Gender Dependency and Cultural Independency of Science Interest in an Open and Distant Science Learning Environment

Abstract

This study aims to describe the similarities and differences in the science interests of males and females from Israeli and Arab Middle Eastern countries, as derived from over 1,000 science questions sent to an international ask-a-scientist site. Our findings indicate that while the stereotypical gender gap in interest persists, and significant differences were found between the age groups, no significant differences were found between science questions that were sent by Israelis and Arabs. Furthermore, no correlation was found between female participation and the state of gender equity in the country, and only 1% of the questions made any reference to country-specific, local, or religious aspects. One may conclude that science interests are genderand age-dependent but culturally independent in this asynchronous, open and distant science learning environment. Further research is needed in order to determine if this is a genuine attribute of science interest in ODL environments or an outcome of the digital divide in the region.

Explaining a reverse gender gap in advanced physics and computer science course‐taking: An exploratory case study comparing Hebrew‐speaking and Arabic‐speaking high schools in Israel

“…Another salient explanation for the gender gap in some STEM fields focuses on attitudes toward science (Brtoman & Moor, 2008;Riegle-Crumb et al, 2010), or interest in sciencerelated subjects (Baram-Tsabari & Kaadni, 2009;Baram-Tsabari, Sethi, Bry, & Yarden, 2009), suggesting that, generally speaking, girls have less positive attitudes toward science than boys, and express less interest in sciences, especially in the fields of physics and technology, and that they perceive science as difficult, uninteresting, masculine, and leading to an unattractive lifestyle for women (Andre, Whigham, Hendrickson, & Chambers, 1999;Brotman & Moore, 2008;Sadler et al, 2012). Moreover, studies have also shown that girls' positive attitudes toward STEM decline with age (Sadler et al, 2012).…”

“…For example, analyzing PISA data from 50 countries, Sikora and Pokropek (2012) show that in all countries, among science-oriented students, girls prefer a career in biology and health sciences and boys favor a career in computing, engineering, and physics. Baram-Tsabari and Kaadni (2009) also argue that girls are more interested in biology than boys, while boys are more interested in physics and how technology works. Cheryan et al (2017) point out that while women in the United States constitute more than half of those obtaining degrees in biology and chemistry, they are <20% of those graduating with degrees in computer science, engineering, and physics.…”

Quantifying the Gender Gap in Science Interests

“…Therefore, studies have used student's selfgenerated science-related questions, submitted to Ask-A-Scientist sites and TV shows, as a tool to probe their scientific interests (Baram-Tsabari & Kaadni, 2009;Baram-Tsabari, Sethi, Bry, & Yarden, 2006, 2009Baram-Tsabari & Yarden, 2005Falchetti et al, 2007;Yerdelen-Damar & Eryılmaz, 2009). Student questions submitted to a children's science magazine (Cakmakci, Sevindik, Pektas, Uysal, Kole, & Kavak, 2009) have been used as indicators of interest as well.…”

A Shadow Curriculum: Incorporating Students’ Interests into the Formal Biology Curriculum

“…Self-generated science questions are also used as indicators of interest (Baram-Tsabari and Yarden 2005; Baram-Tsabari et al 2006, 2009bBaram-Tsabari and Yarden 2007, 2009cBaram-Tsabari and Kaadni 2009a;Cakmakci et al 2009;Falchetti et al 2007; Yerdelen-Damar and Eryılmaz 2010). By asking questions, students express the foreign words of science with their own words, experiences, and previous knowledge, while searching for the authority of science as a structured body of public knowledge (Aguiar et al 2009).…”