Researchers have also been interested in gender differences in mathematics self-efficacy.
Unfortunately, research findings have been inconclusive regarding these differences. Some
researchers have found a significant difference between the mathematics self-efficacy of male
and female students, with males demonstrating significantly higher levels of mathematics selfefficacy
than female students (Betz & Hackett, 1983; Pajares & Miller, 1994). These researchers
hypothesized that females’ lower levels of mathematics self-efficacy were a result of commonly
held beliefs that mathematics is a male-dominated field or that women are not typically good at
mathematics. These beliefs lead women to think that they should not be good at mathematics,
regardless of their actual abilities. In contrast, some researchers have not found gender
differences in mathematics self-efficacy (Cooper & Robinson, 1991; Hall & Ponton, 2002). In a
study of undergraduates, Lent, Lopez, and Bieschke (1991) found a slight difference between the
mathematics self-efficacy of men and women. They hypothesized that gender differences
diminish when male and female students have comparable prior coursework experiences in
mathematics. Hackett and Betz (1989) also suggested that the small gender differences they
found were due, in part, to gender differences in mathematics performances.