Motivation in Educational Contexts. Does Gender Matter?

Ruth Butler*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Girls and women now outperform boys and men on many indices of academic achievement. Gender differences in motivation may underlie these trends. In this chapter, I review and integrate research on gender differences in self-evaluation, self-regulation, and achievement goals. I argue for the existence of gendered tendencies "to prove" versus "to try and to improve," whereby males tend to orient to demonstrating and defending their abilities, and females to working hard and addressing deficiencies. I discuss how these motivations develop within social and educational contexts of learning, and intersect with gendered patterns of socialization, values, and behaviors in other arenas, especially relational ones. Recurring themes include the costs and benefits of differential emphases on competition and self-promotion versus affiliation and consideration of others in the family, peer group, and classroom. I conclude with some recommendations for creating classroom environments that might promote optimal motivation among all students, regardless of gender.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAdvances in Child Development and Behavior
PublisherAcademic Press Inc.
Pages1-41
Number of pages41
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014

Publication series

NameAdvances in Child Development and Behavior
Volume47
ISSN (Print)0065-2407

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier Inc.

Keywords

  • Achievement motivation
  • Gender differences
  • Gender socialization
  • Self-evaluation
  • Social motives

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Motivation in Educational Contexts. Does Gender Matter?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this