Begell House Inc.
Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering
JWM
1072-8325
1
3
1994
WHO IS HELPED BY FRIENDLY INCLUSION? A TRANSFORMATION TEACHING MODEL
175-192
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v1.i3.10
Sue V.
Rosser
San Francisco State University
Bonnie
Kelly
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208
In an article published in the first issue of this journal, the authors gave a preliminary report on a National Science Foundation funded project that attempted to inform the faculty of female-friendly changes in curriculum content and pedagogy derived from research in women's studies and ethnic studies. This report is an analysis of the final project results that assesses the effectiveness of the project in meeting its goals. Although the grades of male students taught by faculty participants improved more than the grades of female students, female students became more confident of their own science and math ability. Faculty participants under the aegis of the project did retain proportionately more female and male students. The project results support the hypothesis that by changing their teaching strategies to more inclusionary techniques, faculty are helping to reverse the trend of increasing student attrition, in particular female attrition, in the sciences.
WOMEN SCIENTISTS AND THE NORM OF GENDER NEUTRALITY AT WORK
193-207
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v1.i3.20
Margaret A.
Eisenhart
University of Colorado Boulder, School of Education, UCB 249, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
It is clear that women have faced a glass ceiling in the U.S. workplace. With the increased vigilance that comes with this knowledge and the many incentives to hire, retain, and promote women, some observers expect the glass ceiling to disappear with time. This article demonstrates that there are reasons to remain concerned. Drawing on data from an 18-month ethnographic study of a nonprofit conservation corporation known for its commitment to employing women scientists, I argue that despite the corporation's reputation as a good place for women to work, its work demands and norms are prototypically male. However, these male characteristics are hidden behind a "norm of gender neutrality " that also pervades this workplace. This norm focuses attention on women's opportunities to do what men have traditionally done, thereby taking for granted the existing work demands and norms of the organization. This cultural system both attracts women scientists to this workplace and blinds them to gendered subordination there.
INTRODUCING FEMALE SCIENTISTS, MATHEMATICIANS, AND ENGINEERS INTO THE CURRICULUM: LOCATION AND EVALUATION OF RESOURCES
209-220
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v1.i3.30
Jonathan A.
Plucker
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903
Numerous interventions for increasing the status of women in qualitative disciplines are suggested in the literature, especially the inclusion of female role models in science and mathematics curricula. An annotated bibliography of print and computer resources and detailed suggestions for locating and evaluating these and other materials are provided.
RACIAL/ETHNIC AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT OF NINE-, THIRTEEN-, AND SEVENTEEN-YEAR OLD STUDENTS
221-236
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v1.i3.40
Barbara A.
Bruschi
Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey 08541
Bernice Taylor
Anderson
National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 855, Arlington, VA 22230
Low achievement in science is evidenced by poor performance on large-scale assessments, particularly by students of certain racial/ethnic groups. Although African-American and Hispanic students have experienced substantial increases in science performance, there is still a large disparity between these minority and majority students on science achievement tests. This is true for females as well. This study examines science achievement for similarities and differences by gender and race/ethnicity. Using the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) science proficiency data for 1990, this study focuses on students' average proficiency scores in four science content areas. The assessments involved nationally representative samples of 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old African-American, Hispanic, and white students. When comparing across age groups, gender differences became more apparent. Nine-year-old females and males performed similarly in life and physical sciences. However, males gained the advantage by age 13 and widened their advantage by age 17. Males outperformed females across age groups for earth and space sciences. Females were favored in nature of sciences across age groups. By race, there were differences between and among the three racial groups studied. White students outperformed Hispanic students across content areas and age groups by between 26 and 35 points. The largest gap in mean proficiency scores was evidenced between white and African-American students, widening to the highest—nearly 55 points—difference across areas by age 17. When examining race by gender, females who tended to perform similar to or better than males at age 9 in certain areas, maintained or lost their advantage by ages 13 and/or 17. Males who had an advantage in certain areas tended to gain or widen their advantage by ages 13 and 17.
EXAMINATION OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE IN RELATION TO GENDER DIFFERENTIATION
237-252
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v1.i3.50
Netiva
Caftori
Department of Computer Science, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, Illinois 60625
Prior research indicates that much software is designed to appeal to boys without consideration of the effect it has on girls. The main concern here is to discover the characteristics in a particular software that attract boys and those features that appeal more to girls. The use of computers in school is therefore examined with a focus on gender differentiation in the software. A questionnaire was administered to 60 students in grades 1−3 to determine characteristics in educational software to which the responses of girls and boys differ and also to find out other gender-related differences in their comportment surrounding computers. An analysis of the questionnaire responses revealed few of these characteristics but demonstrated that gender differences are only minor. Recommendations are made to software designers and to educators on how to program or choose software to be used in more equal environments. Suggestions are given for future investigations.