The investigation of gender differences in scientfic creativity of sixth grade students

Gender differences in intelligence and creativity have been a controversial issue for a century. In some studies researchers found no gender difference in creativity; whereas, in other studies researchers discovered that males had higher capacity in creativity than did females. In this study, an investigation was carried out to explore if there were any gender differences in scientific creativity and its components.Participants included 706 sixth grade students who applied to the Education Programs for Talented Students (EPTS) at Anadolu University in the City of Eskişehir in Turkey. Of the total sample, 345 were female and 359 were were male. Students? scientific creativity was measured using the Creative Scientific Ability Test (C-SAT). The test includes five subtests and measures fluency, flexibility and creativity and hypothesis generation, hypothesis testing and evidence evalution. The five subtsts cover five areas of science (biology, physics, chemistry, ecology, and interdisciplinary science).Data was analysed using independent samples t-test. The analysis showed that male students scored significantly higher on fluency and creativity and hypothesis generation components of scientific creativity. Although male students had higher scores on flexibility, hypothesis testing and evidence evalution components too, the differences between the groups were not significant. The study shows that male students have higher scientific creativity and do female students.