Gender gap in reading self-confidence

Abstract

[eng] Research reveals that boys are better at their confidence-building than girls in math-intensive fields. Despite their abilities, female students tend to have a lack of confidence in math compared to their male peers. In this study, we try to evaluate the self-confidence among genders in reading. By creating a self-confidence measure using students' reading performance and students' self-evaluation we analyse if gender, socio-economic status, and parents’ encouragement have an impact on students’ self-beliefs. The findings suggest that girls are less likely to have overconfidence in reading even with the same academic level as boys. Socio-economic status and parents’ encouragement reveal a positive impact on self-confidence measures. Finally, it is also explored if self-confidence helps students to have a more entrepreneurial spirit.