Begell House Inc.
Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering
JWM
1072-8325
8
1
2002
GOOD INTENTIONS: AN EXPERIMENT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL SINGLE-SEX SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS CLASSROOMS WITH HIGH MINORITY ENROLLMENT
24
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v8.i1.10
Dale R.
Baker
College of Education, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1911
This study examined the effects of single-sex middle school science and mathematics classrooms with high minority enrollment on achievement, affect, peer, and teacher-student interactions. All students earned higher grades in mathematics than in science. Girls earned higher grades than boys. The higher grades of girls were not clearly attributable to the singlesex environment, and aspects of the single-sex environment interfered with boys’ achievement. The single-sex environment contributed to girls’, but not boys’, feelings of empowerment, peer support, and positive self-concept. The curriculum and pedagogy were better suited to girls than to boys, leading to discipline problems and hostile interactions. However, boys were more engaged in technology-based activities than girls. Overall, all-boy classes were less supportive learning environments than all-girl classes. Although the results replicate findings elsewhere, this is the only study to look at minority students in middle school.
PERSPECTIVES OF BEST PRACTICES FOR LEARNING GENDER-INCLUSIVE SCIENCE: INFLUENCES OF EXTRACURRICULAR SCIENCE FOR GIFTED GIRLS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING FOR WOMEN
8
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v8.i1.20
Shaunda L.
Wood
University of Ottawa
Gifted girls in elementary school must follow the set curriculum, but their choices of extracurricular activities may indicate future subject preferences. This study attempted to explore the perceptions of gifted girls regarding how the family, home, and school environments influenced their choices to take extracurricular science classes. A mixed methodology was adopted: qualitative, to understand the girls’ perceptions of influence, and quantitative, to measure their attitudes toward science. Influential factors identified in this study highlight fun as occurring with the highest frequency and four emergent factors: doubt, traditional sex roles, boredom, and group work. In addition, findings from a focused case study of a graduate electrical engineer are interwoven with the girls’ perspectives of science. The varying ages and experiences with science of the participants provide interesting views. This study adds knowledge to the field of science education, specifically on withingender differences of gifted girls and women in engineering.
GENDER AND ACHIEVEMENT-RELATED BELIEFS AMONG ENGINEERING STUDENTS
12
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v8.i1.30
Gail D.
Heyman
University of California, San Diego
Bryn
Martyna
University of California, San Diego
Sangeeta
Bhatia
University of California, San Diego
Achievement-related beliefs were examined among a group of 238 college students in engineering (38 female, 104 male) and nonengineering majors (57 female, 39 male) to understand why women enter engineering majors at a low rate and are more likely than men to leave such majors. The results indicated that (a) among the engineering majors, women were more likely than men to identify engineering aptitude as a fixed ability, a belief that was associated with a tendency to drop classes when faced with difficulty; (b) female engineering majors were more likely to perceive male and female engineering students as receiving different treatment than their male counterparts; and (c) female engineering majors tended to place more emphasis on extrinsic factors and less emphasis on intrinsic factors than female nonengineering majors, a pattern not seen among men. Implications for intervention programs are discussed.
GENDER ATTRIBUTIONS OF SCIENCE AND ACADEMIC ATTRIBUTES: AN EXAMINATION OF UNDERGRADUATE SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND TECHNOLOGY MAJORS
14
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v8.i1.40
W. Jay
Hughes
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460-8051
Questionnaire data (n = 297) examined the relationship between gender attributions of science and academic attributes for undergraduate science, mathematics, and technology majors from the perspective of gender schema theory. Female and male respondents perceived that (a) the role of scientist was sex typed as masculine, (b) their majors were more valuable for members of their gender than for those of the opposite gender, (c) their majors were more valuable for themselves than for members of their gender in general. Androgynous attributions of scientists and the value of one’s major for women predicted value for oneself, major confidence, and career confidence, and masculine attributions of scientists predicted class participation for female respondents. Feminine attributions of scientists predicted graduate school intent; value for women predicted major confidence and subjective achievement, and value for men predicted value for oneself, course confidence, and career confidence for male respondents.
PEDAGOGICAL REFORM AND COLLEGE WOMEN’S PERSISTENCE IN MATHEMATICS
18
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v8.i1.50
Kerry J. Strand
Strand
Department of Sociology and Social Work, Hood College
M. Elizabeth
Mayfield
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Hood College
Significant gender differences persist in the election of mathematics courses and math-related majors in college. Recent research suggests that part of the blame lies with conventional pedagogical approaches and that alternative approaches emphasizing practical applications, collaborative problem solving, and group work make mathematics more understandable and appealing to all students, particularly women. Using questionnaires administered to 355 traditional-age female college students, the authors examined the relationship between alternative teaching strategies in high school mathematics classes and two categories of outcome variables: mathematics-related attitudes and mathematics persistence in college. Multivariate analysis showed that experience with this so-called female-friendly pedagogy is positively related to students’ math-related attitudes and that these attitudes predict math persistence in college. However, the authors’ data also indicate that alternative teaching strategies have no discernible direct effect on students’ choices of mathematics courses or mathrelated
THE RESEARCH LAB: A CHILLY PLACE FOR GRADUATE WOMEN
14
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v8.i1.60
Maria M.
Ferreira
Wayne State University, College of Education, Teacher Education Division
Ph.D.’s in most graduate science programs require that graduate students spend large amounts of time conducting research in science laboratories. As a result, the environment in the research lab is key to the success or failure of graduate students, particularly women. This article is a case study of two graduate women in a chemistry department at a large research university. In-depth interviews, field notes from a support group for graduate women in science, and departmental records were used to examine the relationship between key factors of their work environment and the high attrition rate of graduate women in the department. Analyses of the data indicated that the social climate in the research lab, shaped by the attitudes and behaviors of the women’s male colleagues and/or research advisors, created a “chilly place” for the female graduate students.