Gender perspective on affective dimensions of chemistry learning

Declining numbers of young people pursuing science-based areas of study and careers have often been reported in national documents around the globe. Students' positive attitudes toward science are found to be among the important factors contributing to their decisions to engage in science. Yet, science curricula focusing on the fundamentals of scientific knowledge, being transmitted to students, fail to enhance positive attitudes toward science, in general, and toward physical sciences, in particular. For complex reasons, girls, more likely than boys, tend to disengage with physical sciences and engage with certain fields such as biology, psychology, and the social sciences. Student attitudes toward learning science have been broadly addressed; however, studies concerning attitudes toward chemistry and attitude relation with gender, in particular, remain limited. The focus of this chapter is on research findings over a period of several decades regarding the impact of gender on student affect related with chemistry. The review uncovers mixed results, some studies reporting more positive attitudes for girls and vice versa. Grounded in feminist theories, this chapter also provides an analysis to understand the gender impact on affective dimensions in chemistry learning. Evidence suggests that conclusions drawn about student participation and affect in physical sciences may not hold true for chemistry. It is also suggested that an existentialist feminist theoretical perspective may be informative in accounting for the difference between the two genders regarding affect in chemistry and physics. Implications of the apparent less "masculine" image of chemistry for chemistry and science education are discussed. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015.