Abstract
Data from the 1976 NAEP Science Assessment were used to explore sex differences in science learning and its determinants with controls for ethnicity and parental socioeconomic status. The sample was composed of 2,349 13-year-olds. Scales measuring science learning and five related factors were related to sex, race, and SES in three-way analyses of variance and covariance. While no sex difference in science learning was found, a sex-specific trend in science motivation was detected. For males, increased motivation was found with higher levels of SES (parental education). A number of other differences among ethnic and SES groups are significant.
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