This paper focuses on stereotype threat and its effects on sense of belonging in the German Physics Olympiad science competition. Participants completed questionnaires about sense of belonging, stereotype endorsement, interest, and self-concept in physics, as well as about value and success expectations of studying physics in college. Female participants who endorsed negative stereotypes about female talent for physics felt less sense of belonging to physics. This effect did not manifest for male participants. Sense of belonging to physics significantly predicted value and success expectations for studying physics in college beyond what is predicted by interest and self-concept in physics. These findings suggest that sense of belonging is influenced by stereotype threat, which was shown to cause gender differences in science. Nevertheless, sense of belonging could be included into the expectancy-value theory based on its predictive impact on value and success expectations of studying physics.
The German Physics Olympiad is an extracurricular science contest for students. Here, they have the opportunity to compete against other talented students, can do physics outside of school, and take a first step to more engagement in the domain. Yet, female students participate in the competition in fewer numbers and are disproportionally more likely to drop out of the contest earlier than the male students.The present study hence explored the question to which extent the German Physics Olympiad provides a threatening environment for female contestants’ intentions of persisting in physics. A total of 298 participants (28% female) were surveyed with respect to stereotype and social identity threat, as well as gender identification and sense of belonging as predictors of success expectations for and value of choosing to study physics. Success expectations and value of choosing to study physics were used as a measure for career intentions within the expectancy-value model.The results support the conclusion that the contest presents an equally supporting environment for female and male participants. We found no gender differences in success expectations for and value of studying physics. Sense of belonging and gender identification significantly predicted success expectations but not value of choosing to study physics. Female participants in the German Physics Olympiad were also neither affected by stereotype threat nor by social identity threat in their sense of belonging or gender identification.
The German Physics Olympiad is a science competition in which students can compete to measure their Physics knowledge and skills with other students. Female participants are underrepresented and typically drop out of the competition earlier than their male counterparts. As the cause for this underrepresentation, social identity threat theory identifies a threat to women’s gender identity in the predominantly male environment. Stereotype threat theory adds negative stereotypes about women’s abilities in physics as a heightening factor. In this study, growth mindset and values affirmation interventions, as well as a combination of both methods, were integrated into a weekend seminar of Physics content to protect female participants from the harmful influences of stereotype and social identity threat. As female and male students’ sense of belonging and gender identification remained at equal levels, respectively, after the interventions, the results did not show any effects of stereotype threat or social identity threat for the female students. The results suggest that women who are highly interested and talented in physics and have taken first steps to pursue physics and to engage with the physics community beyond mandatory school education are not as susceptible to stereotypes and harmful cues in the environment as might previously have been assumed. Implications for future research and science competitions are discussed.
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