IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cca/wchild/98.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Tackling the gender gap in mathematics with active learning methodologies

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Laura Di Tommaso
  • Dalit Contini
  • Dalila De Rosa
  • Francesca Ferrara
  • Daniela Piazzalunga
  • Ornella Robutti

Abstract

We implement a teaching methodology aimed at improving primary school children’s mathematical skills. The methodology, grounded in active and cooperative learning, focuses on peer interaction, sharing of ideas, learning from mistakes, and problem solving. We evaluate the causal effect of the intervention on the gender gap in mathematics in Italy with a randomized controlled trial. The treatment significantly improves girls’ math performance (0.14 s.d.), with no impact on boys, and reduces the math gender gap by more than 40%. The effect is stronger for girls with high pre-test scores.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Laura Di Tommaso & Dalit Contini & Dalila De Rosa & Francesca Ferrara & Daniela Piazzalunga & Ornella Robutti, 2021. "Tackling the gender gap in mathematics with active learning methodologies," CHILD Working Papers Series 98 JEL Classification: I2, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    • Handle: RePEc:cca:wchild:98
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.child.carloalberto.org/images/documenti/child98_2021.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sierminska, Eva & Piazzalunga, Daniela & Grabka, Markus M., 2018. "Transitioning towards more equality? Wealth gender differences and the changing role of explanatory factors over time," GLO Discussion Paper Series 252, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Glenn Ellison & Ashley Swanson, 2010. "The Gender Gap in Secondary School Mathematics at High Achievement Levels: Evidence from the American Mathematics Competitions," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(2), pages 109-128, Spring.
    3. Michela Carlana, 2019. "Implicit Stereotypes: Evidence from Teachers’ Gender Bias," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1163-1224.
    4. Machin, Stephen & Puhani, Patrick A., 2003. "Subject of degree and the gender wage differential: evidence from the UK and Germany," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 79(3), pages 393-400, June.
    5. Muriel Niederle & Lise Vesterlund, 2010. "Explaining the Gender Gap in Math Test Scores: The Role of Competition," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(2), pages 129-144, Spring.
    6. Lippmann, Quentin & Senik, Claudia, 2018. "Math, girls and socialism," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 874-888.
    7. Contini, Dalit & Tommaso, Maria Laura Di & Mendolia, Silvia, 2017. "The gender gap in mathematics achievement: Evidence from Italian data," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 32-42.
    8. Paglin, Morton & Rufolo, Anthony M, 1990. "Heterogeneous Human Capital, Occupational Choice, and Male-Female Earnings Differences," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(1), pages 123-144, January.
    9. Daniela Piazzalunga, 2018. "The Gender Wage Gap Among College Graduates in Italy," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 4(1), pages 33-90, March.
    10. Quentin Lippmann & Claudia Senik, 2018. "Math, Girls and Socialism," Working Papers halshs-01387272, HAL.
    11. Di Tommaso, Maria Laura & Contini, Dalit & De Rosa, Dalila & Piazzalunga, Daniela, 2020. "Tackling the Gender Gap in Math with Active Learning Teaching Practices," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 202016, University of Turin.
    12. Dan A. Black & Amelia M. Haviland & Seth G. Sanders & Lowell J. Taylor, 2008. "Gender Wage Disparities among the Highly Educated," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(3), pages 630-659.
    13. Delaney, Judith M. & Devereux, Paul J., 2020. "Math matters! The importance of mathematical and verbal skills for degree performance," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    14. Quentin Lippmann & Claudia Senik, 2018. "Math, girls and socialism," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-01886562, HAL.
    15. Gevrek, Z. Eylem & Gevrek, Deniz & Neumeier, Christian, 2020. "Explaining the gender gaps in mathematics achievement and attitudes: The role of societal gender equality," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    16. Natalia Nollenberger & Núria Rodríguez-Planas & Almudena Sevilla, 2016. "The Math Gender Gap: The Role of Culture," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 257-261, May.
    17. Grinis, Inna, 2019. "The STEM requirements of “Non-STEM” jobs: Evidence from UK online vacancy postings," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 144-158.
    18. David Card & A. Abigail Payne, 2021. "High School Choices And The Gender Gap In Stem," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(1), pages 9-28, January.
    19. Sule Alan & Seda Ertac & Ipek Mumcu, 2018. "Gender Stereotypes in the Classroom and Effects on Achievement," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(5), pages 876-890, December.
    20. Uri Gneezy & Muriel Niederle & Aldo Rustichini, 2003. "Performance in Competitive Environments: Gender Differences," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 1049-1074.
    21. Roland G. Fryer & Steven D. Levitt, 2010. "An Empirical Analysis of the Gender Gap in Mathematics," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 210-240, April.
    22. Dossi, Gaia & Figlio, David & Giuliano, Paola & Sapienza, Paola, 2021. "Born in the family: Preferences for boys and the gender gap in math," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 175-188.
    23. Devin G. Pope & Justin R. Sydnor, 2010. "Geographic Variation in the Gender Differences in Test Scores," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(2), pages 95-108, Spring.
    24. Sarah E. Turner & William G. Bowen, 1999. "Choice of Major: The Changing (Unchanging) Gender Gap," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 52(2), pages 289-313, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dalit Contini & Maria Laura Di Tommaso & Caterina Muratori & Daniela Piazzalunga & Lucia Schiavon, 2021. "The Covid-19 pandemic and school closure: learning loss in mathematics in primary education," DEM Working Papers 2021/16, Department of Economics and Management.
    2. Griselda, Silvia, 2024. "Gender gap in standardized tests: What are we measuring?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 191-229.
    3. Contini Dalit & Di Tommaso Maria Laura & Muratori Caterina & Piazzalunga Daniela & Schiavon Lucia, 2022. "Who Lost the Most? Mathematics Achievement during the COVID-19 Pandemic," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 22(2), pages 399-408, April.
    4. Jose Antonio Prieto-Saborit & David Méndez-Alonso & Ana Fernández-Viciana & Laxmi J. Dixit Dixit & Paloma Nistal-Hernández, 2022. "Implementation of Cooperative Learning and Its Relationship with Prior Training of Teachers, Performance and Equity in Mathematics: A Longitudinal Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-10, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Di Tommaso, Maria Laura & Contini, Dalit & De Rosa, Dalila & Piazzalunga, Daniela, 2020. "Tackling the Gender Gap in Math with Active Learning Teaching Practices," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 202016, University of Turin.
    2. Borra, Cristina & Iacovou, Maria & Sevilla, Almudena, 2023. "Adolescent development and the math gender gap," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    3. Anghel, Brindusa & Rodríguez-Planas, Núria & Sanz-de-Galdeano, Anna, 2020. "Is the math gender gap associated with gender equality? Only in low-income countries," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Anne (A.C.) Gielen & Esmee Zwiers, 2018. "Biology and the gender gap in educational performance - The role of prenatal testosterone in test scores," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 18-086/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    5. Das, Upasak & Singhal, Karan, 2023. "Solving it correctly: Prevalence and persistence of gender gap in basic mathematics in rural India," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    6. Natalia Nollenberger & Núria Rodríguez-Planas & Almudena Sevilla, 2016. "The Math Gender Gap: The Role of Culture," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 257-261, May.
    7. Dilmaghani, Maryam, 2021. "The gender gap in competitive chess across countries: Commanding queens in command economies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 425-441.
    8. Alice Bertoletti & Marta Cannistrà & Melisa Diaz Lema & Chiara Masci & Anna Mergoni & Lidia Rossi & Mara Soncin, 2023. "The Determinants of Mathematics Achievement: A Gender Perspective Using Multilevel Random Forest," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    9. Shi, Ying, 2018. "The puzzle of missing female engineers: Academic preparation, ability beliefs, and preferences," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 129-143.
    10. Dominique Cappelletti & Maria Vittoria Levati & Matteo Ploner, 2022. "Math ability, gender stereotypes about math ability, and educational choices. Combining experimental and survey data," Working Papers 07/2022, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    11. Lippmann, Quentin & Senik, Claudia, 2018. "Math, girls and socialism," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 874-888.
    12. Gevrek, Z. Eylem & Gevrek, Deniz & Neumeier, Christian, 2020. "Explaining the gender gaps in mathematics achievement and attitudes: The role of societal gender equality," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    13. Aldén, Lina & Neuman, Emma, 2022. "Culture and the gender gap in choice of major: An analysis using sibling comparisons," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 346-373.
    14. Simone Balestra & Aurélien Sallin & Stefan C. Wolter, 2023. "High-Ability Influencers? The Heterogeneous Effects of Gifted Classmates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(2), pages 633-665.
    15. Doris, Aedín & O’Neill, Donal & Sweetman, Olive, 2013. "Gender, single-sex schooling and maths achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 104-119.
    16. Quentin Lippmann & Claudia Senik, 2019. "The Impact of the Socialist Episode on Gender Norms in Germany," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 17(03), pages 30-35, October.
    17. Chandan Jain, 2019. "Analysing Changes in Gender Difference in Learning in Rural India over Time," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 17(4), pages 913-935, December.
    18. Dossi, Gaia & Figlio, David & Giuliano, Paola & Sapienza, Paola, 2021. "Born in the family: Preferences for boys and the gender gap in math," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 175-188.
    19. Jiang, Xuan, 2021. "Women in STEM: Ability, preference, and value," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    20. Justman, Moshe & Méndez, Susan J., 2018. "Gendered choices of STEM subjects for matriculation are not driven by prior differences in mathematical achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 282-297.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender gap; Mathematics; School achievement; Primary school; Active learning; Teaching methodologies; Randomized controlled trial;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cca:wchild:98. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Giovanni Bert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/chccait.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.