An Investigation into the Affective Profiles of Girls from Single-Sex and Co-Educational Schools, as They Relate to the Learning of Mathematics.

Central to this dissertation is an attempt to investigate whether or not a single-sex environment has a positive impact upon girls' attitudes and beliefs, as they pertain to the learning of mathematics. All learners of mathematics are enveloped by the social practices pertaining to both mathematics and society at large. Underlying these social practices are a multiplicity of environmental and learner-related variables that may result in a differential and discriminatory experience for girls. Each of these variables has to be identified, understood, and acted upon in an attempt to combat these discriminatory forces. This dissertation focuses on one major component of the learner-related domain--that of affect. Based upon existing research and theoretical analyses, this study attempts to identify important affective variables and the role that they play in the learning of mathematics. An investigation into these affective components, as they pertain to girls educated in a single-sex and in a co-educational environment in Bermuda, has been carried out. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire and subjected to quantitative analyses. For the sample used, the co-educational environment may lead to a degree of affective impairment for girls, particularly with regard to confidence. Additionally, the more positive affective profiles of the single-sex educated girls should become the reference point for further analysis, thus annulling the view that girls are somehow deficient. The classroom situation cannot be seen in isolation; instead, investigations pertaining to mathematics and gender should account for gender-specific norms and values that are reinforced and promoted by elements contained within the wider socio-political domain. (Contains 118 references.) (Author/ASK)