Gender equality in 4- to 5-year-old preschoolers' early numerical competencies.

Numerical competencies acquired in preschool are foundational and predictive for children's later mathematical development. It remains to be determined whether there are gender differences in these early numerical competencies which could explain the often-reported gender differences in later mathematics and STEM-related abilities. Using a Bayesian approach, we quantified the evidence in favor of the alternative hypothesis of gender differences versus the null hypothesis of gender equality. Participants were 402 4- to 5-year-old children attending preschool in Flanders (Belgium). Children were selected via stratified cluster sampling to represent the full range of socioeconomic backgrounds. All children completed eight numerical tasks (verbal counting, object counting, numeral recognition, symbolic comparison, nonsymbolic comparison, nonverbal calculation, number order, dot enumeration). Results supported the gender equality hypothesis, and this evidence was substantial for seven of the eight numerical tasks. Preschoolers' early numerical competencies are characterized by gender equality. They probably do not explain later-reported gender differences.

[1]  David J. Purpura,et al.  Informal Numeracy Skills , 2013 .

[2]  Wendy Wood,et al.  The Nature–Nurture Debates , 2013, Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

[3]  G. Duncan,et al.  School readiness and later achievement. , 2007, Developmental psychology.

[4]  Camilla Persson Benbow,et al.  Sex Differences in Personal Attributes for the Development of Scientific Expertise. , 2007 .

[5]  Philippe Pinel,et al.  Tuning Curves for Approximate Numerosity in the Human Intraparietal Sulcus , 2004, Neuron.

[6]  E. Spelke.  Sex differences in intrinsic aptitude for mathematics and science?: a critical review. , 2005, The American psychologist.

[7]  David C. Geary,et al.  Sexual selection and sex differences in mathematical abilities , 1996, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[8]  Nancy C. Jordan,et al.  Number sense growth in kindergarten: a longitudinal investigation of children at risk for mathematics difficulties. , 2006, Child development.

[9]  M. Mazzocco,et al.  A longitudinal analysis of sex differences in math and spatial skills in primary school age children. , 2006, Learning and individual differences.

[10]  K. Willmes,et al.  Gender differences in the development of numerical Skills in four European countries , 2012 .

[11]  Jörg Rieskamp,et al.  An Introduction to Bayesian Hypothesis Testing for Management Research , 2015 .

[12]  T. DiPrete,et al.  Trends in gender segregation in the choice of science and engineering majors. , 2013, Social science research.

[13]  Shulamit Kahn,et al.  Does Science Promote Women? Evidence from Academia 1973-2001 , 2006 .

[14]  J. Hyde,et al.  The Gender Similarities Hypothesis , 2005 .

[15]  Matthew Inglis,et al.  Indexing the approximate number system. , 2014, Acta psychologica.

[16]  M. Casey,et al.  The Influence of Spatial Ability on Gender Differences in Mathematics College Entrance Test Scores across Diverse Samples. , 1995 .

[17]  Marcia C. Linn,et al.  Gender Similarities Characterize Math Performance , 2008, Science.

[18]  Karen Wynn,et al.  Children's understanding of counting , 1990, Cognition.

[19]  Janet Shibley Hyde,et al.  Cross-national patterns of gender differences in mathematics: a meta-analysis. , 2010, Psychological bulletin.

[20]  Benjamin G. Gibbs,et al.  Reversing fortunes or content change? Gender gaps in math-related skill throughout childhood ☆ , 2010 .

[21]  M. Linn,et al.  New trends in gender and mathematics performance: a meta-analysis. , 2010, Psychological bulletin.

[22]  Daniel Ansari,et al.  How do symbolic and non-symbolic numerical magnitude processing skills relate to individual differences in children's mathematical skills? A review of evidence from brain and behavior , 2013, Trends in Neuroscience and Education.

[23]  Stuart J. Ritchie,et al.  Enduring Links From Childhood Mathematics and Reading Achievement to Adult Socioeconomic Status , 2013, Psychological science.

[24]  E. Fennema,et al.  Gender differences in mathematics performance: a meta-analysis. , 1990, Psychological bulletin.

[25]  COGNITIVE PATTERNS OF GENDER DIFFERENCES ON MATHEMATICS ADMISSIONS TESTS , 2002 .

[26]  M. Linn,et al.  Gender Similarities in Mathematics and Science , 2006, Science.

[27]  Joseph R. Cimpian,et al.  Have Gender Gaps in Math Closed? Achievement, Teacher Perceptions, and Learning Behaviors Across Two ECLS-K Cohorts , 2016 .

[28]  S. Lubienski,et al.  The Development of Gender Achievement Gaps in Mathematics and Reading During Elementary and Middle School , 2011 .

[29]  Z. Šidák.  Rectangular Confidence Regions for the Means of Multivariate Normal Distributions , 1967 .

[30]  Gavin R. Price,et al.  Numerical predictors of arithmetic success in grades 1-6. , 2014, Developmental science.

[31]  D. Szűcs,et al.  Gender differences in mathematics anxiety and the relation to mathematics performance while controlling for test anxiety , 2012, Behavioral and Brain Functions.

[32]  Z. Dienes.  Bayesian Versus Orthodox Statistics: Which Side Are You On? , 2011, Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

[33]  David C. Geary,et al.  Sex Differences in Mathematics and Reading Achievement Are Inversely Related: Within- and Across-Nation Assessment of 10 Years of PISA Data , 2013, PloS one.

[34]  Patrick Ian Armstrong,et al.  Men and things, women and people: a meta-analysis of sex differences in interests. , 2009, Psychological bulletin.

[35]  Alan Feingold,et al.  Sex Differences in Variability in Intellectual Abilities: A New Look at an Old Controversy , 1992 .