combined latent profile analysis of two academic interest domains (mathematics and German) and six vocational interest domains (realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional). Aside from two gender-stereotypical interest profiles, two gender-undifferentiated interest profiles were found. One undifferentiated interest profile was marked by generally high interests in all domains, the other by generally low interests in all domains. Students in the male-stereotypical interest profile had high values in the mathematics, realistic, investigative, and enterprising domains and low interest in the German, artistic, social, and conventional domains. The female-stereotypical interest profile was marked by the opposite pattern. The results further showed that students more likely belonged to the high or female interest profiles when they expressed egalitarian gender-role orientations. Also, boys were more likely members of the female interest profile than were girls of the male interest profile. Students with low reasoning skills were generally more likely members of the low interest profile group. Results are discussed with respect to the question whether interest profiles are more predictive of studentsâ academic development than single domain-specific measures of interest. (DIPF/Orig.
The negative impact of preschool teachers' traditional gender role attitudes on boys' reading related motivation and skills
According to gender stereotypes, reading is for girls. In this study, we
investigated the role of preschool teachers in transmitting such gendered
expectations. We suggest that boys are less motivated to read in preschool,
and less competent in reading 1 year later in primary school, if their
preschool teacher holds a traditional gender role attitude than if the teacher
has egalitarian beliefs. In 135 independent dyads of a female preschool
teacher (N = 135) and one boy (n = 65) or one girl (n = 70) we measured
teacher's gender role attitude, child's reading related motivation as well as
precursors of reading skills in preschool, and child's reading skills at the
end of first grade in primary school. As expected, the more traditional
preschool teachers' gender role attitude was, the weaker was boys' motivation
to (learn to) read while girls' motivation was unrelated to teachers' gender
role attitude. In either gender, motivation in preschool predicted reading
skills at the end of first grade
What makes the pipeline leak? Womenâs gender-based rejection sensitivity and menâs hostile sexism as predictors of expectations of success for their own and the respective other gender group
In academia, the proportion of women decreases with each career level. In this research, we examined how this so-called leaky pipeline relates to gender-based relative expectations of success. The participants were students from social sciences where women are the majority among students, such that it is more readily â but erroneously â inferred that gender discrimination is not an issue. We assumed that gender-based relative expectations of success should be predicted by two variables. Women students should experience higher gender-based rejection sensitivity than men students, with gender-based rejection sensitivity mitigating relative success expectations in women, but not in men. Men students should exhibit higher hostile-sexist attitudes toward women than women students, with hostile sexism reducing men studentsâ but not women studentsâ relative success expectations. We tested our hypotheses in an (under-)graduate sample of women and men students enrolled in educational or psychological majors (Nâ=â372). Results show that a quarter of the women students expected men to be more successful than women and that proportionately more women than men students indicated that women have worse chances of success than men in the job they aspire to. Women were more concerned about being treated differently because of their gender than men, and men held more sexist attitudes toward women than women, with gender-based rejection sensitivity contributing to women studentsâ and sexism to men studentsâ expectation that their own gender group will less likely succeed in their aimed for future job. Implications how the leaky pipeline can be patched are discussed
Who gets to see themselves as talented? Biased self-concepts contribute to first-generation students' disadvantage in talent-focused environments
Intellectual talent is commonly regarded as an important factor for success â i.e., âwhat it takes to succeedâ in Western educational contexts. Yet, the differential experiences individuals have may not allow everyone to think of themselves as talented - i.e., as having âwhat it takes to succeedâ - to the same degree. In five studies with 3584 students in Western countries, we show i) that first-generation students see themselves as less intellectually talented than continuing-generation students, ii) that this bias in self-concept contributes to disadvantages in their academic experience and engagement, and iii) how this disadvantage may be reduced.
Quasi-experiments 1a and b (N = 694; 316) show that first-generation students view themselves as relatively less talented, but not less diligent, above and beyond prior performance-levels. Field and experimental Studies 2a-b (N = 1881; 362) show that this bias in students' talent self-concept contributes to disadvantage in first-generation students' academic experience and engagement. Experiment 3 (N = 331) suggests that talent self-concept bias is most consequential in talent-focused environments. If, however, environments emphasize effort, disadvantages connected to talent self-concepts are mitigated.
The experiences first-generation students have in current Western environments seem to make them see themselves as relatively less talented, contributing to disadvantage. Creating effort-focused environments can reduce this disadvantage and promote equality
Cross-Cultural Variations in Identifying Embedded Figures : Comparisons from the United States, Germany, Russia, and Malaysia
Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugÀnglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Previous studies have found cross-cultural variation in field dependence. In this study, cross-cultural differences were expected depending on the degree of individualism or collectivism of the respective cultures. Samples were taken from two prototypically individualist cultures, the United States and Germany, and two collectivist cultures, Russia and Malaysia. As predicted, field dependence did not differ between those samples that represented the same type of culture, either collectivist or individualist. However, a clear difference could be found between the two types of cultures; that is, U.S. and German participants were more field independent than were Russian and Malaysian participants
Growing TogetherâEffects of a schoolâbased intervention promoting positive selfâbeliefs and social integration in recently immigrated children
We present a schoolâbased intervention geared to foster the social integration of recently immigrated (RI) primary school children by creating repeated positive contact situations with classmates brought up in the receiving society. Coaches encouraged groups of tandems, consisting of one RI and one child brought up in Germany each, to engage in cooperative activities designed to strengthen positive selfâbeliefs and perception of equal status. In a quasiâexperimental controlâgroup design (N = 318), we compared the 30 children (12 RI) who participated in our intervention between preâtest and postâtest with a reference group. Selfâbeliefs were measured via selfâreports, social integration via sociometric peerânominations. The reference group (n = 288 children) included all children who did not participate in the intervention between preâtest and postâtest: (a) 12 children (7 RI) of a waiting control group and (b) all classmates of both the students of the intervention and the waiting control group. Postâtest selfâbeliefs were more positive in children having participated in the intervention. The intervention did not affect social integration: Neither the number of classmates nominating a student nor the number of peers the respective student nominated increased. Possibly, the intervention initiated selfâreinforcing processes which support social integration over longer time periods
How do others think about my group? Adolescentsâ meta-stereotypes about Turkish- and German-origin studentsâ subject-related German and general school competence
In Germany, Turkish-origin students face negative competence-related stereotypes held by different groups in society, including teachers at school. While a large body of research has examined stereotypes (i.e., other-stereotypes) about immigrant students, little is known about their own competence-related meta-stereotypes, i.e., beliefs regarding the other-stereotypes that outgroup peers hold about them. The present study addresses this research gap by examining Turkish- and German-origin studentsâ meta-stereotypes about two dimensions of competencies not yet investigated, namely Turkish- and German-origin studentsâ subject-related German competence as well as their general school competence using a newly developed instrument combining verbal and non-verbal measures. These assessments are juxtaposed to the evaluations of a group of peers with other immigrant backgrounds (i.e., othersâ meta-stereotypes). In line with previous evidence, we found positive meta-stereotypes (as well as other- and othersâ meta-stereotypes) towards German-origin students reported by all three groups. However, our study is the first that supports the existence of negative meta-stereotypes (as well as other- and othersâ meta-stereotypes) towards Turkish-origin adolescents, again, among all participants. This pattern was particularly pronounced regarding the dimension of subject-related German competence. We discuss the findingsâ potential relevance for studentsâ self-concepts and intergroup interactions in classrooms
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