Do Gender Differences in Mathematics Performance Continue to Exist? A Case-Study Concerning Students of an Urban Junior High School

As the issue of gender is considered important in mathematics, mathematics education research has shown particular interest in the performance of boys and girls in recent decades, with results which are often contradictory. This paper attempts to investigate whether there is a difference in mathematics performance between girls and boys during all three grades of a junior high school which is situated in a small town in northern Greece. For this purpose, both the overall average of students' oral and written performance in the three grades of junior high school, as well as the percentage ratios of their grades were compared. Research has shown that the academic performance of both boys and girls declines during junior high school and that girls consistently outperform boys in both oral and written performance. An important finding which emerged from the oral interviews with the girls who excelled in mathematics is that only six (6) out of the twelve (12) stated that they would choose a field of studies which is related to mathematics. Finally, it appears that five (5) of them were examined in Mathematics in order to be admitted to university and only four (4) out of the twelve (12) chose studies that are related to Mathematics.