Focusing on interactions between content and cognition: A new perspective on gender differences in mathematical sub-competencies

This article presents a new perspective on measuring gender differences in the large-scale assessment study Trends in International Science Study (TIMSS). The suggested empirical model is directly based on the theoretical competence model of the domain mathematics and thus includes the interaction between content and cognitive sub-competencies. The more detailed results may contribute to a better understanding of the sources for gender differences in mathematics and may consequently lead to more targeted remedial actions. The study supports the new model in showing that for 40 of the 50 countries participating in TIMSS 2011 the (usually not reported) interaction effect between the content and the cognitive sub-competencies is significant.