Why do girls score less than boys in the Physics Olympiad?

Abstract

In the Dutch Junior Physics Olympiad, a gender gap in the scores and number of participants in the second round can be noticed. Previous research shows that the gender gap in Physics education, and Physics competitions can be due to gender differences in interest, motivation, confidence, sense of competitiveness, external support and encouragement, or even gender discrimination. The first part of this research aims at determining how students are selected for the second round and at proposing an inclusive selection method. Results show that selecting the best scoring boy and girl from every participating classroom leads to the most gender equal pool of participants for the second round. The second part aims at understanding the differences in motivation, perception of the Physics Olympiad and personality traits between male and female participants. This is done by sending a questionnaire to past participants of the Junior Physics Olympiad. 49 participants completed the questionnaire, revealing that boys and girls have different reasons for participating, more girls doing it for fun and more boys doing it for a chance to win. Results also show that girls have a lower sense of self-efficacy than boys, which may explain their lower performance in the Physics Olympiad. Suggestions are made to encourage girls more and help them improve their self-efficacy and self-confidence.