The Effects of Gendered Self-Concepts and Academic Performance: An Investigation

There has been a vast amount of scholarly work investigating the many factors that influence an individual?s academic performance: socio-economic status, race, sex, family size and type of school, to name a few. This research takes an identity theory perspective and investigates the role ones gendered self-concepts have on academic performance. Gender roles are socially constructed binaries, separate from, though often correlated with, biological sex. This binary requires masculinity to define itself largely against the feminine. Gender theorists have identified a de-linking of hegemonic masculinity and educational achievement in explaining the recent decline in academic performance and participation among boys and men. Using data drawn from a survey of college students, this research focuses on the relationship between masculine self-concepts of female students, and academic performance