Teachers are dumbing down science lessons for girls, assuming they have less aptitude for the subject, a new study has found.

The ground-breaking study from Macquarie University revealed teachers used less scientific terminology in one-on-one lessons with an eight-year-old girl, than they did with a boy of the same age.

Teachers also changed their terminology depending on the child’s interest.

For example, if they knew a little girl liked the colour pink and having tea parties, they would use less specific language than if they liked the colour yellow and going swimming.

Teachers are dumbing down science lessons for girls, assuming they have less aptitude for the subject, a new study has found

The study, run by the university's senior lecturer in early childhood Carol Newall, involved teaching 81 educators and psychologists how to give a lesson on plants or planets.

Each participant was then given a fictional profile of an eight-year-old child to present the lesson to via video.

Some profiles were very gender stereotypical – a little boy who loved the colour blue and football, or a little girl who loved shopping and the colour pink – while others were more gender ambiguous – a girl or a boy that had a best friend of the opposite sex and liked the colour yellow.

Results showed that participants rated girls as less academically capable than boys in psychics, and delivered less specific information when they were teaching a girl, the study said.

The study from Macquarie University revealed that teachers used less scientific terminology in one-on-one lessons with an eight-year-old girl, than they did with a little boy of the same age

Teachers also changed their language based on the child’s interest - if they knew a girl liked pink and dolls, they would use less specific language than if she liked yellow and sports

Girly girls were also perceived to be less likely to enjoy science in the first place.

Dr Newall said none of the adults in the study believed girls were less competent, but their actions showed an unconscious bias, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Carol Newall, senior lecturer in early childhood at Macquarie university said teachers showed an 'unconscious bias'

'It’s cultural. I do it too. There are occasions when I pick up a construction toy for my son,’ she said.

'But it shows girls may be losing some expertise early on because they are not getting as much information from adults at a young age. Eight years old is pretty young to start perceiving girls as less competent.'

The study is the first of its kind to use fictional child profiles to examine adult biases, and the findings apply to both teachers and parents.

Dr Newall said that a cultural shift is needed to ensure girls have the confidence to pursue more typically male-dominated subjects like maths and science.

'It’s important to say, ''We believe you can do it. You have just as much capability as the boys in the classrooms'',’ she said.

Today is the United Nation’s International Day of the Girl, established to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting their empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.