Towards an elimination of the gender gulf in science concept attainment through the use of environmental analogs

The search for instructional strategies capable of supporting effective conceptual change within a constructivist paradigm shows that analogies are a useful tool. The use of analogy has been found to be beneficial in science learning by motivating students, providing visualization for abstract concepts, providing a basis for comparing similarities of students’ world views with new concepts, promoting associations with other appropriate experiences, overcoming misconceptions, and coping in the classroom with the complexity of students’ beliefs. Gender inequity in science, mathematics and technology is most pronounced in non‐Western environments where socio‐cultural factors contribute to an achievement and attitude differential between boys and girls. To date, nothing effective appears to have been done to eliminate this gulf. This study was based on the assumption that the use of analogical linkages derived from the socio‐cultural environment can successfully act as a psychological bridge for the learning of science concepts. A total of 248 (205 boys and 43 girls) senior secondary (sss) II (equivalent to grade level 11) students with a mean age of 16‐8 years in two classes, selected from two schools in the Zaria township of Kaduna state in Nigeria, participated in this experimental study. Using an adaptation of Glynn's Teaching‐With‐Analogy (TWA) model, a pre‐test and a delayed post‐test comparison showed that both girls and boys attained an equivalent cognitive outcome after a six‐week treatment period. The limitations associated with an experimental design of this type suggest that we err on the side of caution when acting on the results.