Gender, computer experience and computer-based problem solving

This paper reports a study involving 65 children (31 boys and 34 girls) aged between 10 and 11, which further examined the effect of software type by comparing children's performance on a male stereotyped version of the software with their performance on a structurally identical, but female stereotyped version of the software. We found that girls performed worse than boys on both versions of the software and this effect persisted even when the effect of computer experience was removed. There was also a gender difference in the children's preference. Girls preferred the female version more than the boys and there was also a significant relationship between the girls' preferences and their performance. There was no relationship between the boys' preferences and their performance. The implications and explanations for these findings will be discussed.