Gender Differences In Student Academic Performance And Attitudes

This paper examines the gender differences in student academic performance and attitudes toward their education and themselves in an introductory engineering course. Student academic performance was evaluated by comparing course work scores between the two genders using assignments, projects, exams and class participation. The students' perceptions of the course with respect to course outcomes were measured by a survey at the end of the semester. The survey was designed to measure student perceptions about themselves and their skills in several areas such as problem solving, computer usage, design process, teamwork, and communication. The survey was also intended to assess whether or not the course objectives had been achieved and to determine if students have increased their skills in the aforementioned areas.