Letting Girls Speak Out About Science

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to try to determine what influences girls to choose science. Forty girls were interviewed in Grades 2 , 5 , 8, 1 1 using a semistructured protocol. The interview focuscd on feelings about science, science careers, peer and parental support, and how science is taught. To determine whether their responses were based on gender, each girl was asked to respond to questions as if she were a boy. The girls were highly self-confident and positive about science. All of the girls took a strong equity position and asserted that women can and should do science. The girls liked learning science in an interactive social context rather than participating in activities that isolated them such as independent reading, writing, or note taking. Thosc who chose science careers were drawn to them because of strong affective experiences with a loved one and a desire to help. The interviews were analyzed through the framework of women's affective and psychological needs.Over the years many factors have been investigated to understand why so few women choose science careers. These factors are located primarily within the realm of school and society. However, despite the large number of studies conducted, this research tells us very little about which factors influence girls to choose or reject a scientific career.Another relatively recent line of research addressing the women in science question has focused on women themselves. In particular, it focuses on women's decision-making processes in the context of the psychology of women. This research, embedded in feminist paradigms, employs a different set of assumptions, research designs, and psychological models from those normally found in the science education literature. Ground-breaking studies within this framework suggest that feminist perspectives hold greater proniise for understanding the relationship of girls and women to science than those frameworks employed in the past.Because we have chosen to investigate this promise rather than place our research in the more familiar context, we will first provide an overview of the methodologic issues involved in the feminist scholarship that influenced this study. Then we will present a brief review of the feminist literature used to interpret our data and contrast it with the lack of explanatory power of the literature within the traditional research paradigm. Methodological IssuesFeminist researchers interested in the question of women and science have moved away from paper and pencil assessments and quantitative analysis toward a more qualitative and

Understanding the Changing Dynamics of the Gender Gap in Undergraduate Engineering Majors: 1971–2011

“…The literature has also cited gender differences in STEM interest, which may be the product of gender-role socialization, in predicting women's participation in STEM. This may also be in part due to women's perception that STEM fields tend not to hold real life applications for societal impact (Baker and Leary 1995;Hill et al 2010;Sax 2001;Thompson and Windschitl 2002;Turner and Lapan 2005).…”

Self-Regulation and Peer Influence as Determinants of Senior Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Science

“…Oloyede and Olatoye (2005) reported that there was no significant relationship between peer influence and study habit; peer influence did not predict study habit; peer influence accounted for 0.0% of the total variance in adolescents' study habits; there was no significant difference between male and female adolescents both in the levels of peer influence and study habit. Bolatito, Olugbemiro, and Oyebanji (2011) reported that a comprehensive review of the literature on gender differences reveals that the factors which have been found responsible for the gender imbalance in science could be grouped into six broad categories :individual factors (Baker & Leary, 1995); cognitive factors (Forrest, 1992); attitudinal factors (Catsambis, 1995); home and family factors (Simpson & Oliver, 1990); educational factors (Jegede & Okebukola, 1992). Intervention programme have been mounted in several parts of the world to engage more girls and women in science and science-related careers.…”

The Stereotypical Images of a Dentist and How They Change Over Time in a DDS Program: Application of Draw a Dentist Test (Dadt).

“…13 Especially women and minorities do not pursue a career in science even though they are talented because of the negative stereotypical image of a scientist. 14 General image of a scientist is "Einstein" model who is a white male with messy hair and lab coat on him. 15 That image could possibly discourage females and some males to pursue careers in science-related professions such as medical and engineering jobs.…”