Phasing out the line, ‘math is not for a girl’

Context:

These were responses from an informal discussion with school students in a village in Bihar’s Samastipur district that boys were more likely than girls to express a preference for mathematics and science. 

• Even among girls who showed an interest in science, their preference tended to be for life sciences over physical sciences.

Image Source: The Hindu

About Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) Findings:

• Boys outperform girls in mathematics significantly, which has been persistent over time. 
• There is a considerable variation though; while in the north Indian States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, boys outperform girls substantially, in south India, girls outperform boys in mathematics. However, on average, the performance of girls remains worse than that of boys. 
• This is cause for concern as it indicates a lack of interest and understanding in the subject, which has implications for future academic and career success.

More social norms than ‘ability’:

• Girls are found to perform better in some southern States, only further implying that it is not any inherent ability that drives this difference. 
• The oft-repeated line that “science and math are meant for boys and arts and humanities for girls” is reflective of the kind of stereotyping that parents, relatives/neighbors, and even schoolteachers push. 

Steps taken in the direction:

• The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP)
  • Address Gender Related Gaps: It acknowledges the need to address several gender-related gaps in schooling. 
  • Recognition of Disparities: Specifically, it recognises the existence of continued disparities across all social groups and the need for developing interventions that enhance attendance and academic performance for girls. 
  • Establishing a ‘Gender-Inclusive Fund’: Further, it stresses the need to implement gender-sensitive training for teachers and also in establishing a ‘Gender-Inclusive Fund’ for States to utilize in implementing community-based interventions. 
• National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
  Similarly, the National Curriculum Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), developed by the NCERT, also acknowledges these gender disparities.
• Public step
  A YouTube video created on this topic by a popular channel “Soch by Mohak Mangal” includes hundreds of comments echoing these concerns. 

Concerns:

• Neither of the above documents explicitly recognises the causes and consequences of gender differences in mathematics learning at early ages.
• A position paper on the “Teaching of Mathematics” published by the NCERT in 2005 claimed that poorer outcomes for girls in mathematics through the devaluation of girls in society. 
• Gendered perceptions and the behaviour of teachers might negatively impact how girls view and perform in mathematics in the classroom. 
• The recent policies do not fully acknowledge and address the prevalence and impact of these specific biases and perceptions.
• This underrepresentation is not only found in developing countries such as India but also in the developed world.

Steps worth trying:

• Targeted behavioral interventions can curb the gender stereotyping of “math is not for a girl”. 
• References to female mathematicians in textbooks, female names and characters in word problems, and providing exposure to female role models in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields in the course curriculum are among other simple tweaks that are worth trying and likely to be beneficial.

Conclusion:

• There is an urgent need to address this problem to prevent further harm to female education, career choices and job market opportunities. 
• Otherwise, the representation of females in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or other math-intensive fields and careers remains far from ‘fair’ or desirable.                                                                                                                                                                       

News Source: The Hindu