Female Classmates, Disruption, and STEM Outcomes in Disadvantaged Schools: Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment

Sofoklis Goulas, Rigissa Megalokonomou () and Yi Zhang ()
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Rigissa Megalokonomou: Monash University, Monash Business School, Department of Economics, Australia, University of Queensland, IZA, and CESifo
Yi Zhang: University of Queensland, School of Economics, Australia

No 2024-01, Monash Economics Working Papers from Monash University, Department of Economics

Abstract: Recent research has shown that females make classrooms more conducive to effective learning. We identify the effect of a higher share of female classmates on students’ disruptive behavior, engagement, test scores, and major choices in disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged schools. We exploit the random assignment of students to classrooms in early high school in Greece. We combine rich administrative data with hand-collected student-level data from a representative sample of schools that feature two novel contributions. Unlike other gender peer effects studies, a) we use a rich sample of schools and students that contains a large and diverse set of school qualities, and household incomes, and b) we measure disruption and engagement using misconduct-related (unexcused) teacher-reported and parent-approved (excused) student class absences instead of self-reported measures. We find four main results. First, a higher share of female classmates improves students’ current and subsequent test scores in STEM subjects and increases STEM college participation, especially for girls. Second, a higher share of female classmates is associated with reduced disruptive behavior for boys and improved engagement for girls, which indicates an increase in overall classroom learning productivity. Third, disadvantaged students—those who attend low-quality schools or reside in low-income neighborhoods—drive the baseline results; they experience the highest improvements in their classroom learning productivity and their STEM outcomes from a higher share of female classmates. Fourth, disadvantaged females randomly assigned to more female classmates in early high school choose college degrees linked to more lucrative or prestigious occupations 2 years later. Our results suggest that classroom interventions that reduce disruption and improve engagement are more effective in disadvantaged or underserved environments.

Keywords: gender peer effects; natural e; classroom learning productivit; quasi-random variation; disadvantaged students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 I26 J16 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-eur, nep-gen, nep-lma and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Female Classmates, Disruption, and STEM Outcomes in Disadvantaged Schools: Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment (2023)
Working Paper: Female Classmates, Disruption, and STEM Outcomes in Disadvantaged Schools: Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment (2023)
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