Girls get smart, boys get smug: Historical changes in gender differences in math, literacy, and academic social comparison and achievement

Girls’ lack of self-belief has frequently been cited as a major barrier to advancement in both empirical research and in the popular imagination. With girls now outcompeting boys at almost every educational level, this paper considers if girls still have lower self-concept than boys, if this changes when controlling for academic ability, and what mechanisms explain gender differences. We compare and contrast rational choice, contrast, and assimilation approaches to self-concept and juxtapose historical trajectories in gender differences in self-concept and achievement to distinguish between them. We do this in five age cohorts born between 1981 and 1993 (N = 66, 522) for math, literacy, and general academic domains. Results suggest that there are still significant differences in self-concept between equally able boys and girls and that a mix of assimilation and contrast mechanisms likely explains the size and direction of these effects

Girls get smart, boys get smug: Historical changes in gender differences in math, literacy, and academic social comparison and achievement

Girls’ lack of self-belief has frequently been cited as a major barrier to advancement in both empirical research and in the popular imagination. With girls now outcompeting boys at almost every educational level, this paper considers if girls still have lower self-concept than boys, if this changes when controlling for academic ability, and what mechanisms explain gender differences. We compare and contrast rational choice, contrast, and assimilation approaches to self-concept and juxtapose historical trajectories in gender differences in self-concept and achievement to distinguish between them. We do this in five age cohorts born between 1981 and 1993 (N = 66, 522) for math, literacy, and general academic domains. Results suggest that there are still significant differences in self-concept between equally able boys and girls and that a mix of assimilation and contrast mechanisms likely explains the size and direction of these effects

Immediate chest X-ray for patients at risk of lung cancer presenting in primary care: randomised controlled feasibility trial

Background: Achieving earlier stage diagnosis is one option for improving lung cancer outcomes in the United Kingdom. Patients with lung cancer typically present with symptoms to general practitioners several times before referral or investigation. Methods: We undertook a mixed methods feasibility individually randomised controlled trial (the ELCID trial) to assess the feasibility and inform the design of a definitive, fully powered, UK-wide, Phase III trial of lowering the threshold for urgent investigation of suspected lung cancer. Patients over 60, with a smoking history, presenting with new chest symptoms to primary care, were eligible to be randomised to intervention (urgent chest X-ray) or usual care. Results: The trial design and materials were acceptable to GPs and patients. We randomised 255 patients from 22 practices, although the proportion of eligible patients who participated was lower than expected. Survey responses (89%), and the fidelity of the intervention (82% patients X-rayed within 3 weeks) were good. There was slightly higher anxiety and depression in the control arm in participants aged >75. Three patients (1.2%) were diagnosed with lung cancer. Conclusions: We have demonstrated the feasibility of individually randomising patients at higher risk of lung cancer, to a trial offering urgent investigation or usual care

The representation and production of visual gender bias in anatomy images and its effects on student attitudes

Background: Gender bias in medical discourse is persistent and influences the way medical professionals treat and diagnose patients, and thus has a meaningful impact on health. Medical education provides a pathway for improving the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge that future healthcare practitioners hold about gender. However, it also has the ability to contribute to the construction of gender bias. Research on the role that images, a critical part of medical education curricula, play in contributing to gender bias has been limited. Further, no research on images from medical education has adopted a framework that distinguishes between the sites of the image, its production and its audience. An account of these three sites provides a comprehensive understanding of not only what messages are portrayed in medical images but also of how these messages are constructed and perceived. Aims: The purpose of this thesis was to examine the visual representations of gender in medical education through the medium of anatomical textbooks. The aims were threefold: a) to determine how gender bias is visually represented in anatomical textbooks; b) to investigate how the context of image creation influences the construction of gender bias in medical illustrations; and c) to determine what effects gender-biased images have on the implicit and explicit attitudes of anatomy students. Methods: This research was comprised of three separate studies and employed a mixed methods approach in order to determine the representation, production and effects of gender bias in medical images. Study 1 included an extensive content analysis on the representation of gender in 6004 narrative and conceptual images from anatomical textbooks used in Australian Medical Schools. The study focused not just on gender ratios but also on other forms of gender bias that might be present. In Study 2, 83 illustrators from the Association of Medical Illustrators and the Medical Illustration Sourcebook participated in an online interview that gathered data in relation to the contextual factors that influence the construction of gender in medical images. Participants provided detailed information on their experiences with clients, reference materials, and their own work, with a particular focus on gender bias. The data were analysed using a mix of quantitative and thematic analysis. In Study 3, a randomised control trial was conducted with 457 students studying anatomy at the University of Wollongong to assess the effect that gender-biased images from anatomical textbooks had on their implicit and explicit attitudes. In this study participants were randomly assigned to a treatment (gender-biased images) or control (non-gendered images) priming task before completing an Implicit Association Test and a questionnaire. The data was analysed using multiple regression. Results: Study 1 found that females comprise only 36% of all images in anatomy textbooks, but 57% of all sex-specific images. Further, other forms of bias were found to exist in the visualisation of stereotypical gendered emotions, roles and settings; in the lack of ethnic, age and body type diversity; and in the almost complete adherence to a sex/gender binary. Study 2 indicated that multiple levels of proximal and distal context had an influence on how gender was represented in medical images, including the intrapersonal processes of the illustrator, the immediate physical and social context of the image and the broader institutional and societal contexts. A number of contextual themes were also identified in the data including the sexualisation of nudity, the use of gendered stereotypes, the impact of social networks, the limitations with diversity and pathology, the representation of average bodies and the tension between resource accuracy and accessibility. Lastly, Study 3 revealed that, compared with control images, gender-biased images significantly increased students’ implicit gender bias (Cohen’s d = .33) but had almost no impact on explicit attitudes. Conclusions: This thesis provides evidence of the continued and complex gender bias present in images from anatomical textbooks. The research has revealed that the context of image production is multileveled and that there are a range of factors that influence the inclusion of gender bias in images. The finding that gender-biased images have an impact on the implicit attitudes of future healthcare providers is significant as this can contribute to perpetuation of gender bias in medical discourse and could have negative healthcare outcomes

Gender Bias in Medical Images Affects Students’ Implicit but not Explicit Gender Attitudes

Medical education curricula have the potential to impact the gender attitudes of future healthcare providers. This study investigated whether gender-biased imagery from anatomy textbooks had an effect on the implicit and explicit gender attitudes of students. We used an online experimental design in which students (N = 456; 55% female) studying anatomy were randomly assigned to a visual priming task using either gender-neutral or gender-biased images. The impact of this priming task on implicit attitudes was assessed using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and the impact on explicit attitudes was measured using the Gender Bias in Medical Education Scale. Viewing biased images was significantly positively associated with implicit gender bias as indicated by higher IAT scores in the treatment compared to the control condition (mean IAT difference = 43 milliseconds; Cohen’s d = .33). In contrast, there was no significant effect of gender-biased images on explicit gender attitudes

A psychometric evaluation of the gender bias in medical education cale

Background Gender bias within medical education is gaining increasing attention. However, valid and reliable measures are needed to adequately address and monitor this issue. This research conducts a psychometric evaluation of a short multidimensional scale that assesses medical students’ awareness of gender bias, beliefs that gender bias should be addressed, and experience of gender bias during medical education. Methods Using students from the University of Wollongong, one pilot study and two empirical studies were conducted. The pilot study was used to scope the domain space (n = 28). This initial measure was extended to develop the Gender Bias in Medical Education Scale (GBMES). For Study 1 (n = 172), confirmatory factor analysis assessed the construct validity of the three-factor structure (awareness, beliefs, experience) and enabled deletion of redundant items. Study 2 (n = 457) tested the generalizability of the refined scale to a new sample. Combining Study 1 and 2, invariance testing for program of study and gender was explored. The relationship of the GBMES to demographic and gender politics variables was tested. The results were analyzed in R using confirmatory factor analysis and Multiple-Indicator-Multiple-Indicator-Cause models. Results After analysis of the responses from the original 16-item GBMES (Study 1), a shortened measure of ten items fitted the data well (RMSEA = .063; CFI = .965; TLI = .951; Mean R-square of items = 58.6 %; reliability: .720–.910) and was found to generalize to a new sample in Study 2 (RMSEA = .068; CFI = .952; TLI = .933; Mean R-square of items = 55.9 %; reliability: .711–.892). The GBMES was found to be invariant across studies, gender, and program of study. Female students and those who supported gender equality had greater agreement for each of the factors. Likewise, postgraduate students reported higher scores on experience of gender bias than undergraduate students. Conclusion The GBMES provides a validated short multidimensional measure for use in research and policy. Given its good reliability across different target populations and its concise length, the GBMES has much potential for application in research and education to assess students’ attitudes towards gender bias

Maternal judgments of child numeracy and reading ability predict gains in academic achievement and interest

In a representative longitudinal sample of 2,602 Australian children (52% boys; 2% Indigenous; 13% language other than English background; 22% of Mothers born overseas; and 65% Urban) and their mothers (first surveyed in 2003), this article examined if maternal judgments of numeracy and reading ability varied by child demographics and influenced achievement and interest gains. We linked survey data to administrative data of national standardized tests in Year 3, 5, and 7 and found that maternal judgments followed gender stereotype patterns, favoring girls in reading and boys in numeracy. Maternal judgments were more positive for children from non-English speaking backgrounds. Maternal judgments predicted gains in children’s achievement (consistently) and academic interest (generally) including during the transition to high school

Responses to a cancer diagnosis: a qualitative patient-centred interview study

Purpose: A cancer diagnosis is an emotive and challenging time for patients. This study aimed to systematically explore patients’ accounts of experiencing their cancer diagnosis. The purpose of this article is to offer a typology of patient responses to receiving a cancer diagnosis as a means through which to affirm the range of patients’ experiences and to guide clinicians’ practice. Methods: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted between 2015 and 2017 with 80 patients living with cancer: 34 females and 46 males, aged between 31 and 85, diagnosed with a range of cancer types, stages and treatment trajectories, from two metropolitan hospitals on the east coast of Australia. Interview data were analysed thematically, using the framework approach. Results: A typology of responses to the cancer diagnosis was derived from the analysis and included (1) the incongruent diagnosis, unexpected because it did not ‘fit’ with the patient’s ‘healthy’ identity; (2) the incidental diagnosis, arising from seemingly unrelated or minor medical investigations; (3) the validating diagnosis, as explanation and confirmation of previously unexplained symptoms, pain or feelings; (4) the life context diagnosis, where the cancer diagnosis was positioned relative to other challenging life events, or as relatively inconsequential compared with the hardship of others. Conclusions: A diagnosis of cancer is not always (or only) experienced by patients with shock and despair. Diagnosis is perceived and experienced in diverse ways, shaped by broader social or life contexts, and with important implications for the clinical encounter and communication from an oncology perspective

A monitoring system to provide feedback on student physical activity during physical education lessons

School‐based physical education (PE) provides opportunities to accumulate moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (MVPA), but many students are insufficiently active during PE lessons. Providing teachers with feedback regarding their students’ physical activity may increase the effectiveness of PE for achieving MVPA goals, but existing physical activity monitoring technologies have limitations in class environments. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and validate a system capable of providing feedback on PE lesson MVPA. Equations for translating step counts to %MVPA were derived from measures in 492 students who concurrently wore an ActiGraph GT3X+ (ActiGraph, USA) and Yamax pedometer (Yamax, Japan) during a PE lesson. To enhance feedback availability during PE lessons we then developed a bespoke monitoring system using wireless tri‐axial pedometers (HMM, Germany) and a smart device app. After developing and testing the monitoring system, we assessed its validity and reliability in 100 students during a PE lesson. There was a strong correlation of 0.896 between step counts and accelerometer‐determined %MVPA and quantile regression equations showed good validity for translating step counts to %MVPA with a mean absolute difference of 5.3 (95% CI, 4.4‐6.2). The physical activity monitoring system was effective at providing %MVPA during PE lessons with a mean difference of 1.6 ± 7.1 compared with accelerometer‐determined %MVPA (7% difference between the two measurement methods). Teachers and students can use a smart device app and wireless pedometers to conveniently obtain feedback during PE lessons. Future studies should determine whether such technologies help teachers to increase physical activity during PE lessons