Gender Perspective on Affective Dimensions of Chemistry Learning - Affective Dimensions in Chemistry Education - page 69

2.3 Gender Research on Attitudes Toward Chemistry

Numerous studies have been conducted on student attitudes toward learning science
in general; however, studies concerning attitudes toward chemistry and attitude
relations with gender, in particular, remain limited. Some studies tend to report
results for physical sciences, a categorization that includes chemistry; but
concerning student affect or participation rates, it appears that, for chemistry and
physics, there are different patterns. Although limited in number, this chapter
focuses on published research in the literature over a period of several decades
regarding the impact of gender on chemistry attitudes or other affective variables.
The majority of the studies are descriptive in nature, exploring whether there are
differences in attitudes toward chemistry with respect to gender (i.e., Cheung, 2009 ;
Hofstein, Ben-Zvi, & Samuel, 1977 ). A few investigate the way attitudes relate to
achievement (i.e., Lewis, Shaw, Heitz, & Webster, 2009 ). One experimental study
was conducted to understand the effect of using analogies in chemistry teaching on
students achievement and affect (Sarantopoulos & Tsaparlis, 2004 ). Following is

an overview of these studies.
As a number of scholars in the field (Cheung, 2009 ; Hofstein & Mamlok-
Naaman, 2011 ) emphasize, the literature provides mixed results concerning gender
and attitudes toward chemistry. Over a period of nearly 40 years, some studies
report more positive attitudes for girls and others report vice versa. The first
research in the topic appears to be conducted by Hofstein et al. ( 1977 ) with Israeli
high-school students (ages 16-18). The researchers found that girls had a more
positive attitude toward chemistry and chemists than boys. The research results also
suggested a more feminine image of chemistry as compared to physics, which
explained the high enrollment rates of girls in chemistry courses. It is interesting
that along with the feminine image of chemistry, physics was considered as more
prestigious than chemistry with a superior social and economic image.
Another study that reported more positive attitudes for girls toward chemistry is
a meta-analysis of research conducted with school-aged children between 1965 and
1981 over 20 countries (Steinkamp & Maehr, 1984 ). The analysis concludes that
“girls

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motivational orientations in biology, botany, and chemistry surpass those of
boys, whereas boys

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in physical science
and general science” (p. 48). The authors propose that the underlying reason for the
differences in attitudes may lie in the fact that some science subjects such as physics
are typically experienced by boys through informal learning activities out of school,
whereas chemistry, for example, is learned mostly at school. The meta-analysis
raises some concerns as to the conceptual and statistical weaknesses of the studies
conducted and highlights the need to address the gender issues in a more straight-
forward manner.
Along with few other studies (i.e., Dhindsa & Chung, 1999 ; Shannon, Sleet, &
Stern, 1982 ) that report girls enjoying chemistry more than boys, there is a body of
research that provides contrasting results. According to studies conducted in Israel
(Menis, 1983 ), in the USA (Menis, 1989 ), in Australia (Barnes, McInerney, &

' orientations are more positive than girls '