Gender Based study of Space-Related Aptitude among Higher Secondary Students

The present study aimed to assess the Space Related Aptitude (SRA) of higher secondary students and to examine whether gender differences exist in spatial reasoning ability. A total of 2,640 students (1,355 boys and 1,285 girls) from Gujarati medium higher secondary schools participated in the study. The Space Related Aptitude Test (SRAT), developed and standardized for this research, measured skills such as mental rotation, cube unfolding, mirror image identification, and embedded figure recognition. Descriptive statistics revealed a mean score of 15.66 (SD = 2.90) on a maximum possible score of 20, with a slight negative skew (–0.323) and mild platykurtosis (–0.447), indicating an approximately normal distribution of scores. Frequency distribution analysis showed that the majority of students scored between 13 and 17, reflecting moderate to high spatial reasoning ability across the sample. An independent samples t-test was conducted to compare SRA scores by gender. Results indicated no statistically significant difference between boys (M = 15.63, SD = 2.85) and girls (M = 15.69, SD = 2.94), t(2638) = –0.534, p = 0.594, suggesting that spatial aptitude is not influenced by gender in this population. These findings support the view that spatial skills are not inherently gender-biased and can be developed equally in both boys and girls when given similar learning opportunities. The study recommends implementing gender-neutral pedagogical approaches and integrating spatial reasoning activities into the school curriculum to foster aptitude development in all students.