Gender Differences in School Achievement on Mathematics and Russian Language: Cross-cultural Study¹

Introduction. The most important factors that shape gender differences in academic achievements are academic disciplines themselves (mathematics or language), measurements of success (grades, standardized assessments or tests), level of school education (primary, secondary or high school), quality of educational conditions and the level socio-economic development of the country, including the gender inequality index. Goals & objectives. The aim of this study was analyzing cross-cultural gender differences in academic success, as measured by teachers' grades in mathematics and Russian language, across the school education. The research was carried out on samples of schoolchildren studying in Russia and Kyrgyzstan, two countries in which the organization of the education system is identical, but the quality of education, the level of socio-economic development and the degree of gender inequality differ. Materials and methods. The study involved 2145 schoolchildren in grades 2-11 from public schools in Russia and Kyrgyzstan. The sample of schoolchildren from a Russian school included 898 pupils aged 7.8 to 19.1 years, of whom 47.9% were girls. The sample of schoolchildren from a Kyrgyz school is 1247 pupils ranged from 7.6 to 18.9 years, of which 56.6% are girls. The study was carried out using a cross-sectional design. Teachers' grades in mathematics and Russian were used as indicators of academic success. The average of the quarterly or semi-annual assessments was calculated. Statistical analysis was carried out using the ANOVA to calculate the size of the effect of gender influence. Results. It was shown that gender differences in academic success in school manifested themselves regardless of the conditions of the educational environment. It was established as a universal fact that, on average, girls learn better than boys both in Russian language and in mathematics during the whole schooling period. The relationship between manifestation of gender differences in academic performance and the type of academic discipline has been established: the advantage of girls in successful learning of the Russian language is observed more often than in mathematics. This trend is typical for both cultural samples. Conclusions. It was observed that during the age periods of manifestation of gender differences in academic performance, there is a cross- cultural specificity to it. In more favorable educational conditions this period is during puberty, from 11 to 15 years old, and in less favorable conditions, they are observed during the whole period of schooling.