Towards Eliminating the Gender Gulf in Science Concept Attainment
Through the Use of Environmental Analogs             


Bolatito A LAGOKE, Faculty of Education, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria
NIGERIA
Olugbemiro J JEGEDE, Distance Education Centre, University of
Southern Queensland, Toowoomba AUSTRALIA                    
Email:jegede@usq.edu.au
Peter K OYEBANJI , Institute of  Education Ahmadu Bello University Zaria
NIGERIA

Abstract

The search for efficacious instructional strategies capable of effective
conceptual change within a constructivist paradigm reveals that analogies
are a useful tool to use. The use of analogy has been found to be beneficial
in science learning by motivating students, providing visualization of
abstract concepts, providing the basis for comparing similarities of
students' world with new concepts, promoting  associations with other
appropriate experiences, overcoming misconceptions, and coping in the
classroom with the complexity of children's beliefs. In general, all
analogies are characterised by aspects of a science classroom discourse in
which "familiar situation similar to the unfamiliar phenomenon to be
explained is used." Gender inequity in science, mathematics and
technology is most pronounced in non-Western environments in which
socio-cultural factors contribute to further drive a wedge between the
achievement and attitude differential of boys and girls in the subjects. This
study was undertaken, based on an assumption that 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 Zaria township of Kaduna State of Nigeria participated in this
experimental study. Using an adaptation of Glynn's
Teaching-With-Analogy (T.W.A.) model, a pretest and a delayed post test
comparison, showed that both girls and boys attained equivalent cognitive
outcome after a six week treatment period. The limitations associated
with an experimental design of this type instructs that we err on the side of
caution while using the results. 


            The Problem 
For over two decades now a strong tradition has been established of
research on gender issues in the science classroom due to serious and
justifiable concerns about the gross under-representation of girls in
science, and the quantity in number and contribution of women in science
and technology related careers. The concerns about this under-
representation of females in science and technology are generally
economic (world of work), social (reflecting the gender mix and interaction
in the society), and philosophical (relating to equity and equality).

A comprehensive review of the literature on gender differences reveals
that the factors which have been found responsible for the gender
imbalance in science could be grouped into six broad categories :individual
factors (American Association of University Women (AAU),1992; Baker &
Leary, 1995; Brown & Gilligan, 1992; Sheperd, 1993); cognitive factors
(Adelman, 1991; Forrest, 1992, Oakes, 1990' Sadker, Sadker, & Klein,
1991); attitudinal factors (Catsambis, 1995; Kelly, 1985; Rennie & Punch,
1991); home and family factors (Campbell & Connolly, 1987; Schibeci & 
Riley, 1986; Simpson & Oliver, 1990); educational factors (Baker, 1990;
Kahle, 1990; Jegede & Okebukola, 1992; Mason, Kahle & Gardner, 1991;
Sjoberg & Imsen, 1988; Tamir, 1990). 

Intervention programme have been mounted in several parts of the world
to engage girls and women more in science and science related careers.
According to Kahle and Meece (1994), most intervention programme were
carried out with the objectives of (i) demasculinizing and demystifying
science (ii) improving girls' confidence and self perceptions of their ability
to do science; (iii) implementing teaching strategies that actively involved
girls in science; lessons; and developing girls' skills of doing science. While
two decades of intervention indicate that the gender gap is closing in
mathematics achievement, unfortunately the reverse is the case with
science achievement (Kahle & Meece, 1994).  It has been reported that, in
the USA, women constitute only 16 per cent of all employed scientists  and
engineers while 30 per cent and 21 per cent of the degrees awarded at the
bachelorÕs and doctorate degrees in natural science and engineering
respectively go to women  (Vetter, 1990). In Nigeria, the picture is even
more gloomy and abysmal. The Science Teachers Association of Nigeria 
(STAN, 1992) reports that less than 10 per cent of the total enrolment in
Nigerian universities for science and technology based disciplines are
females, only six per cent of those who enrolled in West African and the
Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations are girls, and less than
five per cent of the academic staff in Nigerian Universities engaged in
science related disciplines are women. This  must also weighed against the
backdrop of the fact that females make up about 60 per cent of the
country's 100 million inhabitants in which less than 30 per cent of the one
million girls in secondary schools take science subjects. In a patrilineal
society such as obtains in Nigeria, the women are made among a myriad
things, to bear the brunt of not only the house hold chores but also of child
rearing, feeding the family, and educating the children before school age.
The men spend most of their time in the farm or at their vocations to earn
money for the family and they therefore seldom have the time or perhaps
the energy at the end of a so-called hard day's job to attend to the children.
It does seem incomprehensible and an aberration that in society which
leaves so much for the largest majority would exclude, one way or
another, the participation of females in science and technology which
every country in the world seems to believe is the panacea for overall
national development. As questioned by Krockover and Shepardson (1995),
can we afford anything less for the greater than 50 per cent of our global
population that has been educationally disenfranchised for centuries ? 
This question certainly needs to be answered by examining ways by which
we can considerably reduce, if not eliminate, the gender gulf in science. 

Emerging data on differential gender performance in science seem to
indicate that elementary students do not  exhibit any gender differences in
achievement and attitudes toward science (Shaw and Doan, 1990), that
gender differences begin to appear in the middle grades (Catsambis, 1995),
and also that gender gap in science achievement increases from age 9 and
13 (Kahle and Meece, 1994). If these are correct, it would appear that
school related and other factors take over at a point when the prior
(indigenous) knowledge and socio-cultural attitude the students have
brought into the classroom begin to wear out. This implicates the need to
probe further into what socio-cultural variables are common to both
females and males and which help to nullify the gender gulf as they view
nature at their early stages in their educational journey. This therefore
negates or at least significantly casts some doubt on Kimura's (1992)
assertion that .

The bulk of the evidence suggests, however, that the effects of sex
hormones on brain organization occur so early in life that from the  start
the environment is acting on differently wired brains in girls and boys.
Such differences make it almost impossible to evaluate the effects of
experience independent of physiological predisposition (p.81).

Indeed, recently a number of studies and opinions point to the fact that the
way forward is to examine socio-cultural factors which Catsambis (1995)
says plays an equally important role. Jegede and Okebukola (1989, 1992)
and Okebukola and Jegede (1990) in their studies observed that in Nigeria,
a country in which the society is predominantly traditional and the African
mode of thought is very prevalent, there were similarities between boys'
and girls' perception of four out of five socio-cultural factors in their
science classes. Also, considering the fact that boys and girls born and
nurtured in similar environments would have imbibed similar and related
experiences of events, it could be assumed that they would both bring
similar cultural conceptions into the science classroom. In a recent study by
Cobern, Gibson and Underwood (1995), it was found rather interestingly
that neither gender nor science grade success is correlated with the
concepts ninth graders typically choose to use in a discussion about the
natural world. This study was interested in finding out whether the
experience and preconceptions from the cultural environment of students,
irrespective of gender, could equally or differentially be used together with
a compatible teaching strategy in the teaching of some biological concepts. 

The use of analogy, as a teaching strategy, has been found to be beneficial
to science learning in motivating students, providing visualization of
abstract concepts, providing basis for comparing similarities of students'
world with new concepts (Thiele & Treagurst, 1991), promoting
associations with other appropriate experiences, overcoming
misconceptions, and coping in the class room with the complexity of
children's beliefs (Cobb, et. al, 1991; Flick, 1991; Solomon, 1989; Stavy,
1991). According to Lemke (1990), the use of analogies reduces the
Òmystique of scienceÓ which drives a gulf between the "social processes
and real human activity" which characterise the practice of science. 

Analogy, which has now been defined broadly (Duit. 1991) to include
metaphors, similes, analogies, parables, mental and physical models which
are common literary devices used in spoken, acted, and written
communication (Harrison &  Treagurst, 1993), is characterised by aspects
of a science classroom discourse in which Òfamiliar situation similar to the
unfamiliar phenomenon to be explained is usedÓ (Dagher & Cossman,
1992, p. 364). The unfamiliar part of phenomenon to be explained is called
the target, while the familiar domain is termed as source (other synonyms
such as analog, anchor, base, or vehicle are also used).

In spite of the considerable amount of work in analogy and using these
models, and analogies being commonplace in day-to-day communication
among people, they are not as effective in the classroom as might be
expected (Duit, 1991) because the need to "consider the students'
background so that the chosen analogy is familiar to as many students as
possible..." has not been addressed (Harrison & Treagurst, 1993, p. 1305).
Unfortunately, in the teaching of science especially in Nigerian schools,
researchers and teachers alike hardly pay particular attention to the
important aspect of trying to see if the learner could utilize the cultural
background and prior knowledge about science acquired from the cultural
environment brought into the class for further knowledge construction.
Jegede and Okebukola (1989) found out that learners realised that what is
learned in science does not often relate to their day-to-day life
experiences. They then suggested that there is a need to harness all the
beneficial aspects of our culture to make science more accessible to African
children. Ogunniyi  (1988) has also emphasised that human beings tend to
resolve puzzles in terms of the meaning available within a particular
socio-cultural environment. The meanings so formed become firmly
implanted in the cognitive structure and manifest themselves habitually
and could act as template, anchors and inhibitors for new learning. 

Studies on how analogies could be used to clarify and demystify science in
high school are almost non-existent (Dagher, 1995) and, within the
non-Western context, most of the studies on analogy have merely
replicated the use of models fashioned for teaching science in Western
classrooms. Nothing appears to be available in the literature suggesting
that socio-cultural elements could be used to narrow or eliminate the
gender gulf in science achievement and attitude especially in a 
non-Western environment. 

Krockover and Shepardson (1995), in calling for research agenda in gender
equity to address "the missing links", advised that the research "ought to
transcend the boundaries of race, ethnicity, class, and socio-cultural
identities" (p. 223). Kahle and Meece (1994) concluded from their
comprehensive review of research on gender issues in the science
classroom, that the lack of a theoretical model that integrates
psychological and socio-cultural variables has limited research in gender
differences  in science achievement. This research is in part a response to
these calls in order to begin to fill the apparent void which exists in such an
important area of science education with far reaching social, philosophical
and economic significance to the larger society.

This study therefore examined the use of analogical linkages from
socio-cultural environment in biology concept attainment by secondary
school students using a constructivist framework. It examined the
provision of a linkage between socio-cultural environment and science
learning through drawing analogical linkages from the learnerÕs
day-to-day experiences within the cultural environment and use the same
to teach selected biological concepts. For the purpose of this study,
environmental analogs are analogical linkages derived from the
socio-cultural environment of the learner and used as psychological
bridges in the teaching of unfamiliar science concepts within the formal
classroom situation. As part of a main study it specifically sought answers
to the following major question : Will the teaching of selected biological
concepts using analogical linkages chosen from the learner's socio-cultural
environment significantly reduce the achievement differences between
females and males in selected biological concepts ?

 Method 
Sample 

The sample for the study consisted of a total of 248 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 Zaria township of Kaduna state of
Nigeria. Senior Secondary II students were used as the sample for the
study primarily because they already have three years of integrated science
(at the Junior Secondary School level, JSS) which introduced them to
science, and a full one year biology study at the SSI.  In order to have a
homogeneous sample of schools of same or similar education standards,
the study population was restricted to state-owned secondary schools in
the town. The determinants of comparable educational standards used
were that (i) teachers are recruited by the same body using set down
criteria by the State Ministry of Education, (ii) the same State Government
funds and supplies science equipment and other teaching resources to the
schools on an equitable criterion; and (iii) students are admitted by the
same body throughout the state using a set of criteria which included high
performance in state administered entrance examinations for selecting
candidates for admission. 

Two schools were selected from among the ten senior secondary schools in
the area, using simple random sampling with the ballot technique. The
sample schools consisted of one boys-only school and one which housed
both boys and girls with the boys attending school during the afternoon 
session and the girls attended the morning session separately to comply
with the State regulation which discouraged a co-educational school
system since the beginning of this decade. The two sets of students
(morning and afternoon sessions) were taught by the same biology
teachers and used the same facilities. In each of the two schools used for
the study, there were four arms. By simple ballot method, two arms from
each school were assigned to the experimental group while the other two
formed the control group. The experimental group consisted of 121
students (100 boys and 21 girls) while the control group was made up of 127
(105 boys and 22 girls) students. All the students participated fully in the
study by attending classes, and completing the pretest and the post test. 

Instrumentation
Selection of topics for teaching 

After due consultation with the biology teachers in the selected schools,
some topics were chosen for the study because, (i) they were in the SS II
curriculum for the second term of the year during when the study was
conducted; (ii) there was a need to maintain continuity and sequence in the
normal scheme of work for the schools; and (iii) the topics were judged by
the teachers and researchers as "teachable" with lots of analogies. The
biology topics chosen were (a) Mode of nutrition in plants 
(photosynthesis, symbiosis and parasitism), (b) Transportation in plants,
and (c) Transpiration. 

Two instruments, the Multiple-Choice Assessment Tests (MCAT 1 & 2)
and an Analogical Linkage Teaching Format (ALTF) were used for the
study. The first was used to assess the dependent  variable for the groups.
The MCAT 1 (used as pretest) was a 50-item multiple-choice achievement
test based on a general test in basic concepts taught at the JSS. The MCAT
2 (used as post test) was also a 50-item multiple-choice achievement test
but based on the teaching topics selected for the experiment.  While all the
questions in MCAT 1 were drawn from standardised JSS III Kaduna State
integrated science examination questions bank, the MCAT 2 items were all
drawn from a bank of standardised West African School Certificate and
the Nigerian Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations related to the
topics taught during the study. The MCAT tests were further subjected to a
validation check by a panel of secondary school biology teachers,
university biologists and biology educators to ascertain their
appropriateness for the study. The internal consistencies of the two tests
(MCAT 1 & 2) were determined to be .97 and .92 respectively using
Kuder-RichardsonÕs Formula 20.

The Teaching-With-Analogy (T.W.A.) model of Glynn (1989) was adapted
with some slight modifications for this study. This model was used because
it recognised the similarities between the new and already known
concepts; a fundamental issue in a constructivist pedagogy. Glynn's model
consisted of the following six operations :

(i)       Introduction of target concept;
(ii)      Recall analog concept
(iii)     Identify similar features of concepts;
(iv)      Map similar features;
(v)       Draw conclusion about concepts; and
(vi)      Indicate where analogy breaks down

For the purpose of this study, Glynn's third and fourth operations were
merged while the fifth and sixth were also merged to simplify the process
and eliminate what we saw as an overlap in the operations. The following
four operations were therefore contained in our modified version of the
TWA. This modified model was used to plan and draw up the teaching of
the selected contents using socio-cultural analogs from the local
environment as follows :

(i)  Introduction of target concept.

This involved giving brief description of certain basic facts of the concepts
presented for learning (target).The major concepts to be stressed as
contained in the curriculum and the recommended biology books used in
the school were referred to.

(ii)  Recall analog concept.

This stage involved the selection of possible matching relations from
events or objects which are familiar to the learner. The analog concept
was meant to help students tie together concepts they previously viewed
as unrelated.

(iii) Identification and mapping of similar features of both analog and
concept.

Gentner(1983) in his structure mapping theory indicated that a relational
structure that normally applies on one domain can be applied in another
domain. Thus, at this stage, mainly the relational features or "mere
appearance matches" of both analog and target concepts are presented to
the learner.

(iv) Draw an analytical conclusion.

Drawing conclusions about target concepts and indicating where
analogies break down, ie,pointing out the limits of the structural
resemblances or similarities between both target and analog concepts.
Further details forming the conclusions about the concept presented for
learning (target) and possible activities and practical experiences are
highlighted at this stage.

Design and Procedure

A pretest-post test control group design utilizing the analysis of covariance
(ANCOVA) was used for this study. The independent variable  was the use
of environmental analogs in the ALTF. It was necessary to use the
ANCOVA procedure because the pretest results on MCAT 1 for the
experimental (Mean = 45.5,SD 14.7) and control group (Mean = 41.6,SD
13.4) indicated slightly significant differences at p<.05 to the advantage  of
the experimental group (T-value = 2.02 P= 0.045). As part of the ANCOVA
procedure, the effect of the major variable (gender) was considered alone
and in interaction with the other independent variable (Method of
Instruction). The experimental group was instructed using the ALTF,
designed based on the modified T.W.A model together with the enriched
analogical linkages derived from the local environment familiar with the
students. The control group were instructed using the expository method
which had no enriched analogs. Experimental analogs utilized in the
treatment are as shown in Chart 1.

CHART 1 ABOUT HERE

In order to control for teacher effect and bias, the first listed author taught
both the experimental and control groups with strict adherence to the
notes of lessons prepared before the experiment. The total contrast session
for the experiment lasted twelve weeks. The first week was used for
orientation to enable the first author (who taught the content) and the
students to get familiar and adjusted to each other. During this period the
pretest (MCAT 1) were administered to both groups. This was followed by
a six week session of treatment. The post testing of the  MCAT 2 was
delayed till the twelfth week to examine if there was any retention.

                             Results
The unit of analysis for this study was each of the genders in the
experimental and control groups. Means and standard  deviations for the
pretest and post tests were calculated and analysed using inferential
statics. Mean and standard deviations for each gender are shown in Table
1.The boys and girls in the control group showed a lot of difference in their
performance in the post test (Mean for boys =35.44, Mean for girls =
45.29), while the boys and girls taught with environmental analogies did
not differ much in their post test cores (Mean for boys = 50.27, Mean for
girls = 49.75). A t-test comparison of the performance of the boys and girls
taught using environmental analogies yielded a no significant group
scored higher means than their counter parts in the control group.

                       TABLE 1 ABOUT HERE

Table 2 contains the summary of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA)
comparing the mean scores of the performance of boys and girls in both the
experimental and control group. Sources of variance include gender (boys
vs girls), method of instruction (analogy vs no analogy), Gender x Method
of Instruction (interaction effects), and the covariate (pretest). The results
indicated that  while Method of Instruction was significant (F=12.68, P =
.003), the effect of gender was not (F=2.79 P= .074). These results seem to
confirm that the boys and girls taught using the ALTF (employing
environmental analogies) did not differ significantly in their performance
in the post test. The non significant F value (2.79,P>.05) obtained for
gender demonstrated that the performance of the students was not
influenced by gender, rather, it was influenced by the teaching approach as
also confirmed by the interaction of Gender x Method of Instruction in
Table 2.

TABLE 2 ABOUT HERE

In order to probe further the relationship between the variables of Gender
and Method of Instruction, a Logistic Regression Model using the Least
Squares Regression statistic was performed (Norusis,1992; Tabchnick &
Fidell, 1989). The result of the least square means for the effect of gender
and method of instruction is as shown in Table 3. The Least Squares
Means results indicated that (i) the boys taught with analogies have
significantly better performance than the boys taught without analogies (P
= .0001),(ii) the girls taught with analogies have significantly better
performance than the boys taught without analogies  (P =.0002), and (iii)
the girls taught without analogies are better in performance than the boys
taught without analogies (P = .0084)

TABLE 3 ABOUT HERE
CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS
This study set itself the task of investigating if the teaching of selected
biological concepts using analogical linkages chosen from the learner's
socio-cultural environment would significantly reduce achievement
differences between females and males in biological concepts as measured
by the MCAT. The findings indicated that (i) boys and girls benefited
significantly from teaching with environmental analogies when compared
with their counterparts who were not similarly taught, and (ii) the use of
environmental analogies seemed to have resulted in equivalent
performance of both boys and girls in the experimental group in the girls in
this study contrary to the evidence in the literature which weighed heavily
to the advantage of boys in other studies(Kahle & Meece, 1994).

The absence of literature on similar studies especially using the socio
cultural environments to generate analogies, makes any comparison
difficult. We are mindful that any meaningful use of the results of this
study must be tempered with caution based on design limitations
associated with studies of this sort. However, the results from the study
seemed to have made two significant contributions to the literature on
analogy instruction beyond supporting the efficacy of the use of analogy as
a teaching strategy. First, the use of environmental analogs from the
students' socio-cultural environment has potential for biology
teaching,especially in enhancing concept attainment by students of
non-western background who study science in a formal setting. The use of
environmental analogs made sure that the introduction of new and
unfamiliar biological concepts began from the prior knowledge of the
students which bear specific relation to the daily life of the student's
society. Cultural traditions and beliefs in a given society were found to
have exerted some effect on science teaching by researches such as
Ghuman (1978), Jegede and Okebukola (1989), Ogunniyi (1988), and
Okebukola and Jegede(1990). It is interesting to note that in this study,
certain practices in our cultural environment could be used in helping
students to construct meanings of biological concepts. The inclusion of
these cultural practices in the formation of analogical linkages had helped
to improve the quality of instruction resulting in better performance in
biology.

Second, the use of environmental analogs drawn from a student's socio-
cultural background had indicated that it is possible obtain comparable
achievement levels for both boys and girls at the secondary school level. 
Bitner (1992) concluded from her studies that the rationale for no gender
differences in her results includes the constructivist process used in several
courses designed for the teacher. We would like to think that the
constructivist process used also used partially in this study, especially
regarding the use of students' prior knowledge, has been instrumental to
the results obtained. This mode of constructivist pedagogy within a
non-western environment would need to be probed further to validate it.

As reviewed earlier, gender differences have been found to begin their in
the middle grades (Catsambis, 1995) while gender gap in science
achievement increases from age 9 and 13 (Kahle and  Meece, 1994).  The
students in the sample studied were made up of mostly young adolescents
who are just beginning to make career choices at a time when several
influences interplay to either drive them away from science or draw them
closer to its study.  The results of this study therefore seem also to support
those of Catsambis (1995) which indicated that interventions for increasing
women's motivation to pursue science and science related careers should
occur early on in an adolescent's academic career.


This research has focused on the influence of relevant issues associated
with intervention research in gender differences in science is achieved.
Furthermore, it sets the stage for further studies which would "utilize the
fuller, and richer images of the multiple contexts and identities within a
more of education" (p. 223).
It does not look like science education can continue to explain gender
differences in science by differential course-taking patterns for boys and
girls (Kahle & Meece, 1994) or with the deficient model philosophy
(Atwater, 1994) in the face of evidence from this study which suggests that
using analogical bridges from the learners' immediate socio-cultural
environment might be a plausible way to redress gender imbalance in
science. We agree with Atwater (1994) that all "students bring (indigenous
or prior) knowledge and skills that can help them be successful in science
classrooms." What science education needs to do "build on that
(indigenous or prior) knowledge and skills so that all students can
understand the scientific principles, laws, and theories; use science
processes to help them think critically; and develop values that aid them in
their decision making(p. 558)."

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Table 1: Means and Standard deviations for pre and post test scores on the
MCAT for both girls and boys in the experimental and control groups

        -----------------------------------------------------------         
Test                Experimental         Control  
		Mean      SD             Mean   SD       
------------------------------------------------------------
Pretest                
Boys        	43.00    13.5         39.60   13.88
Girls       	35.6     15.1         36.85   14.95 
Posttest                
Boys        	50.26    13.22        35.44   14.39                           
Girls       	49.74    13.74        45.29   12.80  
---------------------------------------------------------------

Table 2: ANCOVA summary for comparing the performance of boys and
girls in the experimental group on the posttest shoeing interaction of the
variables
-------------------------------------------------------
Source       			df        Mean Square      F 
--------------------------------------------------------
Gender      					          1         587.87           2.79
Method of Instruction 		1        2663.38          12.68*
Gender X Method of   		1         867.41           4.13*          Instruction       
Covariate             		1         438.60           3.01*
Error                			 103       210.87      
-----------------------------------------------------------
* significant at p<.05

Table 3: Least Square Means for the effect of gender and method of instruction
---------------------------------------------------------------
Groups i/j    Boys            Boys      Girls        Girls 
Experimental    control   Experimental control--------------------------------------------------------------
Boys(Experimental) -          
Boys(Control)      0.0001*       -
Girls(Experimental)0.7494        0.0002*     -
Girls(control)     0.3634        0.0084*     0.2606    
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-*significant levelsP>:T:Ho:LS Means (i)=LS Means(j)