Conscientiousness as a Predictor of the Gender Gap in Academic Achievement.

Autor/inn/en	Verbree, Anne-Roos; Hornstra, Lisette; Maas, Lientje; Wijngaards-de Meij, Leoniek
Titel	Conscientiousness as a Predictor of the Gender Gap in Academic Achievement.
Quelle	In: Research in higher education, (2022) 3, S.451-472Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0361-0365
DOI	10.1007/s11162-022-09716-5
Schlagwörter	Conscientiousness; Personality; Gender gap; Academic achievement; (non-dominant) Ethnic background; Higher education
Abstract	Abstract In recent decades, female students have been more successful in higher education than their male counterparts in the United States and other industrialized countries. A promising explanation for this gender gap are differences in personality, particularly higher levels of conscientiousness among women. Using Structural Equation Modeling on data from 4719 Dutch university students, this study examined to what extent conscientiousness can account for the gender gap in achievement. We also examined whether the role of conscientiousness in accounting for the gender gap differed for students with a non-dominant ethnic background compared to students with a dominant ethnic background. In line with our expectations, we found that conscientiousness fully mediated the gender gap in achievement, even when controlling for prior achievement in high school. This was the case among both groups of students. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the gender gap in achievement in postsecondary education settings. The current study suggests that the use of conscientiousness measures in university admission procedures may disadvantage male students. Instead, the use of such measures may be a fruitful way to identify those students who may benefit from interventions to improve their conscientiousness. Future research could examine how conscientiousness can be fostered among students who are low in conscientiousness.
Erfasst von	OLC
Update	2023/2/05