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Background Women remain under-represented in high-paying STEM majors. This study seeks to advance understanding of the factors related to students’ decisions to choose STEM majors, with particular attention to gender differences. Prior research has largely examined high school students’ perceptions of math interest and math utility in relation to later STEM enrollment, yielding mixed findings and limited insight into the actual values students consider when selecting a major. This study analyzes college students’ retrospective reflections on their major-selection motivations. This study also examines under-explored factors, such as perceived difficulty of math, exposure to math-teacher gender bias in ninth grade, and use of college career-planning services, while also investigating self-perceptions of math ability to address inconsistencies in previous findings. Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, this study compares women in STEM and non-STEM majors and contrasts the factors related to women’s decisions to choose STEM majors with those of men. Results Self-perception of high math ability, perceived low difficulty of math, and prioritizing a high-income job predict the decision to choose a STEM major for both women and men. The impact of high-income job potential is stronger for women, while job availability significantly predicts STEM choice only among men. Factors such as exposure to math-teacher gender bias in ninth grade, use of college career-planning services, and reasons for choosing a major—such as enjoying courses in a major, doing well in courses in a major, work–life balance, contribution to society, and job availability—are not associated with STEM major choice for either gender. Conclusions These results align with prior research, emphasizing the role of self-confidence in math and the perception of math as a manageable subject in fostering interest in STEM among both women and men. The results also challenge conventional wisdom by revealing that women in STEM value high-income potential as much as—or even more than—men, rather than prioritizing work–life balance or contribution to society in choosing their majors. Future research should longitudinally examine the impact of exposure to math-teacher gender bias and the use of career services on women’s STEM major choices.

Research on immigrant children's education highlights the need for effective teaching strategies, particularly in mathematics, which often acts as a gatekeeper for academic advancement. This study implemented an eight-week arithmetic intervention in a preschool class, targeting low-performing immigrant children. The intervention group was taught using a direct instruction teaching model, while the control group received teaching as usual. Using a quasi-experimental design, trained teachers conducted 24 sessions of 30 min each, with small groups of students. The intervention helped children transition from informal to formal mathematics concepts, focusing on number relations and operations. Immigrant pupils particularly benefited, showing improved understanding through the targeted instruction compared to the control group receiving regular lessons. The result suggest that basic arithmetic progress can be improved by immigrant pupils through intensive practice in preschool class.

Math learning difficulty (MLD) is a learning disorder characterized by persistent impairments in the understanding and application of numbers independent of intelligence or schooling. The current study aims to review existing neuroimaging studies to characterize the neurobiological basis in MLD for their quantity and arithmetic dysfunctions. We identified a total of 24 studies with 728 participants through the literature. Using the activation likelihood estimate (ALE) method, we found that the most consistent neurobiological dysfunction in MLD was observed in the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) with distinct patterns of the anterior and posterior aspects. Meanwhile, neurobiological dysfunctions were also observed in a distributed network including the fusiform gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, insula, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and claustrum. Our results suggest a core dysfunction in the right anterior IPS and left fusiform gyrus with atypically upregulated functions in brain regions for attention, working memory, visual processing, and motivation, serving as the neurobiological basis of MLD. Using the activation likelihood estimate (ALE) method, we revealed the IPS and a distributed brain network for attention, working memory, visual processing, and motivation, serving as the neurobiological basis of math learning difficulties (MLD). The study provided the first comprehensive and quantitative review of the neurobiological basis of MLD.

Functional neuroimaging serves as a tool to better understand the cerebral correlates of atypical behaviors, such as learning difficulties. While significant advances have been made in characterizing the neural correlates of reading difficulties (developmental dyslexia), comparatively little is known about the neurobiological correlates of mathematical learning difficulties, such as developmental dyscalculia (DD). Furthermore, the available neuroimaging studies of DD are characterized by small sample sizes and variable inclusion criteria, which make it problematic to compare across studies. In addition, studies to date have focused on identifying single deficits in neuronal processing among children with DD (e.g., mental arithmetic), rather than probing differences in brain function across different processing domains that are known to be affected in children with DD. Here, we seek to address the limitations of prior investigations. Specifically, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to probe brain differences between children with and without persistent DD; 68 children (8‐10 years old, 30 with DD) participated in an fMRI study designed to investigate group differences in the functional neuroanatomy associated with commonly reported behavioral deficits in children with DD: basic number processing, mental arithmetic and visuo‐spatial working memory (VSWM). Behavioral data revealed that children with DD were less accurate than their typically achieving (TA) peers for the basic number processing and arithmetic tasks. No behavioral differences were found for the tasks measuring VSWM. A pre‐registered, whole‐brain, voxelwise univariate analysis of the fMRI data from the entire sample of children (DD and TA) revealed areas commonly associated with the three tasks (basic number processing, mental arithmetic, and VSWM). However, the examination of differences in brain activation between children with and without DD revealed no consistent group differences in brain activation. In view of these null results, we ran exploratory, Bayesian analyses on the data to quantify the amount of evidence for no group differences. This analysis provides supporting evidence for no group differences across all three tasks. We present the largest fMRI study comparing children with and without persistent DD to date. We found no group differences in brain activation using univariate, frequentist analyses. Moreover, Bayesian analyses revealed evidence for the null hypothesis of no group differences. These findings contradict previous literature and reveal the need to investigate the neural basis of DD using multivariate and network‐based approaches to brain imaging. Bayesian achievement group contrasts for all three fMRI task contrasts.

Mathematical achievement during the first years of primary school seems to be a reliable predictor of students’ later performance. In addition, cognitive, metacognitive, and psychological parameters are considered to be factors related to mathematical achievement. However, in the Greek educational system, there is a shortage of valid and reliable tools for the assessment of mathematics difficulties and as a consequence, identification of children with these difficulties does not take place before the last years of primary school. This study aims to investigate the relationship between working memory, sustained attention, executive functions, and math anxiety with mathematical achievement in 2nd and 3rd graders. The design of the study was based on the parameters of mathematics difficulties, as they arise from the literature review. Ninety-one Year 2 and Year 3 primary school students (mean age 8.06 years) from three public schools situated in Attica, Greece participated in the study. The students completed three different scales including educational, cognitive, and psychological tasks. Results showed that mathematical skills were significantly correlated with sustained attention, inductive reasoning, math anxiety, and working memory. Moreover, mental arithmetic ability, sustained attention, and working memory predicted mathematical achievement of second and third graders. The study’s outcomes verify that sustained attention, inductive reasoning, working memory, and math anxiety are correlated with young students’ mathematical performance. The implications of the results for the development of an assessment tool for early detection of mathematics difficulties will be discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of explicit, direct, and generative strategy training and working memory capacity (WMC) on mathematical word problem-solving accuracy in elementary schoolchildren. In this study, children in third grade (N = 82) identified as at risk for math difficulties (MD) were randomly assigned (within classrooms) to one of three treatment conditions that explicitly directed students' attention to different propositions within word problems—paraphrase question propositions (Restate), paraphrase relevant propositions (Relevant), and paraphrase all propositions (Complete)—or an untreated control condition. A significant treatment by covariate design indicated that generative strategy outcomes were conditional on the level of pretest WMC. A clear advantage in posttest problem-solving accuracy and solution planning was found for the complete generative condition relative to the control condition, but this advantage was conditional on setting WMC to a high level. Although no significant treatment advantages were found for solution accuracy when WMC was set to a low level, treatment advantages relative to the control condition were found for measures of schema activation. The results indicated that the effectiveness of generative strategies among children at risk for MD was directly dependent on the level of WMC.

Four studies into characteristics and instructional needs of students with learning disabilities are summarized in this article. These studies are also reviewed in the wider context of mathematics intervention research in special education. These studies generally rely on qualitative methodology, and they are best understood in light of a constructive approach to learning. Two themes bind the four studies reviewed here. The first is what distinguishes students with math difficulties from those that may be considered as having a math disability. The second is the nature of curriculum and how the work described in this special issue departs from structured approaches to interventions that have a long and rich history in special education.

Many scientific studies focus on finding the relationship between students’ mathematical skills and socio-economic, demographic, and ontogenetic factors. In this publication, we answer the question of how students’ mathematical skills are achieved in relation to their strengths and weaknesses, also with regard to the use of mathematics in everyday life. In this article, we examine the relationship between the results of the mock final math exam for eighth grade primary school students/final year high school students and additional math classes, the application of math in everyday life and the greatest difficulties with specific areas of taught material. The study was conducted in Poland on almost ten thousand eighth graders and high school leavers who took part in mock exams online, respectively: eighth-grader exam, and school-leaving maturity exam. The participants of these online exams were asked to respond to a survey that pertained to their math grades, attending additional math classes, their perceived most useful mathematical topics in everyday life and future professional work, and identification of their strengths and weaknesses. In the following paper, the relationships between the answers to the survey questions and the results of the mock online exam are analyzed. The results indicate that there are differences in the area of results of the mock exam and answers about strengths and weakness in mathematical literacy. The analysis of answers about use the mathematical knowledge are different for eight-graders and high-school students. Eight-graders indicate the importance of arithmetic operations while high -school students point out more abstract topics like probability, statistics and geometry. The results of the study are compared to the existing results.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a strategic training program for improving students' performance in solving multiplication problems. The participants were 3 third graders with math difficulties. In this teaching experiment, microgenetic analysis was used to analyze improvement in students' strategic development and problem-solving accuracy. The instructional components included selective task assignment and OFSD (encouraging students to use Own strategy to solve problems, providing Feedback, asking for students' Self-explanations, and explicit Demonstration of strategies when needed). The results showed that the three participants began the intervention at different strategic developmental levels and consequently were given differentiated tasks to promote their strategic development during the intervention. In response to the intervention, the three participants improved their problem-solving accuracy, use of advanced strategies, and flexibility in choosing backup strategies.

This study investigated the role of generative strategies and working memory capacity on word problem solving accuracy in children with math difficulties (MD). Within classrooms, children in Grade 3 with MD (n = 69) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: paraphrase question propositions (Restate), paraphrase relevant propositions (Relevant), and paraphrase all propositions (Complete), or to an untreated control. An additional control group included children without MD (n = 22). Mixed regression modeling showed that generative strategies significantly improved posttest scores for children with MD compared with the control condition, but outcomes were related to the type of dependent measures. The Relevant and Complete treatment conditions improved problem-solving accuracy, the Complete condition improved problem component identification, and the Restate and Relevant conditions improved operation span performance when compared with the control conditions. Only the Relevant and Complete generative learning treatments allowed children with MD to catch up to children without MD, but the results were moderated by working memory capacity.