A small-scale action research project examining the gender differences in confidence and enjoyment of mathematics.

1 Abstract This study looks into the gender differences in mathematics, specifically focusing on the differences of confidence and enjoyment of maths. Students in the sample were asked to predict their scores for assessments, which were then compared to their actual results, to examine confidence. There have been many conflicting results regarding the gender differences in mathematics performance, confidence and beliefs. Else-Quest et al (2010) discovered females reported lower self-efficacy in maths than males, although there was little difference in their mathematics achievement. This has the potential to increase as students move through school, with the largest difference being amongst the highest performing students (Ganley et al, 2013). Foyn, Solomon and Braathe (2018) found that the females, particularly the high achievers, do not want to be seen as ‘clever’ and therefore do not like to participate in lessons or continue to study mathematics after the compulsory age. The inconsistencies in the literature available influenced the choice of this research. Despite there being little gender differences in achievement, why are there larger differences in student’s perception of the subject