not want their talented daughters to pursue careers in math, computers, and science. We ... Some of these competitions lead directly to technical careers.
Korean gifted girls and boys: What influenced them to be Olympians and NonOlympians? Seokhee Cho and Hye-Joo Lee Research Center for the Gifted and Talented Korean Educational Development Institute Abstract This article summarizes three interrelated studies. The first examines data from 27 Korean Olympians and their parents; the second is a qualitative study of female Olympians and equally capable females; the third study deals with parents of gifted Korean children (152 boys; 168 girls). The results of these studies show that cultural beliefs, values, and orientations largely influence Korean parents. The parents operate within gender-appropriate frameworks, apply gender stereotypic beliefs, and have gender-typed academic areas. Most parents want their “pretty little girls” to become proficient in gender-safe appropriate areas such as music, art, or the humanities. They do not want their talented daughters to pursue careers in math, computers, and science. We make recommendations to rectify these inequities. Introduction There are very few Korean female Math and Science Olympians. One hundred thirty eight Korean Olympians have been awarded 179 medals since 1988. Among them there were only 9 females, all of whom were graduates of the Science High Schools (SHS). These schools are self-contained special schools for the scientifically gifted. There are currently 16 SHS in Korea with a total enrollment of 1,500 students. The percentage of female students in these elite schools has increased steadily from 0.0% (1983-1987) to 0.9% in 1988 to 35.4% in 2001. Correspondingly, the number of female Olympians increased from 1 in 1995 to 3 in 2000. Even though the number of female Olympians has been increased, still it is too small to represent the number of female students with extraordinary talent in math and science. There are several variables that have been found to effect math and science achievement. Regarding the training of scientists at SHS, Min’s (1999) multiple regression analyses showed that female students' self-efficacy was influenced the most by their parents’ encouragement (B=.218) and initiative to develop their talents in math and science (B=.204). Meanwhile, male students’ confidence was determined most by their liking of physics (B=.264) and by their teachers’ encouragement (B=.075). This study focuses on the beliefs, attitudes, and nurturing behaviors that parents and teachers use with the female students who participate in math and science competitions. Some of these competitions lead directly to technical careers. Three studies were carried out. The first was conducted to find out if the parents and teachers of the Olympians used positive or negative beliefs, attitudes, and nurturing behaviors differentially. The second study was done to compare the early development of two of the female Olympians with two equally talented female non-Olympians. In the third study the parents of young gifted boys and girls were surveyed about their gender
specific beliefs and nurturing behaviors in the math and science areas. Review of Literature There are several variables that influence the achievement of elite male and female students. They include biological variables, personality variables, educational and social variables, and cognitive variables (Campbell & Beaudry, 1998). Among these variables our study focused on the social and educational variables that we believe are related to gender inequities. We examined parents and teachers beliefs and attitudes because we viewed them as central. The fact that gender differences in math and science are decreasing these days is clear evidence that they are not due to biological causes, rather it is more likely that they originate from social and psychological causes. Indeed we believe it is a question of nurture and not nature; that is, gender differences are not a matter of females lack of capabilities but of a lack opportunities (Rebhorn & Miles, 1999). In view of this, parental beliefs and expectations for children may play a critical role in determining children's attitudes toward math or science (Campbell, Wagner, & Walberg, 2000). Parental gender stereotypic beliefs may play a vital role. Two lines of reasoning may be considered. First, stereotyping gender roles gives males advantages by gender typing mathematics and science. Parents act along genderappropriate or non appropriate lines and in so doing help to create gender stereotypes. They do this by initially providing gender-appropriate toys and then by encouraging behaviors that fit these roles. Second, parents have lower expectations for a girl’s achievement in these areas. This low expectation downplays a girl’s interests in these subjects. These processes are reversed for boys. Parents encourage their sons to excel in mathematics and science and then to exhort them to select careers in these areas. Expertise is typically not a static condition (endstate). To maintain proficiency in an area, one must undergo a process of continual development (Sternberg, 2000); therefore, even gifted individuals who have talent continually need to develop more expertise. If they do not, they stop being recognized as gifted, or they become gifted “has-beens.” Consequently, gifted children must be encouraged to study hard in order to build records of achievement even from the beginning of their academic careers. Finally, parents of female gifted children do not want their daughters compared to gifted males in these academic areas. Interaction between teachers and students in classrooms also plays an important role in determining students' attitude and achievement in math and science. There are several studies dealing with the interaction of teachers with male and female students (Eccles, 1982; Fennema, 1983). These studies show that male students receive more attention from teachers. In other words, teachers have more interaction with male students, especially more superior male students. Male students are also more active in learning situations where answers are expected. As students get older, there is a change in the way teachers deal with male and female students. In elementary school, female students receive more attention from teachers. On the contrary, in high schools, male students get more attention from teachers. Stage, Krienberg, Eccles and Becker (1985) finds that male students get more questions, feedback, individualized instruction, and encouragement. Lafrance (1991) suggests that these classroom interactions cause female students to keep quiet and become inactive in classroom situations.
Study I: Beliefs and Attitudes of Olympians' Parents and Teachers Purpose The purpose of the first study was to find out to what extent teachers and parents are responsible for the limited number of Korean female Olympians. The research questions are as follows: 1. Do parents' beliefs and attitudes about girls' talent in math and science contribute to the small number of female Olympians? Do the parents of male and female Olympians differ in their beliefs and attitudes about how extraordinary talent is developed in these areas? If they are different, how are they different? 2. Are teachers' beliefs and attitudes about girls' talent in math and science responsible for the lack of recognition or encouragement given to talented Korean females? Methods The Republic of Korea has produced 138 Olympians from 1988-2001 including 9 female Olympians. However, only 75 Olympians had “valid” addresses because some of the students are fulfilling their military service in the army or are abroad for further studies. Furthermore, in the 13 years since the inception of the program, many of the addresses are no longer valid. As in all of the national studies, the mobility of this talented sample made it very difficult to locate the Olympians. Two questionnaires were utilized: one for the Olympians and another for their parents. Both instrument packets were mailed to the Olympians. We received data back from 27 Olympians (mean age 21.2 years; the youngest 17 and the oldest 31 years old) including 4 female Olympians. Gender differences were analyzed with the SPSS program. Five Olympians had earned their doctoral degrees, and 22 are still working on their doctoral degrees. Out of 27 respondents, only three were regular high school graduates and the rest were Science High School graduates. All the female respondents were SHS graduates. Parents were found to be above the middle level in terms of socio-economic status (education, career, and monthly income). Results 1. Most helpful experiences: Regarding the most helpful experiences in their development, the male and female Olympians responded that self-learning through books was the most helpful experience, and the second most helpful experience was interaction with friends, alumni, and parents. Both regular and special programs in schools and private tutoring were not viewed as helpful experiences. This response shows that students’ self-learning and social support contributed a great deal compared to any other provision by the schools (X2=26.543, p
