Preschoolers’ mathematical play and colour preferences: a new window into the development of gendered beliefs about math

ABSTRACT

In play, children often explore mathematical ideas that are vital for future learning. Children’s play also reveals gender differences in both colour and toy preferences. The authors examined how gender-related colour preferences of 5-year-olds are related to preferences for math-specific games/toys and gendered beliefs about math. Spanish preschoolers (N = 143) completed a self-report measure of gendered beliefs about math. Children then indicated their favourite colour and were given five math-specific games/toys in that colour. Play times for each game/toy were recorded. Three findings emerged. First, girls preferred games/toys of particular colours (pink/purple) that differed from boys’ preferences (blue/red). Second, play time with math games/toys did not differ between girls and boys. Third, 5-year-olds of both genders thought that girls liked math more than boys did. This is the youngest age at which these gendered beliefs about math have been shown, and suggests new theorizing about stereotypes, gender, and math.

KEYWORDS:

• Math
• play
• stereotypes
• early childhood education
• STEM identity

Acknowledgements

We thank the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos President, Fernando Suárez Bilbao, and Spanish Honorary Consul, Luis Fernando Esteban Bernáldez, for their respective roles in facilitating this cross-institutional research collaboration.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr Jesús Paz-Albo Prieto is the Graduate Program Director of the MA in Educational Management at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. His research interests focus on child development and care, educational technologies, and teacher education.

Dr Dario Cvencek is a research scientist at the University of Washington Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. His work on preschool and elementary school children investigates how societal stereotypes influence child’s self-concepts about STEM learning.

Cristina V. Herranz Llácer is the Deputy Director of the MA in Secondary Education at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Her research interests include neurolinguistics, educational psychology, child development, and teacher education.

Aránzazu Hervás Escobar is a Visiting Lecturer in Education at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Her research focuses on neuropsychology, educational psychology, and teacher education.

Dr Andrew N. Meltzoff is the Co-Director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington. His research focuses on the development of children’s social cognition and its links to education especially pertaining to children’s motivation and interest in STEM disciplines.

ORCID

Jesús Paz-Albo Prieto http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7517-7124

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, the National Science Foundation (SBE-1640889), the Overdeck Family Foundation, and Ready Mind Project Fund at the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington.