ed more light on the issue. This phenomenon only increases, as the children get older. Brooks (1995) suggests that a strong influence on girls as they get older is girl-to-girl harassment that is thought to be related to gender identity. Indeed Robottom (1986) suggests that girls’ orientation to science is shaped by culturally determined images of what is and is not appropriate female behaviour and Johnston (1984) also alludes to this, suggesting that adolescence is a particularly important time when girls are wishing to be recognised as being feminine and they feel pressured by their peers to conform. This combined with the masculine image of many science subjects may deter girls from studying them.The behaviour of boys has also been linked to girls veering away from science. It has been suggested that the behaviour of men and boys has had a negative impact on girls’ participation in education in general and science specifically (Brooks, 1995). Brooks (1995) states that this occurs not only because boys harass girls in the classroom and in the schoolyard but also because they block access to curriculum areas and take up places in classes. Brooks also draws attention to the fact that girls receive a lot less attention from the teacher than boys do. This is supported by many authors, Payget, (1987) suggested that boys get 80% of the teacher’s attention, however this figure would certainly vary depending on the teacher. Stewart (1991) also found that teachers consistently interact more with boys than girls, and whilst some have tried to explain this away in that boys are more disruptive and for that reason they receive more attention, even with this factor removed the boys still receive more attention. This may lead to girls becoming disinterested and to lose faith in the competence in science.This lack of attention demonstrates a need to look at teachers’ perceptions of girls in science. It has been shown that sci...
