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Science, mathematics, and technology are essential to every individual, including under-represented groups. This is because science, mathematics, and technology provide individuals with knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential to their everyday lives, as well as career opportunities. For instance, science increases agricultural and industrial productivity, and contributes to solutions to global challenges such as poverty reduction (Henriksen, 2015). Based on this significance, participation in science, mathematics, and technology education is essential for all children regardless of their differences, such as gender, ethnicity, class, or socio-economic status (Henriksen, 2015). According to Merayo and Ayuso (2022), reducing gender disparity in science and mathematics education can improve the labour market through increased employment and productivity among women and reduce job-related segregation. This study will focus on investigating the gender gap in science education in secondary schools, as research has revealed that the gender gap becomes more significant at this level, and that interest and participation in science decline with class level (age) (Barmby et al. 2008). Science in study is confined to biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics subjects taught in secondary schools in Tanzania's education system. Gender equality is a concern at the international level. UNESCO has declared gender equality as one of the most important goals for education and ultimately incorporated this aim within the framework of sustainable development goals (United Nations 2018). The fifth of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (UNESCO, 2015). This can be achieved through inclusive practices in all areas of life, including schooling.
World-wide, there has been a prolonged tendency for girls’ underachievement and under representation in science at various levels of schooling, mostly starting with the secondary school level (Lundberg, 2020; McDool & Morris, 2022; UNESCO, 2017). This inequality at lower levels of schooling becomes more evident in science related courses in higher education and in science related fields in the students’ further occupations, favouring more males than females (Matete, 2022). Alexakos and Antoine (2003) assert that there has been a persistent gender gap in interest, participation, and achievement in primary and secondary science classrooms, the gap being critical in physics and chemistry subjects. Allegrini (2015) also observed that women continue to be under-represented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), especially in physics, mathematics, computer science, and engineering. ÇÇakiroglu (1999) highlights that sex differences exist at every grade level and in every subject area in the written science-related achievement tests, most of the time favouring males.
ÇÇakiroglu (1999) depicts the gender gap in international studies. The First International Science Study (FISS) in 1970 and 1971 was conducted in all countries. The Second International Science Study (SISS) was conducted from 1983 to 1984, involving 24 countries, and the 1995–96 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) was conducted among students in 41 countries at five different grade levels. In the first international study of 1970 and 1971, boys consistently performed better than girls in all countries. The gap increased as students ascended the school system and with age. Thus, the sex difference was shown to increase as students progressed through the school system and to be greatest for physics, somewhat smaller for chemistry, and smallest in biology.