Elementary Students’ Perceptions of Gender Equity in Mathematics Classes

There have been various research studies stating that in elementary school, gender bias in all subjects is nonexistent. However, other researchers interested in gender equity in the mathematics classroom have recognized that gender bias does not occur in early elementary school grades but exists by middle school. Thus, research in this area is greatly needed. This study examined children in the third, fourth, and fifth grades to determine whether students’ perceptions of their own mathematical abilities relate to their perceptions of their teacher’s beliefs about gender bias in mathematics. Pearson Product-Moment correlation and Point-Biserial correlations were used to analyze data. The results of the current study found no significant correlation between students’ perception of their mathematics teacher’s gender equity behavior and students’ self-perceptions regarding mathematics. However, it established a significant relationship between the gender of students and the perceptions of their mathematics teacher’s gender equity behavior as well as a significant relationship between gender and their perceptions regarding their own mathematical ability