Begell House Inc.
Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering
JWM
1072-8325
11
4
2005
STRUCTURE OF BLACK MALE STUDENTS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SCIENCE
311-327
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v11.i4.10
Barbara
Rascoe
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Educational policies and practices have been largely unsuccessful in closing the achievement gap between Black and White students (Schwartz, 2001). This achievement gap is especially problematic for Black students in science (Maton, Hrabrowski, & Schmitt, 2000). Given the fact that the Black/White achievement gap is still an enigma, the purpose of this article is to address the Black female/Black male academic achievement gap in science majors. Addressing barriers that Black male students may experience as college science and engineering majors, this article presents marketing strategies relative to politics, emotional intelligence, and issues with respect to how science teaching, and Black male students' responses to it, are different. Many Black male students may need to experience a paradigm shift, which structures and enhances their science achievement. Paradigm shifts are necessary because exceptional academic ability and motivation are not enough to get Black males from their first year in a science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) major to a bachelor's degree in science and engineering. The conclusions focus on the balance of truth−slippery slopes concerning the confluence of science teachers' further ado and Black male students' theories, methods, and values that position their academic achievement in science and engineering majors.
MOVING BEYOND THE “ADD AND STIR” APPROACH TO INCREASING DIVERSITY IN THE SCIENCES: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN UNDERGRADUATE COURSE ENTITLED ETHNIC MINORITIES IN SCIENCE
329-343
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v11.i4.20
Angela C.
Bauer-Dantoin
Human Biology Department, University of Wisconsin−Green Bay
Donna
Ritch
Human Biology Department, University of Wisconsin−Green Bay
In an effort to create a more culturally inclusive undergraduate science curriculum, a course entitled “Ethnic Minorities in Science” was designed and implemented. The course has the following learning objectives: 1). to understand the history and culture of science in the U.S., in order to recognize what has led to the current under representation of specific ethnic groups in the sciences; 2). to appreciate the often undervalued or overlooked contributions of minority scientists and physicians; 3). to gain a perspective on the disparities in the quality of health care available to various ethnic groups in the U.S.; and 4). to identify ways to initiate change and improve the climate for minorities in the fields of science and medicine. Course readings, pedagogical methods, and the impact of the course on students' awareness of diversity issues in science are discussed.
WOMEN AND UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IN THE IT WORKFORCE
345-364
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v11.i4.30
Sharon G.
Levin
Department of Economics, 408 SSB, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63121
Paula E.
Stephan
Department of Economics, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University, P. O. Box 3992, Atlanta, GA 30302
This study examines the composition of the information technology (IT) workforce and focuses on recruitment and retention and how they differ by gender and minority status. Data are from SESTAT, the largest nationally representative sample of college-educated scientists and engineers living in the United States. The data indicate that only about one in three individuals in the IT workforce in 1999 actually had a formal degree in an IT discipline; thus, recruitment from non-IT disciplines plays an important role in determining the size of the IT workforce. Similarly, retention, especially for women and underrepresented minorities, is very important. Indeed, the 1999 IT workforce would have been larger and even more balanced in terms of gender and minority status if women and underrepresented minorities had retention rates similar to that of their white male counterparts. Furthermore, women and underrepresented minorities have different recruitment and retention patterns than do men and whites. These differences persist even after controlling for variables such as family structure, age, citizenship status and field of training, gender, and race/ethnicity.
TEACHING STRATEGIS DESIGNED TO CHANGE THE UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCE FOR COLLEGE WOMEN LEARNING CHEMISTRY
365-388
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v11.i4.40
Samia
Khan
Department of Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, 2125 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4
A college for women has been cited as one of the most productive origins of female physical science doctorates in the United States. A case study was conducted to investigate teaching strategies that support the retention of women in the physical sciences, based on evidence from one of the college's most notable instructors and her teaching strategies. The strategies this teacher used included a personal “contract”, confidence building techniques, and science internships. Data were collected from classroom documents, classroom observations, teacher interviews, student focus groups, student feedback sheets, Likert-response student surveys, and student final exams. Evidence from the Likert-response survey and focus groups suggested that the contract increased students' likelihood of success in the course and that confidence-building strategies improved students' confidence in their ability to succeed in science. An analysis of students' final exam scores indicated that student marks improved after the introduction of the aforementioned teaching innovations: 4% of students taking the same science course with the same teacher earned less than a C-, compared to a previous three-year average of 18% of students with below C- grades. In addition, notably fewer minority women dropped the course than they had in the past. The findings of this study suggest that this teacher's strategies may have played a part in retaining these women in the physical sciences. Based on the data, a theoretical model is proposed that suggests how switching or “fading” out of the course may have been addressed and how multiple teaching strategies can work in concert with each other to contribute to women's positive experiences in the physical sciences.
THE GENDER AND RACE-ETHNICITY OF FACULTY IN TOP SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH DEPARTMENTS
389-402
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v11.i4.50
Ann M.
Beutel
University of Oklahoma
Donna J.
Nelson
University of Oklahoma
This study examines the gender and racial-ethnic composition of faculty in top research departments for science and engineering (S&E) disciplines. There are critical masses of at least 15% women in top research departments in biological sciences, psychology, and social sciences but not in physical sciences and engineering. Blacks and Hispanics together make up only 4.1% of the faculty in our study. Black and Hispanic females are the most poorly represented groups; together, they make up only 1% of the faculty in top S&E research departments. For most S&E disciplines, less than 15% of full professors in top research departments are women or non-Whites.