Student Motivation: The Role of Gender

Grace Kendall
Purpose:

● Is there there are differences in the motivation of male and female students?

● Do these differences, if present, have an effect on academic achievement or

learning effectiveness in educational settings?

Research Results:
● There is a negative relationship between gender and intrinsic motivation, and a less important
negative relationship between extrinsic motivation and gender. (Zaccone and Pedrini, 2019).
● Males, when compared to females, will learn more when intrinsic motivation is high and intrinsic
motivation is low. (Zaccone and Pedrini, 2019).
● Men, in comparison to females, will learn more when extrinsic motivation is high and will learn
less when extrinsic motivation is low (Zaccone and Pedrini, 2019).
● Boys had significantly higher levels of self-concept in science and intrinsic value of science than
that of their female counterparts in both grades 4 and 8. (Liou, Wang, Lin and Areepattamannil,
2020)
● Significant gender differences between grade levels, with the gap between male and female
motivation in science increasing from grade 4 to grade 8 (Liou, Wang, Lin and Areepattamannil,
2020).
● female participants had a trend of less positive attitudes towards mathematics, significantly lower
motivation and concepts of self competency, as well as higher rates of math anxiety.
Research Results:
● Female participants had a trend of less positive attitudes towards mathematics, significantly lower
motivation and concepts of self competency, as well as higher rates of math anxiety. (Warhurst and
McGeown, 2020)
● No significant difference between genders in measured academic performance, however, “the
explanatory power of attitudes toward mathematics was clearly more significant in boys”
(Warhurst and McGeown, 2020)
● “Girls [reported] greater confidence and value in reading and writing, and boys [reported] greater
maths confidence and science value”
● “Identification with feminine traits and their reading and writing value and confidence was
statistically more closely correlated that the relationship between their identification with
masculine traits and their reading and writing value and confidence,” and identification with
feminine traits were the strongest predictor of reading and writing value and confidence and
writing value and confidence (Warhurst and McGeown, 2020, Results, para. 5)
● Confirmed the already established gender gap
Strategies:
● Educators should focus on developing and addressing students’ intrinsic motivation, and therefore

they should implement strategies in which extrinsic motivation is excluded from the learning

process

○ For example, if a teacher were to solely base certain grades on effort rather than

performance, an extrinsically motivated student would have to intrinsically motivate

themself.
Strategies:
● Representation in the classroom.

○ Introducing the class to female STEM workers, or other females in predominantly male fields

can world to disassemble the social roles that cause sex and gender differences in education

○ Presenting information in both masculine and feminine contexts and topics is another

beneficial strategy to implement in the classroom.

Strategies:
● Be aware of implicit associations and biases in gender, and actively combat them when working

with students.
Conclusion:
● Gender inherently plays a large role in a student’s intrinsic and extrinsic motivation because of the

social and cultural constructs

● There is a significance between gender and motivation, as well as a notable correlation between

high levels of motivation and higher academic achievement and learning effectiveness.

● Strategies must be implemented at the classroom level to intervene in order to address the

indisputable gender differences in motivation and prevent a gender gap in academic achievement,