It has been said that there is a positive correlation between PISA mathematics scores and a country's economic growth and productivity. Japanese high school students, up through their first year of high school, are among the top in OECD countries in mathematics literacy. However, the reality is that mathematics literacy declines as students become second and third years of high school, and then move on to university. Japanese children have world-class math brains until their first year of high school. But we haven't been able to make the most of it. If we utilize this brain power, we have the potential to increase economic growth and productivity. In particular, there is a desire to utilize women's abilities to increase productivity in Japan.
There is a widespread stereotype that men and women differ in their ability to perform tasks in science and in spatial cognitive abilities. Therefore, an experiment was conducted. In this experiment, male and female subjects with equivalent math performance were given a math test. It set up a condition that taught that ``there are no gender differences in the test'' and a condition that taught that there were general stereotypes. The results were surprising. Under the condition that the participants were taught that there were no gender differences in the test, there was no difference in performance between men and women. On the other hand, in conditions that they were taught that there were gender differences, women's performance was lower. Simply providing common gender differences in math tests can create stereotype threat for female test takers. This gender difference experiment revealed a phenomenon that creates a stereotype threat to women's math ability.
The problem is that women have the preconception that women are not good at mathematics. In a sense, this sense of weakness was formed during classes in elementary school, junior high school, and high school. Changing cultural stereotypes formed from childhood can be difficult. It's a big deal, but it doesn't mean there are no solutions. As evidenced by the mathematics experiment that there are no gender differences, people with the same ability can achieve the same results. However, when negative stereotypes enter into the mix, grades decline. It is said that if a person has egalitarian values, negative stereotyping will not occur. It is a personal belief that with effort you can avoid this negative stereotyping. However, if you have systematic support, you will be able to develop your talent more smoothly. We would like to implement such a system in Japanese education.