Discuss the controversy over female abilities for math and/or science. How do females typically fare in math and science? Be sure to address biological and social factors.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANS: The belief that females are not adept at math or science has persisted in the United States for some time. In early years, girls do just as well as boys in mathematics in school in the United States. However, participation changes as women progress through college and their numbers steadily drop between undergraduate and Ph.D. programs. Only 10% of math and science faculty are women. In contrast, women in other countries do well in, and major in, math in college.

Biological explanations for why men might be better at math and science don’t pan out. IN most nations, girls outperform boys on science test given to students in developed countries. The fact that girls in most countries score better than boys on science tests raises doubts that there are significant innate sex difference in science aptitude or ability.

Social explanations include:
There is bias inherent in the system. This could include a counselor encouraging a female student not to take a difficult math class or a male physics teacher who doesn’t call on the women in his class.
Some believe the reasons are a lack of female role models as math and science teachers. Others state that females are encouraged to pursue careers that involve direct interaction with people, rather than science or math.
The common belief that females do not do well at science or math affects their self-confidence and performance, as well as other’s evaluations of them.