Begell House Inc.
Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering
JWM
1072-8325
20
4
2014
RECENT ENGINEERING GRADUATES MAKING CAREER CHOICES: FAMILY MATTERS
293-316
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2014008273
Katherine E.
Winters
Department of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech, 345 Signature Engineering Building, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA
Holly M.
Matusovich
Department of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech, 345 Signature Engineering Building, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA
Samantha R.
Brunhaver
Stanford Center for Design Research, 424 Panama Mall, Stanford, California, 94305, USA
early career engineers
career choice
family influences
Research on early career engineers has typically examined the roles that their work or workplace culture can play in determining their career experiences and decisions. Such research does not often explore how the engineer shapes his or her own career path or how influences outside of the workplace, such as family influences, impact career choices. Yet studies with more seasoned engineers have illuminated critical roles for family in career choices, suggesting that family might also be important to early career engineers and perhaps particularly for women. Therefore, we sought to better understand the ways that family members influence recent engineering graduates' career decision making across both sexes. Our study includes interviews and survey results for thirty participants which we also situate within a broader context of two quantitative surveys deployed to a larger sample of participants. We found that even in their mid-twenties, recent engineering graduates' career decisions were significantly impacted by family, in the form of tensions between individual career needs and needs inherent to partnerships and child-rearing and of continued support and encouragement from other family members. We found that both men and women are impacted in both similar and different ways. Arnett's theory of emerging adulthood serves as a framework for studying these often neglected phenomena.
WOMEN'S PERSISTENCE INTO GRADUATE ASTRONOMY PROGRAMS: THE ROLES OF SUPPORT, INTEREST, AND CAPITAL
317-340
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2014009829
Melinda
McCormick
Department of Sociology, Western Michigan University, 1903 W. Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
Ramon
Barthelemy
University of Utah
Charles
Henderson
Department of Physics and Mallinson Institute for Science Education, Western Michigan University, 1903 W. Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
women in science
astronomy
work/life balance
support
women in physics
This study uses data from qualitative interviews with successful female graduate students in astronomy in order to explore female student success in undergraduate physics departments. The aspects include the role of faculty support through an undergraduate's education, the provision of engaging introductory courses, the importance of community among students, and more. However, the results also suggest that there are other factors that influence the success of the students, such as a love of the field of study and available resources in terms of different types of capital. The authors argue that in order to increase the numbers of female students in the fields of astronomy and physics these considerations also need to be addressed.
ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER: COMPARING ETHNIC MINORITY SOLOS AND NON-SOLOS
341-358
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2014008210
Debra A.
Major
Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529, USA
Thomas D.
Fletcher
The Travelers Indemnity Company, One Tower Square, 2MS, Hartford, Connecticut 06183, USA
Valerie
Streets
Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529, USA
Janis
Sanchez-Hucles
Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529, USA
tokenism
relational demography
ethnic minorities in STEM
Purpose: Ethnic minorities are underrepresented in many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, including information technology. The purpose of this study was to better understand the negative effects of ethnic minority tokenism and the isolation of "solo" status. A solo is the only representative of his/her ethnicity in a workgroup. Design/methodology/approach: Using web-based survey data collected from 239 ethnic minorities working in information technology, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to compare the experiences of solos and non-solos. Findings: Compared to non-solos, solos were less likely to perceive equal opportunity in the workplace, reported less affective support from coworkers, and experienced less satisfaction with the social environment. There were no differences between solos and non-solos with respect to leader-member exchange, satisfaction with supervision, or instrumental coworker support. When as few as 1−9% of the workgroup were the same ethnicity as the focal individual, affective support and perceptions of equal opportunity were increased. Satisfaction with the social environment increased when the workgroup had at least 20% of similar others. Implications: There is no single ethnic minority experience at work. The relative representation of one's own ethnic group matters. Workplaces can eliminate the negative effects of solo status by increasing representation of a given ethnic minority group beyond 10% of a workgroup.
EVALUATING AND EXPLORING A PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE FOR UNDERGRADUATE WOMEN IN PHYSICS: CAN ONE WEEKEND MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
359-377
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2014008011
Gayle A.
Buck
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Indiana University, W.W. Wright Education Building, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Mary
Mills
Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana 47404, USA
Jianlan
Wang
STEM Transformation Institute, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, USA
Xinying
Yin
Elementary/Bilingual Education Department, California State University San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California 92407, USA
physics
astronomy
minority women
science
STEM
undergraduate education
conferences
Female under-representation in science has been a topic of discussion and research within the science education community for several decades. Despite this, females continue to be underrepresented in physics education and careers. Although women opt out of physics at every stage of the professional ladder, one area of particular concern is the undergraduate years. The fraction of women who choose to study physics at the university level declines from freshmen to senior levels. A group of faculty from across the United States has sought to address this concern, in part, by organizing an annual conference for undergraduate women in physics. Pre-/post-questionnaires and focus group interviews were used to gather the experiences of 363 of the conference participants (56% response rate) to determine the impact of such an experience, as well as how the various aspects of the experience fostered or hindered this impact. The findings demonstrate that such an experience can make a positive impact, as well as provide facilitators of similar professional meetings with understandings on how to design women in science experiences. In addition, the voices of these young women offer insights into the contemporary needs of female undergraduates in physics.
SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPATIAL VISUALIZATION IN MIDDLE GRADE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
379-393
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2014010709
Kedmon
Hungwe
Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan 49931, USA
Sheryl A.
Sorby
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan 49931, USA
Ray
Molzon
Department of Mathematical Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan 49931, USA
Paul
Charlesworth
Department of Chemistry, Michigan Technological University, Michigan 49931, USA
Min
Wang
Department of Mathematical Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan 49931, USA
spatial visualization
training
spatial abilities
gender gap
Well-developed spatial skills have been shown to be important for success in a number of technological fields, including engineering. The goal of the study was, first, to determine if there is a gender gap in spatial skills in middle and high school students; and second, to find out if training using materials designed for college students could improve students' performance and reduce the gender gap, if it was found. A quasi-experimental design was used with a pre- and post-test and a control group. The subjects were 263 middle school and 193 high school students. Spatial visualization skills were assessed using a 40-item test made up of four subscales. An equal number of items was sampled from the Middle Grades Mathematics Project Spatial Visualization Test, the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations PSVT: R test, the Differential Aptitude Test: Space Relations (DAT: SR), and the Mental Cutting Test (MCT). The results indicated that the training improved the performances of both male and female students in some components of the assessed skills. The gender gaps that were found in the pre-test data and in the analysis of pre-post gains were in favor of males.