Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Gender: A dilemma for large-scale studies in mathematics education

  • SI: Innovations in 'Gender Issues' Research in Mathematics Education
  • Published:
Mathematics Education Research Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this opinion piece, I discuss a range of issues associated with the inclusion of gender diverse students’ responses in the analyses of large-scale mathematics education data sets. Definitions of the terms gender and sex over time are examined, as well as the associated gender and sex categories that have and can be used. Of particular interest are the challenges confronting researchers of gender issues in mathematics education who are sympathetic to gender inclusivity and want to conduct statistical analyses of large-scale data sets. In light of the statistical limitations described, some suggestions are proposed for overcoming them.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. “The term ‘intersex’ refers to people who are born with genetic, hormonal or physical sex characteristics that are not typically ‘male’ or ‘female.’ Intersex people have a diversity of bodies and identities.” (Australian Government 2015, p. 9)

  2. “A person of indeterminate sex or gender is either someone whose biological sex cannot be unambiguously determined or someone who identifies as neither male nor female. Many terms are used to recognise people who do not fall within the traditional binary notions of sex and gender (male and female), including nonbinary, gender diverse, gender queer, pan-gendered, androgynous and inter-gender. Some cultures may have their own terms for gender identities outside male and female, for example, ‘sistergirl’ and ‘brotherboy’ are used by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.” (Australian Government 2015, p. 9)

  3. “An umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth.” (American Psychological Association 2020)

  4. Variance is the square of the standard deviation (the spread of scores from the mean).

References

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Helen Forgasz.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Forgasz, H. Gender: A dilemma for large-scale studies in mathematics education. Math Ed Res J 33, 631–640 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-020-00353-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-020-00353-8

Keywords

Navigation