Gender and young children's expectations for performance in arithmetic

Tracked the progress of approximately 1,100 children from the beginning of 1st grade to the end of 3rd grade. Ss included Whites at a suburban school and Blacks and Whites whose background was urban and lower class. Ss', their mothers', and their peers' expectations for their grades in reading, arithmetic, and conduct were assessed each semester. Ss' actual grades and achievement test scores were also obtained. Data suggest that the schooling experience in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades differed according to gender, even though the 2 sexes sat together in the same classrooms. Although boys' arithmetic marks and/or general aptitude did not exceed girls', data indicate that boys developed higher expectations for their own performance in arithmetic than did girls, apparently in response to differential expectations held by their parents. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).