Problem Solving Strategies as Gendered: Views from Mathematics Teachers

This study examines whether and how Palestinian/Arab Israeli (P/AI) mathematics teachers attribute specific kinds of problem-solving strategies to gender. Using responses to a questionnaire from 359 secondary teachers, we investigated whether and how teachers associate gender with three types of solutions (algorithmic, creative, or guess-and-check), to three school mathematics tasks. A small number (6%) of the teachers consistently chose the gender-neutral option across all nine solutions. Many teachers (42%) consistently attributed instances of creative problem-solving to boys; nearly one-third (31%) consistently attributed instances of algorithmic approaches to girls; and about one-quarter (26%) consistently attributed guess-and-check strategies to girls. In aggregate, across participants, around 60% of the cases of creative solutions were attributed to boys; 49% of the cases of algorithmic solutions were attributed to girls; 43% of the cases of guess-and-check were attributed to girls. Our analysis contextualizes these patterns within the broader P/AI context, where girls consistently outperform boys in school mathematics but face barriers that limit their later participation in STEM-related fields.