Bridging the gender gap in science and technology: How long will it take?

Conclusions

Throughout the year the girls maintained the progress made in the first school and continued to develop their ability to implement physical science concepts in their modelling work. They reached a point sometime during year 4 when collectively they achieved parity with the boys in this respect. By the end of the year there were more concepts put into practice with greater frequency by girls than by boys as groups. Although it took a long time to reach this point it was achieved through practices compatible with normal teaching using materials easily available in school.

Analysis of the models under the two criteria of variety and creativity showed that despite the greater frequency which girls incorporated physical concepts into the models made there was still a tendency for them to be conservative. They chose to make models which were the same as those illustrated on the work cards or those produced by other girls. Despite the fact that they made more models than the boys the range of models made by girls was smaller. Girls were also less likely to be creative They did not often modify their models by adding elements of their own design and rarely developed designs of their own in contrast to the boys which were often original and innovative.