Gender, self-perception, and mathematics: The 2020 England, Wales, and Northern Ireland PISA Field Trial

Concerns around discrepancies in mathematics participation by gender are longstanding in many jurisdictions. Normatively, those are a question of social justice: if girls are being disproportionately excluded for conscious or unconscious reasons at any level of the curriculum ‘system’, those should be addressed. Economically, disincentives for girls’ engagement might also impinge on both personal and national thriving. While more girls than boys took pre-university STEM ‘A Levels’ in recent years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, issues remain specifically with mathematics.

This paper draws on the 2020 PISA Field Trial data to outline some areas of concern as perceived by 15-year-olds in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland in early 2020. We first identify key issues recognised in previous literature, and then locate those within the 2020 dataset. By exposing the continuation and extent of these challenges in mathematics, the paper has potential also to identify opportunities to address them.