Sessions invitées: MSP2
Problème du genre en sciences et technologies
Prof. Nouzha EL YACOUBI, University Mohammed V Rabat, Morocco
Résumé
In developed countries where equity in education has been investigated for several
years, and where there are no mean differences between boys and girls achievements
upon entry to school, the gender gap in achievement and participation in sciences,
technology and more particularly in mathematics, persists. Since the 1970s, intensive
research into the contributing factors to these gender differences and into relevant
strategies to reduce the gap has been conducted in many countries. While, these
factors are also relevant to developing countries, other factors should be considered,
in particular for Africa, such as negative socio- cultural attitudes, household duties
of girls; gender biased curriculum, lack of moral and financial parental support,
lack of self confidence among the girls, and poor performance in exams. However,
in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) there is no evidence for a gender gap
in mathematics performance. More interestingly, girls are now doing better than
boys in mathematics and science in the region and many more girls are going on to
tertiary education. This presentation will deal with some of the reasons behind such
patterns. TIMSS and PISA results will be used to show, that in the MENA, gender
differences are in favor of girls, and that when girls are provided with equal
opportunity to learn, they tend to achieve better in mathematics than their male
counterparts.
Key words: gender gap, sciences and Technologies, developed countries progress, developing countries situation, the MENA case.