Exploring the Interplay of Perceived Subjective Task Values, Parental Influences and Cultural Stereotypes in Shaping Girls' Mathematical Education and Career Aspirations

Abstract

In Western secondary school contexts, Caucasian and Asian boys are often considered to be advantaged in mathematics, with stereotypes such as “boys = mathematics” and “Asian = mathematics” being pervasive. However, it is unclear whether gender stereotypes still hinder Asian girls, or whether the ‘Asian advantage’ is distributed among girls and boys.

Previous studies have emphasised the importance of examining the intersection of gender and ethnicity in understanding students’ mathematics-related education and career aspirations. Yet, there remains a lack of empirical evidence to comprehensively understand students’ mathematical motivation across cultural groups.

This mixed-method study aims to investigate how Asian Australian secondary school girls’ mathematical education and career aspirations are influenced by their perceived subjective task values, parental and cultural influences, using the lens of SEVT. The study is located within the larger ‘umbrella’ - NSW DoE-funded ‘PERFORM’ project (CIs Holmes, Watt, Anderson, Berger, Mackenzie, Reid O’Connor). Participants (n = 177) in this study are grades 7 to 10 Asian Australian girls from a single-sex academically selective school in NSW.

Findings revealed that the strongest positive correlation was found between girls’ mathematical aspirations and intrinsic value. Mathematics anxiety negatively correlated with all aspiration-related constructs and positive values. Both student-perceived parental support and expectation demonstrated moderately positive correlations with student-perceived cultural stereotypes. Mean-level differences at the Stage and cultural levels were compared using MANOVA. Stage 5 girls at this school tended to enrol in higher level of HSC mathematics and perceived higher Stage 6 mathematics capability than Stage 4 girls. Girls who spoke an Asian home language intended to enrol in higher level HSC mathematics and perceived higher parental expectations than English home language speakers.