Why do women opt out? Sense of belonging and women's representation in mathematics.

Abstract

Sense of belonging to math-one's feelings of membership and acceptance in the math domain-was established as a new and an important factor in the representation gap between males and females in math. First, a new scale of sense of belonging to math was created and validated, and was found to predict unique variance in college students' intent to pursue math in the future (Studies 1-2). Second, in a longitudinal study of calculus students (Study 3), students' perceptions of 2 factors in their math environment-the message that math ability is a fixed trait and the stereotype that women have less of this ability than men-worked together to erode women's, but not men's, sense of belonging in math. Their lowered sense of belonging, in turn, mediated women's desire to pursue math in the future and their math grades. Interestingly, the message that math ability could be acquired protected women from negative stereotypes, allowing them to maintain a high sense of belonging in math and the intention to pursue math in the future.

Changing theories of change: Strategic shifting in implicit theory endorsement.

“…Implicit theories can be affected by situational influences and feedback: for example, implicit theories of intelligence are shaped by the type of praise that teachers and parents offer in response to the student's achievements (Mueller & Dweck, 1998) and the attitudes that important others express about intelligence (Good, Dweck, & Rattan, 2012). Implicit theories remain stable over time in the absence of an event or manipulation that leads students to reflect upon and revise their view (e.g., Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007;Dweck, Chiu, & Hong, 1995a).…”

“…Past research shows that implicit theories can quite readily be shifted by feedback, argument or intervention favoring one perspective (Good et al, 2012;Mueller & Dweck, 1998;Aronson, et al, 2002;Hong et al, 1999;Plaks & Stecher, 2007); Dweck and Leggett (1988) recognized the possibility that yet other situational factors might alter people's implicit beliefs.…”

An Exploratory Analysis of Personality, Attitudes, and Study Skills on the Learning Curve within a Team-based Learning Environment

“…24 At the beginning of the semester, students' self-views of intelligence were assessed generally 14 and specifically related to comfort with mathematics. 25 Student attitudes toward team learning were assessed using a previously validated tool on team-based learning at the beginning of the semester. 26 Overall, we hypothesized that students' personality and attitudes towards team learning would partially explain interindividual variability in learning.…”

Board # 87 : Native-Born and Foreign-Born Black Students in STEM: Addressing STEM Identity and Belonging Barriers and their Effects on STEM Retention and Persistence at the Two Year College

“…These identities are framed by upbringing, experiences, and society at large, and can shift across time either unconsciously or through deliberate effort. 32 Belonging to valued social groups is a fundamental human need and a sense of inclusion is particularly important for underrepresented groups in STEM when stereotypes imply that they might be unsuitable to certain settings, such as rigorous academic classes. [33][34][35] Feeling a sense of belonging and acceptance by others in STEM (faculty and peers) is crucial to retention and persistence for these STEM students.…”