Prospective teachers’ perceptions of ethnic and gender differences in academic achievement

Our major findings may be summarized as follows: (1) Preservice teachers were most likely to attribute gender differences in academic achievement to Society and ethnic differences to the Ethnic Culture. (2) The majority of preservice teachers' explanations for disparities in academic achievement were simplistic in nature. (3) There were statistically significant differences between elementary and secondary preservice teachers in the content and quality of their explanations; secondary teachers were more likely to locate explanations within the wider society, and to display a more complex understanding of the issues.