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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

The links between parent behaviors and boys’ and girls’ science achievement beliefs (Bhanot & Javanovic 2009)

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Citation

Bhanot, R.T., & Jovanovic, J. (2009). The links between parent behaviors and boys’ and girls’ science achievement beliefs. Applied Developmental Science, 13(1), 42-59.

Highlights

    • The study's objective was to examine the relationship between parents’ and middle school students’ perceptions of science education and whether that relationship varied based on the gender of the parent or child. Specifically, the study looked at links between parents’ attitudes toward science and participation in their children’s science education and the child’s opinion of the utility of science (called science task-value) and perception of his or her own science ability.
    • The study, conducted in four school districts in Illinois, used student survey data collected at the start and end of the school year and parent survey data collected in the middle of the school year. The authors analyzed changes in students’ perceptions from the beginning to end of the year, by gender, as well as differences in parents’ perceptions and behavior by the gender of the child and parent. The authors also conducted a series of regression analyses by gender to determine the relationship between parents’ involvement in their children’s science education and their children’s end-of-year perceptions.
    • The study found that boys had higher perceptions of their own science ability at the end of the school year than girls, though there was no difference in actual performance. Compared with parents of girls, parents of boys also had higher perceptions of the child’s science ability and of the value of science and were more likely to encourage an interest in science. There were some positive correlations between parents’ beliefs and actions and girls’ perceptions of science; however, some actions taken by mothers were found to be negatively correlated with boys’ perceptions of their science ability and their task-value beliefs about science. Even after controlling for mothers’ behaviors, mothers’ perceptions of their children’s science ability was a significant predictor of the children’s perceptions of their own ability. The study found that the links between fathers’ actions and children’s perceptions did not vary by the child’s gender.

Reviewed by CLEAR

February 2016

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