Gender and Culture Many researchers have studied the issue of
gender preferences as they relate to science. Studies by several
investigators showed that math and science teachers treat girls
and boys differently in the classroom. Teachers make more eye
contact with boys and pay more attention to them than they do to
girls in their classes. Teachers have also been shown to have
differing styles of dealing with male and female pupils. When
boys give wrong answers in class, teachers challenge them to
find the correct answer; girls get sympathy. "Boys tend to
operate the equipment and actually perform the experiment while
girls tend to record data and write reports."  The result of a
loss in self confidence differences in treatment appears to
begin around the seventh grade and continue through high school.
A study of seventh-graders found an interesting difference: "The
difference wasn't in performance-males and females performed
comparably in math and science courses-but in the fact that
females consistently und