Bridging the Mathematics Gender Gap

In the educational curriculum of countries the world over, Mathematics is a basic and compulsory subject in many courses of academic studies, from the formative years to the tertiary level. Some contend that the importance of attitude towards mathematics is its connection to achievement; McLeod (1992) found a low but significant correlation between these two factors - thus, more positive attitude may produce a higher level of achievement... There is a school of thought that society in general and girls in particular, consider mathematics as a male domain - that Mathematics is either too mechanical or too technical for girls. Girls are also considered as not being able to think or work scientifically (Agholor, 1993). The failure to make mathematics appealing and safe for ALL is turning the potential for social profit into grave deficit, the cost of which the average taxpayers will bear both financially and socially (Ogden and Germinario, 1988, p. xvii). This book investigates the attitudes of students towards the study of mathematics with the radar on women in particular to ascertain whether indeed their fewer numbers in mathematics is due to stereotyped attitudes and myths.