Gender Differences in School Achievement and Attitudes towards Motivation in Secondary Economic Education

Abstract

Abstract: This study examined the school achievement and attitudes of Czech and Slovak secondary school students (n = 572; age: 17-19) towards motivation in economic subjects. The aim was to analyse the factors of students’ motivation, their relations with selected teacher’s competences, and students’ school achievement with regard to their gender. The data were obtained by using a questionnaire and analyzed by Mann-Whitney U-test, Pearson, and Spearman correlation coefficients. Girls performed better than boys in all the subjects analysed. At the same time, for all factors of motivation with significant gender differences, their motivation was stronger compared to boys. School achievement and attitudes towards selected motivation factors are correlated. Some factors motivating boys with better achievement motivate girls with worse achievement.

Keywords

• gender differences
• school achievement
• motivation
• teacher personality
• economic education
• secondary schools