A comparison of single and mixed gender engineering enrichment programs for elementary students

Abstract

The Center for Pre-College Programs at New Jersey Institute of Technology sponsors a series of summer enrichment programs designed to increase academically talented students' interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Programs such as these can be instrumental in informing young students about careers in engineering and technology and helping ensure they receive the academic background required to prepare for these careers in college. One of the programs has been designed specifically for young girls in an effort to increase the number of women interested in engineering and other technological careers. Although there is much debate about the relative effectiveness of female-only programs, previous research comparing aspects of our female-only program to equivalent mixed-gender programs has shown that they can be particularly effective in reaching young girls, influencing their perceptions of engineers and attitudes toward engineering as a career. The addition of equivalent male-only programs has prompted additional research comparing changes in students' perceptions of engineers and attitudes toward engineering, as well as increases in learning and content knowledge. The three different gender grouped programs (female-only, male-only and mixed-gender) were identical in content. The single gender programs within the same grade were taught by the same teacher. Although the mixed gender programs were taught by a different teacher the curriculum was exactly the same. In addition to objective measures of effectiveness, teachers were interviewed to collect qualitative data about the climate in the classroom and students' interactions within the three different gender groupings. Results show differential effects among the programs, not only in terms of perceptions, attitudes and learning, but also in the classroom climate and students' interactions in the classroom.

Comparisons of a Female-Only, Male-Only, and Mixed-Gender Engineering Enrichment Program for 4th Graders

“…Consistent with findings in previous research, it appears that while attitudinal measures such as the MATES are useful in evaluating the effectiveness of most engineering curriculum materials 66 or STEM programs 67 they are not necessarily the most effective measures of change that results from programs designed for high achieving students [57][58][59][60] .…”

“…Few meaningful differences were found between the males and females within the programs in terms of increased content knowledge or attitudes toward engineering although, consistent with conclusion drawn from reviews of recent research, marked differences were found among the three different gender grouped programs in terms of classroom climate and student interactions in the classroom [60][61] . And while no differences were found for male students, comparisons between the female students in the female-only programs and the mixed gender program did however find some potentially meaning differences in selfefficacy and perceptions of engineers related to issues of gender identity 61 .…”

“…The previous evaluations [60][61] included higher-grade programs with some returning students that had already participated in another program so they had some prior knowledge of engineering and had possibly participated in a program of a different gender composition. In addition, the male to female ratio in the mixed-gender program in the current study (48% female, 52% male) is much closer to 50/50 than in the previous evaluation.…”

“…The addition of male-only programs equivalent to the FEMME and mixed-gender programs prompted more in-depth evaluations comparing the benefits and relative effectiveness of singlegender vs mixed-gender programs and specific comparisons among female-only, male-only and mixed-gender programs with mixed results [60][61] . Few meaningful differences were found between the males and females within the programs in terms of increased content knowledge or attitudes toward engineering although, consistent with conclusion drawn from reviews of recent research, marked differences were found among the three different gender grouped programs in terms of classroom climate and student interactions in the classroom [60][61] .…”

An Exploration of Female Engineering Students’ Functional Roles in the Context of First-year Engineering Courses

“…Female students have also shown more self-efficacy and confidence in terms of learning methods than male students, regardless of their lower self-efficacy in academic achievement [6] [8] . On the influence factors of students' self-efficacy, Hirsch (2013) concluded that students' interest in engineering, their learning experience and the interactive environment in classroom played significant roles [18] .…”