Monday 25 February 2013

More girls dropping out of maths than boys; worst gender gap since the 80s


The Conversation has reported that studies undertaken in New South Wales have found girls are dramatically losing ground in HSC level mathematics and science, resulting in the most exaggerated gender gap since the 1980s.

The number of girls not taking any HSC level mathematics has also more than doubled in the last decade, while there are currently only 1.5% of females studying advanced mathematics, chemistry and physics in their final school years.

Since 2001 the percentage of girls studying no maths has jumped from 9.5% to 21.8% in 2011. A mere 13.8% of females took one maths and one sciences subject for their HSC studies, compared with 18.6% of boys, whose enrollments have suffered only minor declines.

Read the full article here: http://theconversation.edu.au/study-finds-more-girls-opting-out-of-maths-and-science-12221


Why do you think girls are so reluctant to enrol in higher-level mathematics subjects at school, and what can be done to boost enrollments in the coming years? Leave us your thoughts in the comments section.

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