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<p>In the Finnish low-stress and highly equitable education system, girls’ math performance is significantly superior to that of boys. This advantage cannot be explained by common psychological mediating variables such as support from math teachers, growth mindset, or mathematics anxiety—although these factors are usually regarded as key mechanisms in prior research contexts. Using data from Finnish 15-year-old students participating in PISA 2022 (<i>N</i> = 10,239; 4995 girls and 5244 boys), this study employed path analysis within a structural equation modeling framework based on the Control-Value Theory and the Growth Mindset Theory. The results indicated that mathematics anxiety remained the strongest predictor of mathematics performance (<i>β</i> =  − 0.281, <i>p</i> &lt; .05), and a significant chain mediation pathway was identified from gender to achievement (gender → teacher support → growth mindset → mathematics anxiety → achievement). However, these psychological paths all point to the relative advantage of boys, but failed to explain the actual lead of girls’ mathematics achievement. The analysis showed that mathematics teacher support did not mediate the association between socioeconomic status and achievement, and the predictive effect of growth mindset was relatively small in this sample. This study contributes to understanding gender and socioeconomic differences in mathematics achievement within the Finnish educational context by examining the mediating roles of mathematics teacher support, growth mindset, and mathematics anxiety.</p>

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Unraveling the Finnish Paradox: chain mediation pathways of mindset and support fail to explain girls’ superior mathematics achievement based on PISA 2022

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月30日

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  • Mengying Huang

摘要

In the Finnish low-stress and highly equitable education system, girls’ math performance is significantly superior to that of boys. This advantage cannot be explained by common psychological mediating variables such as support from math teachers, growth mindset, or mathematics anxiety—although these factors are usually regarded as key mechanisms in prior research contexts. Using data from Finnish 15-year-old students participating in PISA 2022 (N = 10,239; 4995 girls and 5244 boys), this study employed path analysis within a structural equation modeling framework based on the Control-Value Theory and the Growth Mindset Theory. The results indicated that mathematics anxiety remained the strongest predictor of mathematics performance (β =  − 0.281, p < .05), and a significant chain mediation pathway was identified from gender to achievement (gender → teacher support → growth mindset → mathematics anxiety → achievement). However, these psychological paths all point to the relative advantage of boys, but failed to explain the actual lead of girls’ mathematics achievement. The analysis showed that mathematics teacher support did not mediate the association between socioeconomic status and achievement, and the predictive effect of growth mindset was relatively small in this sample. This study contributes to understanding gender and socioeconomic differences in mathematics achievement within the Finnish educational context by examining the mediating roles of mathematics teacher support, growth mindset, and mathematics anxiety.